Prolific Surveys has been making a name for itself in academic circles. Thus, if you are hoping to make some extra money, you may be wondering what this site has to offer you.
The following review will provide you with in-depth information to show you precisely what to expect if you sign up with Prolific Surveys:
Honest Prolific Surveys Review
The concept behind the Prolific Survey site is a simple one. Both researchers and participants can register with the website.
For researchers, the site gives you access to participants from a variety of backgrounds and demographics. Using various filters, you can narrow down the search for your ideal pool of participants. You can then engage these participants in a study of your choosing.
The participants have a more passive role in the system. You sign up with the website and then wait to be contacted about certain surveys. It is then up to you to decide whether you wish to participate in a particular study or not.
Is Prolific Surveys a Legitimate Operation?
Yes, Prolific Surveys is an authentic business. It has been operating for several years now and they have upwards of 150,000 participants in their system.
There have been no complaints regarding lack of payments, scams, or other similar issues. Thus, it is considered a trusted site and operation.
Prolific Surveys Sign Up Process
Prolific Surveys is only available in OECD countries. However, citizens of Columbia, Lithuania, Turkey, Costa Rica, and Slovakia aren’t allowed to join. South Africa is the only exception to this rule.
If you live in an OECD country, you can still participate even if you aren’t originally from an OECD region.
All participants must be over the age of 18 to join Prolific Surveys.
The registration process for Prolific Surveys is a lot more involved than with other operations. Once you have an account, you must verify your identity. To do so, you will need to provide the site with:
- A virtual copy of an approved form of identification
- Email address
- Mobile phone number
You will only be allowed to participate in studies if the company can authenticate these details.
You should be aware that recently Prolific Surveys has been gaining an increasing amount of attention. This has led to a greater number of participants – more than the site is looking for. Therefore, if you do go to sign up, there is a good chance that you will be waitlisted.
To be placed on the waitlist, you must provide the site with basic details. When a spot opens up for you on a study, you will be informed.
Getting Started with Prolific Surveys
Once you have an account, there is a survey on the site for you. Although Prolific Surveys describes this as a Practice Test to show you the ropes, it is more significant than that.
The site uses this test to monitor your ability to read and follow instructions, provide answers, and more. Thus, you can be accepted or ignored for future studies based on your performance here. As such, you should take it seriously.
There is also an About Me section on this page. You can provide various details about your lifestyle, background, interests, etc. It is up to you to determine how much information to offer. The more details you give, however, the greater number of studies that you may be eligible for.
Prolific Surveys and Data Privacy
An advantage with using Prolific Surveys is that the site appears to be concerned with safeguarding personal details. To begin with, they only ask you basic information for your account and profile.
Furthermore, Prolific Surveys restricts the type of information that researchers can ask you. While they can ask about basic information regarding your socioeconomic status, education level, dietary habits, etc., questions about identifying factors are forbidden.
In fact, if a researcher is found to have a study that pursues identifying or sensitive information, their study can be halted, and their profile banned.
How Long Can a Study Take?
The length of a study can vary a great deal. In most instances, this will depend on the type of study.
Some will simply involve a question-and-answer type survey that is based on your lifestyle choices or past information. Others may want to record daily and real-time information about your habits.
As such, a study can take anywhere from a few minutes or a couple of hours to days or months. You will be informed ahead of time regarding how long the survey will take. It is up to you to decide whether this schedule works for you or not.
Earning Rates with Prolific Surveys
The earning rates with Prolific Surveys can be a little tricky to understand. The site does have a minimum amount that you can be paid per hour – $6.50. Prolific Surveys does recommend that researchers offer a going rate of $9 an hour, though.
Apart from this, though, it is up to the researcher to determine how much to pay you for the survey. In general, the easier or quicker surveys will pay less, and the more complex tests will be pay out more.
As mentioned, however, this is based on an hourly rate. Therefore, you shouldn’t automatically assume that this is the amount that you will be paid. Rather, you will be paid for how much time that you took with a survey.
Due to this, participants can end up earning less than they initially imagined.
How Are You Paid?
You should know that you aren’t automatically paid for every survey that you participate in. Rather, there is a process in place.
Once the survey is submitted, the researcher has up to 22 days to either approve or reject the survey. If the researcher fails to approve the survey within this period, it will be automatically approved, and you will get paid.
If the survey is rejected, though, then you will not be paid. The researcher is required to provide a reason for why your survey was rejected. Be aware that multiple rejections can negatively affect your profile and you may be excluded from future studies as a result.
This can be frustrating if you have waited close to a month to withdraw your earnings and then find out that you won’t be getting paid. To add to this, the researchers reasoning isn’t always clear or satisfying so it can be difficult to know why you were excluded from the survey.
You may choose to quit a study as well. If you do this, you will be forfeiting your payment. However, you will not receive any demerits for stopping a survey halfway through.
The Payment Process
The only way to get paid with Prolific Surveys is via PayPal. You simply sync up your Prolific Surveys account with your PayPal one.
The payment will be processed within 22 days of you taking a survey. Once you have a minimum balance of $6.50, you can withdraw your money.
For the first four payments, the money will be manually processed. Due to this, you will only be able to withdraw the money on Tuesdays and Fridays. Once this period has passed, you have access to automatic cash outs.
It is possible for PayPal to have issues with these automatic cash out payments. In this case, your payment will be added to the manual payments list, and you will only be able to take your money out on Tuesdays and Fridays.
What Kind of Workload Can You Expect?
It is difficult to predict the workload for Prolific Surveys. This is because the number of Prolific studies can depend on a variety of factors.
For instance, you will find that research is most likely to take place during the academic year. This is when graduate or other students will conduct surveys and other programs. As a result, the rest of the year may not have as much work in store for you.
The workload will also depend on your demographic. Research and surveys may be more skewed towards a particular gender, age group, socioeconomic status, etc. If you don’t fall into a category that most researchers are looking for, then you may not end up with as many surveys.
Is Prolific Surveys a Profitable Venture?
Prolific Surveys isn’t equally profitable for every participant. The amount that you make is tied into your workload and how much you are paid for each survey. As already mentioned, the workload can differ based on various factors.
If your demographic isn’t a highly sought after one, then you may not have as much access to surveys. Furthermore, there may be little to no work depending on the time of year.
To add to this, Prolific Surveys has become very popular, which means that there is greater competition for surveys. This reduces the number of surveys that you can participate in. In turn, this reduces your earning potential.
On average, you can expect one to three surveys a month. It is a rare group that gets more surveys than this.
How to Earn More with Prolific Surveys
Naturally, you are going to want to learn how to get more studies on Prolific Surveys so that you can make more money.
Well, the main thing to do here is to fill out your profile and ensure that you have entered in all relevant information. This may make you eligible for a greater number of surveys.
You should also take greater care when answering the surveys. Pay attention to what is being asked of you and answer accordingly. Offer as much information as is needed as well. This will make you a more sought-after participant.
You should also check for potential jobs frequently. The alert system on the site doesn’t function that well and if you rely on this alone, then you are going to miss out on a lot. You should make it a habit of checking your account and the site several times a day.
Are There Major Drawbacks with Prolific Surveys?
One of the biggest complaints regarding Prolific Surveys is their tendency to ban accounts without warning. Participants even update their account frequently unaware that it can’t be viewed by researchers anymore.
The only sign that something is amiss is when participants aren’t being given information about surveys. When they contact customer service, they are informed that the account is banned, although a reason isn’t given.
The company simply says that the account didn’t meet certain checks and has been deactivated as a result. There is nothing you can do about it, and you aren’t allowed to set up another account either.
Prolific Surveys Customer Service
Many people are unhappy with the Prolific Surveys customer service. This is because they tend to be very vague when replying to any queries that you have. You are often given a template answer that lacks any real information.
Due to this, you are unlikely to receive any assistance. If something does go wrong, it does appear that you are on your own.
Pros and Cons
Here is a breakdown of the pros and cons of Prolific Surveys:
Pros
- Legitimate operation
- Easy to use
- Good for earning extra money
- Good payment process
Cons:
- Workload can vary
- Poor customer service
- Vague operating structure
Prolific Surveys – The Final Verdict
So, what is the final verdict on this site?
Well, Prolific Surveys can be a good way to make money for some. As long as you fall into the right demographic and check regularly for survey updates, you can earn a few dollars here and there.
This isn’t the most reliable form of income, though. It won’t suffice as a full-time or even part-time job as you will not be able to make enough money. Also, there are certain times of the year where you may not get any work at all.
You should also be aware that the website is currently flooded with participant requests at the moment. Due to this, you may not be able to even get your foot in the door.
However, if you don’t mind making money only occasionally and actually enjoy participating in research surveys, then this could be the job for you.
