Self-Paced Activities: A Guide for Researchers

Updated 01 June 2026 18:26

Melissa

Explore how to make the most of Discuss for your Auto-Moderated Research needs. This guide assists Project Owners, Editors, and Collaborators in setting up and managing self-paced activities.

Manage your Asynchronous Research effortlessly within your project portal, where you can create, launch, and collect responses in one convenient platform.

Why Use Self-paced Activity for Auto-Moderated Research?

Gather rich, auto-moderated customer-driven feedback. Self-paced activities enable you to unite quant & qual for more flexible, detailed insights. Give respondents tasks to complete, or prompt them with open-ended or close-ended questions to answer on their own time. Simply share your Self Captures link into any email, social media post, customer feedback survey, and more!

Design research projects with any methodology for prototype and package feedback, usability testing, message and brand research, competitor assessment, and more!

Some use cases may include:

Video Open-End Surveys
Open-Ended Questions in a Survey
Video Diaries
Pre-work
Post-work

What Features Are Included?

Unmoderated Surveys	Easy-to-use survey builder lets you launch unmoderated projects in a few simple steps and start collecting unmoderated feedback by asking open or close-ended questions or designing tasks for respondents to complete on their own.
Global Reach	Get an automatic English transcription of your respondent's responses for video and text submissions
Task Duplication & Translation	Duplicate existing activities and translate content into other languages for new markets.
Insights	Gain understanding and find answers with augmented insights for every response with transcripts, sentiment analysis, tagging, and more.
Integrated Survey Link	Easily distribute your survey link with respondents with an email tool, post in a community, or embed in any online survey tool.
AI Moderation (Interview Agent)	The Interview Agent interacts with respondents, asks follow-up probing questions, and adapts based on their answers to gather richer insights.
Analysis	Analyze auto-moderated insights with the Insight Agent (Genie).

Creating a Self-Paced Activity

You can start by navigating to your project's self-paced activities tab, located below the Respondent tab. Then click on the 'New Activity' button.
You will now be directed to a page that allows you to enter the details and parameters of your Self-Captures activity.
- Naming the activity helps to distinguish the activities in your project. The name won't be visible to respondents. Every activity must have a different name. The default name is 'My new activity 1' and so forth.
- A Welcome message can also be customized for your respondents.
Click on Add new tasks on the bottom left, type in the task or question, and then choose your response type. We support closed-ended and open-ended question types.

Once your tasks are set up, click Save & Next to move forward to the Activity Settings page. You can preview the activity before publishing to ensure it meets your requirements.

NOTE: There is a maximum limit of 40 tasks per self-capture activity.

To add bold, italicize, underline, or lists to your tasks, highlight the section that needs emphasis, and choose the formatting for the text in the bar above.

Duplicating a Task

Researchers can now duplicate an existing task directly in the Activity Builder. This makes it easier to reuse task structure, questions, and other task content without rebuilding the task manually.

To duplicate a task:

In the Activity Builder, find the task you want to reuse
Click the Copy icon next to that task
A new duplicated task will be created with the same content and settings as the original

Notes:

The Copy button appears next to the Delete icon for each task
If the duplicated task is part of an AI-led interview, the new task stays in the same AI-led container
If the duplicated task is a different task type, the copied version is created as a separate, standalone task

AI-Powered Research Setup via Project Agent

In addition to manual activity setup, Project Agent includes AI-Powered Research Setup for creating self-paced, AI-led research activities. This guided, chat-based experience supports moving from an initial research idea or brief to a complete activity by defining the research goal, audience context, and study structure, then generating interview questions automatically.

The setup runs directly inside the Self-Paced Activity Builder, where generated questions and instructions appear in real time and can be reviewed and edited before launch.

AI-Powered Research Setup requires the Project Agent to be included in the organization. To confirm availability or learn more about enabling this feature, contact your Customer Success Manager.

To learn when to use this feature and how to create an activity step by step, see our Project Agent: AI-Powered Research Setup guide.

Duplicate Activities Within Your Project

You can duplicate a Self-Captures activity to quickly create a copy of an existing setup. The duplicate includes all tasks, screeners, criteria, and settings, but does not include respondents or their responses.

After duplication, the activity is fully editable, so you can adjust it for new markets or studies without rebuilding from scratch. This helps save time, reduce errors, and maintain consistency across activities.

If you create a study for one market, such as English, and need the same study in another language, you can duplicate the activity and then use Task Translation to translate the tasks into the needed language. This makes it simple to run the same questions across different markets.

Duplicate Activities Across Projects

Researchers can now duplicate self-paced activities across projects within their organization. This makes it easier to reuse tasks, settings, and participant criteria for multi-market studies.

When creating a new activity, researchers can import an existing one from another project they have access to. The copied activity includes all original setup details except screeners, which cannot be duplicated at this time. Once imported, the activity is fully editable before launch, helping teams save time, reduce setup effort, and maintain consistency across related projects.

Task Translation

Task Translation automatically converts activity content into the selected respondent language. With one click, you can translate tasks, screeners, and invites using AI.

If the respondent's language changes, a new translation option will appear. Any edits made to the source text can also be re-translated when needed. Researchers can review and refine the translations before launch to ensure accuracy.

Here is the list of supported languages: Supported Languages for Automatic Transcription & Translation

Asking Open-Ended Questions

When adding new tasks, select between:

Video tasks: can be set anywhere from 30 seconds up to 30 minutes.
Photo tasks: automatically capped at 5 images per task.
Text tasks: automatically capped at 2,000 characters.
Document tasks: will be converted to images for review upon submission.

Asking Close-Ended Questions

When creating an activity, add quant-style questions by selecting:

Checkboxes (Multi-Select): The multi-select option allows respondents to choose more than one answer from a list of predefined options. This is ideal for questions where multiple answers may apply.

Multiple Choice (Single-Select). The single-select option allows respondents to select only one answer from a list of predefined options. This type of question is best suited for scenarios where a single response is required.

1. 1. Choose Multiple Choice (Single-Select) in the Response Type dropdown menu
  2. Enter your question in the text field and add up to 20 unique answer options.

Rating Scale (Likert): The rating scale, also known as a Likert scale, allows respondents to rate statements on a defined scale, such as 1 to 5. This question type is useful for measuring opinions or attitudes.

1. 1. Select Rating Scale under the Response Type dropdown menu
  2. Enter your question in the text field
  3. Define the scale, such as 1-3 or 1-5.
  4. Optional: Customize the labels for each scale point, such as "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree."

Ranking Scale (Rank Order): The ranking scale question type allows respondents to rank a set of options in order of preference. This format is useful for prioritization or preference evaluations.

1. 1. Select Ranking Scale under the Response Type dropdown menu
  2. Enter the options to be ranked in the provided text fields.
  3. Type a minimum of 3 options to be ranked
  4. Add additional options (a maximum of 15 options) by clicking the "Add Choice" button.

Close-ended Questions/tasks include data visualization for analysis after collecting responses. Learn more about Data Visualization here.

Interview Agent

The Interview Agent is an AI moderator that can interact directly with respondents inside your self-paced activities. It asks probing follow-up questions based on the respondent’s answers, creating a more conversational experience and gathering deeper insights without live moderation.

To learn how to set up and use the Interview Agent in your activities, see our Using Interview Agent guide.

If you would like to see what the respondent experience looks like when conversing with the Interview Agent, view the following article: AI-led Interview Tasks

Supported File Types for Self-Paced Activities

.jpg
.jpeg
.png

.pdf (Portable Document Format, Adobe Acrobat)
.doc, .docx (Microsoft Word Document)
.ppt, .pptx, .pps, .ppsx (Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation)

.mp4, .m4v (MPEG-4)
.mov (Quicktime)
.wmv (Windows Media Video)

Please note that larger files take more time to upload and if your connection is not stable the action may be terminated/broken. The maximum File size for video is 10 GB If respondents are having trouble when uploading a file or are unsure whether the file to upload is supported please don’t hesitate to have them contact us by submitting a request from our Help Center.

Adding Stimulus to Self-Paced Activity Tasks

Adding stimulus to a task allows researchers to add richer context to the questions and allows for a more robust response. Some use cases include:

Prompts
Guides
Directional

The following file types are supported:

.jpeg .png
.gif .mp4
.pdf .pptx
.docx

Instructions

You can start by navigating to your project's Self Captures tab. Identify the activity you want to edit and click 'Edit Activity' on the activity card menu
If you are starting a new activity, click on Create a new activity.
Click the 'Options' button below the text box of the task, and click on '+ Add Stimulus'.
You will be prompted to a page to upload your stim
You can click 'Save & Next' to save the stimulus task.

Respondent Experience

Any tasks that include a stimulus will feature a prompt instructing the respondent to 'View Before Responding.' This enables the respondent to open the media file before recording or submitting their response. The respondent will not be able to see the stimulus while responding.

Adding a Custom Exit Message to Your Activity

Researchers can now add a custom Exit Message to an activity. This message is shown at the end of the respondent experience after all tasks are completed.

To add an Exit Message:

Open the Activity Builder.
Scroll to the bottom of the page.
Enter your message in the Exit Message field.

Notes:

The field includes a default message: “Thank you for participating in this research activity!”
Exit Messages support up to 800 characters
The Exit Message is not shown if the activity ends with a redirect
In Interview Agent activities, this message appears on the final exit page seen by the respondent

Best Practices for Self-Paced Activities

Follow these best practices to ensure successful data collection:

Keep Instructions Detailed but Concise: Respondents often skim through instructions, so it's essential to be as specific as possible without overwhelming them. Provide clear, straightforward directions that explain exactly what they need to do while avoiding long paragraphs. Use bolding for important information.
List Follow-Up Questions in Advance: Since self-paced activities are asynchronous, respondents don't have the option of real-time probing like in live sessions. Ensure to include all potential follow-up questions in the task so respondents can provide detailed responses the first time. This makes sure you gather complete data without needing further clarification later.
Use Bulleted or Numbered Lists: Instructions are easier to read and follow when organized as bullet points or numbered steps. This visual format helps respondents focus on each task without missing important steps, leading to more accurate responses.
Incorporate Stimuli for Context: Whenever possible, include images, videos, or other stimuli that provide respondents with context for their tasks. This could be product images, concept visuals, or even short videos that illustrate the goal of the activity. Providing stimuli helps clarify expectations and makes it easier for respondents to understand what’s being asked of them.

Deleting a task

You can start by navigating to your project's self-paced activities tab. Identify the activity you want to edit and click 'Edit Activity' on the activity card menu
Click the 'Options' button below the text box of the task, and click on 'Delete task'.
If you delete a task after submissions have been received, the collected content will still be available to view on the 'Insights' page to refer back to.

Renaming an activity

Navigate to your self-paced activities tab. Click on "Edit Activity" by clicking on the 3 dots located on the top right of your activity card.
You can go ahead and input the new name for the activity

Label Activities

Navigate to your Self Captures tab. Click on "Edit Activity."
Proceed to "Activity Settings." In the Activity Label section, select the desired Activity Label option you'd like to use.
After choosing a Pre or Post label, ensure all other settings are set up as you wish, and click on Save.

Once set up, invites or reminders sent from the respondent hub will indicate the type of assignment, be it pre-work or post-work, thanks to the label.
To learn how to start a self-paced activity using labels, click here

Setting a Language

Navigate to your Self-Paced Activities tab. Click on "Edit Activity."
Proceed to "Activity Settings." Choose the language the respondents will respond in from the drop-down menu to help translate their responses. If no language is set, the language response will default to English (United States).

Setting a language will allow the platform to automatically translate to English any video & text submissions of your respondents. View our supported language here.
The Welcome Messages & Instructions should still be set up in the respondent native language and won't be translated.

Consent Forms

If your project has consent forms enabled on it, you will be able to assign any uploaded consent forms from the project to an activity. Each activity in the project can have up to one consent form assigned to it.

From the "activity settings" modal
Scroll down to the Consent Form section

If you have multiple consent forms, and you need a respondent to add to an activity, it is best to upload all of those into one document to have the respondent sign all at once.

Activity Layout

Choosing the activity layout helps you decide how respondents will complete tasks in your activity.

All tasks - allows respondents to see all tasks and select which one they will complete first
Single tasks - respondent must complete the 1st task before moving to the next one

In an "all tasks" layout, respondents have the flexibility to revise their previous answers before submitting the activities.

Collect Live Interview Interest

Get more out of your qual research. Collect more feedback faster with a mixed method qual approach with both moderated and unmoderated feedback.

Homework Activities: Get the most out of respondents with feedback before and after your live conversations.
Casting: Get the best value from your research and talk to the best and most articulate respondents
Theme Exploration: Dig deeper and uncover key themes from self-captured feedback to live conversations

Choosing to collect live interview interest allows you to ask respondents if they would be willing to participate in a future Live Interview. Interested respondents will be sent through the tech check process and can be scheduled for a follow-up interview from their activity/survey response page.

Instructions

Navigate to your Self-Paced Activities tab. Click on "Edit Activity."
Select "Collect Interest"
Optionally, you can also enable "Collect candidate availability" from your project settings. This will allow your respondents to select their preferred time slots from your scheduled interviews.

Randomized Task Order

Researchers can randomize the order of tasks in an Interview Agent activity using Activity Settings. This helps reduce order bias and gives teams more control over how respondents experience a study.

There are two separate randomization settings:

Task Order randomizes the order of standard tasks in the activity
AI-Led Task Order randomizes the order of tasks inside AI-led conversation blocks only

Notes:

These settings are configured in Activity Settings
AI-led activities can include both AI-led and non-AI task types, so these controls help manage each flow separately

Activity End

To access the activity settings, start by navigating to your project and then to the self-captures tab. Choose the activity you wish to modify and click on "Edit Activity,"
Next, proceed to "Activity settings" and scroll down until you reach "Activity End Settings."

You'll find three options:

End Date: Set a specific date to automatically close your activity. This option ensures that the activity concludes on a predefined date, preventing further access by respondents after the specified time.
Number of Respondents: Specify a sample size to automatically close your activity after receiving responses from enough unique respondents. With this feature, you can determine the number of participants needed to complete the activity, after which it will automatically close.
Redirects: Direct respondents to a new URL upon completing the activity. Use this option to guide respondents to a designated webpage or resource once they finish the activity.

Preview Activity and Respondent Experience

Once you complete the list of tasks for your activity, you can easily preview your auto-moderated research by following the steps outlined below. To view the full Respondent Experience, click here.

Once your Self-paced activities are set, you can easily preview the respondent experience by heading to the self-paced activities tab.
On the top right of the activity card, clicking on the 3 dots will open a menu with the Preview option. Click on Preview Activity.

From this preview modal, you can select if you want to view your activity from a Mobile or a Desktop view.

Self-Service Panel Recruitment via Project Agent

In addition to Full Service Recruitment and Bring Your Own Participants, you can now choose Recruit via Panel (Project Agent) for self-paced asynchronous studies. This feature lets you access a qualified participant panel, build a screener, and manage responses directly within the platform. It’s fast, flexible, and works entirely through Discuss.

To learn when to use this feature and how to set up your screener step-by-step, see our Project Agent: Panel Recruitment guide.