User roles in interview sessions

Interview studies let you conduct moderated one-on-one sessions with participants. At a minimum, each session involves one moderator and one participant, but other users may join in various roles with different levels of functionality.

In an interview session, there are four possible roles a user may have:

• Moderator: The researcher or contributor conducting the interview. (Up to two per session on Dscout Plus plans or higher.)
• Participant: The person being interviewed. (Also referred to as a Scout when recruited from Dscout’s Scout Panel.)
• Observer (optional): A collaborator in your organization’s Dscout account (other than the moderator) who sits in on the session. Observers must have a Dscout account.
• Guest (optional): An additional stakeholder external to your Dscout account who sits in on the session. Guests do not require a Dscout account.

Each role has slightly different access to the features offered during an interview session. Use the table below to understand what each user can and can’t do:

Functionality	Moderator	Participant	Observer	Guest
Visible to participant	✅	N/a	❌	❌
Member of your Dscout account	✅	❌	✅	❌
Collaborator in Dscout project containing the study	✅	❌	✅	❌
Can view project folder and details (including other screeners and missions)	✅	❌	✅	❌
Can chat with participants during session (Desktop sessions only)	✅	N/a	❌	❌
Can chat with observers during session	✅	❌	N/a	❌
Access and add session notes	✅	❌	✅	❌
Can add session markers	✅	❌	✅	❌
Can view list of moderators, observers, and guests	✅	❌	✅	✅
Session emails received	Scheduling notice Rescheduling notice Cancellation notice	Scheduling notice One-hour reminder Rescheduling notice Cancellation notice	❌ (invited via share link)	❌ (invited via share link)

For more information on inviting observers and guests or on accessing an interview session in either of these roles, see Invite observers and guests to an interview session.