> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.dscout.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.dscout.com/diary-studies/what-are-diary-studies-in-dscout/set-up-a-diary-study.md). # Set up a diary study {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** For creating, duplicating, or starting a diary study from a template, see [Create a diary study](/diary-studies/create-a-diary-study.md). {% endhint %} First, be sure that you've [created your project](/getting-started/workspaces-and-projects/create-a-project-study-or-screener.md) and added your teammates as project members. ## Define your study specs and details You'll define your study specs on the **Details** tab of the **Setup** page. * **Hero image:** Select one to show off the topic of your research. * **Scout profile:** Choose whether participants will be required to fill out their profile (age, gender, home city/country, pronouns, and profile picture) before participating in your study. * **Days per scout:** Estimate how many days your study will take participants to complete. Base this on your study design. * **Internal name:** If it's helpful for your business purposes, give this study an internal name. This field is hidden from participants. * **Language:** Specify the language the study will be in for participants. For more information, see [International research with Dscout](/getting-started/research-basics/can-i-do-international-research-with-dscout.md). * **Company branding:** Toggle this on to brand your study. Otherwise, your research is blinded to participants. * Don't forget to fill out the **incentive** field as well. #### Overview Write an overview that explains what participants should expect from your study. Be sure to include: * A brief overview of the overall topic of the study * The number of activities in the study * The deadline for each activity, if you're running a manual study * The overall study deadline * Any other information participants will need to complete the study #### Activity availability Decide whether your activities open to participants automatically or manually. For more information, see [Manual vs. automatic diary studies](/diary-studies/what-are-diary-studies-in-dscout/understanding-manual-and-automatic-diary-studies.md). ## Write your question script This is where you'll write the questions participants answer. A few things to keep in mind: * **A study can have up to 10 activities.** Some accounts are configured to allow more—if you've hit the limit and need additional activities, contact your account manager. * **An activity can include up to 5 photo questions and 3 video or screen recording questions.** Video and screen recording share that limit of three. Both are counted along any one path through your skip logic, so what matters is the most any single participant could be asked. * **Above 15 questions in an activity, Dscout warns you at launch** and suggests splitting the work across multiple activities. You can dismiss the warning and launch anyway, but it's usually a sign the activity is doing too much. * Review the [kinds of questions](/diary-studies/what-are-diary-studies-in-dscout/question-types-in-diary-studies.md) you can ask. * Use [skip logic](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-diary-studies.md) to send participants to different questions within an activity based on their answer to a closed-ended question. * You can assign one question in each activity to serve as the entry **headline**. The response to your headline question is surfaced on entry cards and on the entry view, which makes entries much easier to scan during analysis. * For more on how activities and entries fit together, see [Activities and entries in a diary study](/diary-studies/what-are-diary-studies-in-dscout/activities-and-entries-in-a-diary-study.md). For a worked example, see [Example of an effective diary study](/diary-studies/what-are-diary-studies-in-dscout/example-of-an-effective-diary-study.md). #### Write each activity's specs For each activity, you'll write **instructions** and set a few parameters. * **Entries:** how many entries participants are required to submit to this activity. * **Days:** how many days you expect participants to spend working on this activity. * **Due date:** when this activity needs to be completed by. For more information, see [Activity due dates and reminders](/diary-studies/create-a-diary-study/activity-due-dates-and-reminders.md). * **Questions** is filled in automatically. ## Test your study Once you've finished building, take your study for a test drive before you launch. For more information, see [Test a diary study](/diary-studies/create-a-diary-study/test-a-diary-study.md). Next, it's time to invite participants and launch: * To import participants from a screener, see [Add participants from a screener to a study](/recruit-participants/what-are-dscout-screeners/add-participants-from-a-screener-to-a-study.md). * If you're bringing your own participants, see the [Bring your own (BYO) participants FAQ](/recruit-participants/bring-your-own-byo-participants-faq.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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