The dscout “sandbox” is the best place for you to begin exploring the research you can do within the dscout platform.
If this is your first time working with dscout, your dscout point of contact can help with getting you set up with a sandbox project. (Interested in getting started with dscout? Reach out to sales@dscout.com for more information!) Your sandbox is the best place to become familiar with platform capabilities, learn what research is possible through dscout, and invite collaborators as either researchers or test participants to share what you’re working on.
What can I do in the sandbox?
To begin building research after creating your account (or logging in), click "My Sandbox Project," which takes you inside the test environment. From here, you’ll be able to create as many test projects in the Express, Diary, and Live tools as you like. Not sure what mission type is right for you? Check out our overview of each mission type here!
Note: while you can build a screener using our Recruit tool in a sandbox project, you will not be able to launch to dscout's scout panel or test out the participant experience.
In each tool, you can build and customize your project, just like you would with an actual mission.
In Express, this means creating a one-sitting media survey or unmoderated usability test. Express questions allow you to utilize prompt types such as card sorting, tasks, and talk-out-loud questions.
In Diary, this means creating your own questions and activities. Question types allow you to ask for responses with photos, videos, text and more, and activities allow you to ask participants different sets of questions.
In Live, you can set up and test a 1:1 video call with a colleague. This is a great opportunity to experiment with our scheduling and stimuli features. More details on what you can do with dscout Live are here.
After creating a mission, you can test of the full participant experience by clicking the "Test" option—check out the articles below for more on test mode in each mission type:
Can I invite others to build with me?
Of course! Not only can you invite people to participate in your project as a “scout,” (check out the "test mode" guidance in the section above!), but you also can invite them to help you build your research. To do so, tap the "Add collaborators" button on your project home page, then enter the email address or addresses of the colleagues you'd like to invite. (Learn more about adding collaborators here.)
Next Steps
Interested in getting set up with a dscout subscription? Reach out to sales@dscout.com or your Account Manager regarding next steps.
The sandbox is designed to be easy to use and test, but if any questions arise, we’re happy to help. Feel free to search our Help Center for an answer, or email support@dscout.com and we’ll assist however we can.