> 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/guides/courses/from-usertesting-to-dscout/research-frameworks-in-dscout-vs.-usertesting.md).

# Research frameworks in Dscout vs. UserTesting

Now that you’re acclimated to the way we talk about research at Dscout, let’s use some of the terms you just learned to take a look at the research framework you’ll find in Dscout.

## Dscout’s research framework

In UserTesting, research studies are created largely in isolation. You can use folders to organize your work, but there is no inherent structure to the platform to tie related research together. But in Dscout, there is. In your Dscout account, you’ll find the following hierarchy:

* **Workspaces (optional):** Often used to separate work by teams or departments. You may be part of one workspace or many, depending on your needs.
* **Projects:** A container meant to hold everything needed for a single research initiative, including any necessary studies or screeners. Projects are the top level of organization you’ll encounter most often in Dscout, and they can each have their own unique list of collaborators.
* **Missions:** Within projects, you’ll create your missions. These are your research studies (usability tests, media surveys, etc.), and housing them within projects lets you keep related studies together.
* **Screeners:** Also within your projects, you’ll create your screeners. These are how you’ll find participants for your studies, and keeping them stored by project allows you to access the same participants for multiple studies. You can add participants from one screener to any mission within that same project.

You’ll become more familiar with this framework once you start poking around in Dscout, but here’s a quick summary of how you might see this structure in practice for an organization with both a Marketing team and Product team using Dscout:

![](https://help.dscout.com/hc/article_attachments/44056117538708)

When you first create your Dscout account, you’ll likely have been assigned a **workspace** by an administrator. That’s where you’ll land when you log in. From there, you’ll create a **project** in which you can then build your **missions/studies** and **screeners**.

{% hint style="info" %}
Research is collaborative! If you have a colleague who’s already started a Dscout project, they can invite you to join their project if you’re working on the same research initiative. There, you can build new research or collaborate on what they’ve already started.
{% endhint %}

Now that you know what structure to expect moving over to Dscout, we can zoom in on some more specifics, starting with how we handle recruitment.


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