Step 1 — Create the study
From the dashboard, click New study. You will see a form with the fields below. Only Study name is required; everything else can be filled in now or edited later from the study Settings tab.
| Field | Required | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Study name | yes | The name of your study. Participants see this name in the app and on the public studies page. |
| Description | optional | A brief overview of the study shown to participants in the app and on the public studies page. |
| Consent form | optional | Displayed when participants tap 'Join the study'. For human-subjects research this should cover the study's purpose, procedures, risks, data handling, and how to withdraw. |
| Message after joining | optional | Shown immediately after successful enrolment. Use it to confirm sign-up and set expectations — for example, when the first notification will arrive. |
| Completion message | optional | Displayed when Samply detects that a participant has submitted a survey response. Relevant when you redirect participants to a Samply completion URL. |
Click Create study. Samply creates the study and takes you to the study workspace.
Step 2 — Know your workspace
The study workspace has eight tabs, accessible from the navigation at the top of the study page.
- Overview
- The study dashboard: participant count, notification stats, 7-day compliance, and recent activity. This is also where you activate the study.
- Participants
- Everyone enrolled — their anonymous Samply ID, enrolment date, assigned group (if any), timezone, and response history.
- Schedule
- All notification schedules attached to this study. Add, view, and delete schedules here. Each schedule expands into a per-participant queue of sends.
- Data
- Response records submitted through your survey links, with timestamps and participant IDs.
- Invitations
- Your join links and QR code. Copy the web link for email or a landing page, or use the deep link to embed in other materials.
- Settings
- Study name, description, consent form, enrollment options, and advanced configuration.
- Approval
- Request public listing for your study. Required before the study appears on the public studies page.
- Stream API
- Configure webhooks to receive participant events in real time. See the Stream API guide for details.
Step 3 — Activate the study
A new study starts with a Draft status. While in Draft, the join link landing page will refuse new enrolments — participants see a "study not available" message.
To open enrolment: go to the study Overview tab and click Activate study. The status changes to Live. You can pause enrolment at any time by clicking the same button again — the study returns to Draft without losing any data.
Step 4 — Add your first schedule
An empty study sends nothing. Schedules are what turn it into a running study. Head to the Schedule tab and click Add schedule.
Before you build your first schedule, read The four schedule types — choosing the right type for your research design matters more than any other single decision in Samply. Once you know which type you need, Creating a schedule walks you through the form field by field.
Step 5 — Invite participants
Go to Invitations and copy the link or QR code that fits your recruitment channel. Participants tap the link on a device with the Samply Research app installed and are enrolled immediately.
Full details — including how codes and groups interact with the join flow — are in Inviting participants.
Advanced settings
The study Settings tab also contains optional features you can ignore for a basic study: asking participants for a custom code or group at enrolment, event-contingent designs, geofence triggers, notification action buttons, and webhooks. Each is off by default and documented separately in the Power features and Advanced features sections.
First-study checklist
- Study created with a name.
- Consent form filled in.
- At least one schedule added.
- Study activated (status changed from Draft to Live).
- Join link shared with at least one participant.
- First notification received and survey response confirmed.