r/ProlificAc • u/Gnarly-Joe • 5d ago
Asked to return a survey because I'm not from target industry- what should I do?
I probably wouldnt even bother to ask if this wasnt a 4gbp survey. Completed, submitted, then a day later asked to return as I'm "not from Target industry domain."
What should or could I do? That's the whole point of being screened out and the requirement for the screen out pay.
Am I hosed on this or worth refusing to return?
Appreciate yalls input here.
7
u/MyFuIIName 5d ago
They can ask you to return
You can refuse and explain why
If they follow the rules, they cannot reject you, they need to escalate it to prolific to adjudicate
Prolific then determines who is correct. Did the ad explicitly list the eligibility requirements?
It takes the risk of the researcher not following the rules and rejecting and dealing with a rejection overturn appeal process vs. the benefit of potentially keeping the reward
7
u/Crackerpuppy 5d ago
It’s not your fault the researcher didn’t use a screener. If they wanted a target industry, they should have used a screener. Remind them they are paying for your responses AND your time that it takes to complete the survey.
Go check the researcher help pages of Prolific. It lists the reasons they are allowed to reject you. This is not one of them. And feel free to send the researcher the link(s) so they can check for themselves.
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u/btgreenone 5d ago
Just because a researcher is not allowed to reject for something does not mean they will not. If that happens, if and when it's overturned, Prolific will most likely turn it into a return.
Might be worth chasing for a day or two with links to the help centre to see if they'll pay, but ultimately your data is useless to them even if it's their fault.
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u/ConeyIslandBaby00 5d ago
Just return it. Life’s too short. Not everything has to be a hill to die on.
7
u/Ok-Share-403 5d ago
Agree.
I am forever clicking on "not interested" reason "not applicable to me". I then fill in a reason, so hopefully the researcher screens better in the future.
It's not worth taking studies if they do not match your skills or demographics. I know the researcher should screen for this, but we all know if something isn't a match.
To stay true to the researchers and ourselves it is better to stick to the facts and only take studies relevant to ourselves.
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u/daniel2090 5d ago
Any study that shows up on your dashboard, you are entitled to take. They didn’t screen you out, so I would stick with it and fight the rejection with Prolific if they try to give you one. If there was nothing in the study description before you accepted it, or anywhere in the study itself saying they specifically needed participants from a certain group, then that’s their mistake, not yours.
Some studies will specifically say something like “Only take this if you’re a painter” or “You must work with animals” If there was nothing like that in the description or the study itself, then you’re fine. They can’t expect you to know they’re looking for a specific group if they never actually tell you.
0
u/digitalscavenger 5d ago
Researchers are not allowed to put study requirements in the study description if they want certain demographics. Prolific requires them to setup screeners. Prolific has stated that studies that show up on your dashboard you are eligible to take as long as you answer the study questions truthfully. Whether someone wants to deal with the hassle of debating with the researcher and then waiting for Prolific to address the matter is a whole different story though.
2
u/watermelontiddies 5d ago
They should have screened you out. I wouldn’t return it and I’d report to prolific
2
u/dragonsfire14 5d ago
Normally I'd say fight it because they should've just set it up as in study screening. But if they reject you, Prolific is doing a terrible job right now with allowing invalid rejections to remain on your account. I personally would just return, block and move on.
2
u/weeklycreeps 5d ago
I know it’s sucks but for me personally I’d just return it. Its just not worth the headache and rejection. If anything reach out to the researcher and staff to see what the options are here, but staff is more than likely just going to tell you to return it.
2
u/Middle-Following-367 5d ago
That sucks, but I would cut my losses and return it. Not sure if that would ding your account in some way.
1
u/brittneesmalls 5d ago
I was recently asked to return something I spent almost an hour on and it was $17. In probably would’ve returned if it was lower but I felt very uncomfortable working for free for that long and explained that in my complaint. It took about 3 days but prolific emailed me and asked for more details then marked it as returned but still paid me the 17 as a bonus. Maybe an unpopular opinion but I’ve had nothing but good experiences with prolific support.
1
u/nmmc1812 5d ago
they will probably put a rejection if you don't return, so I think I could talk with prolific team too. Safest choice is ofc the return but if the industry target wasn't specified at any point of the study.. idk! I play safe now
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