Welcome Back

Hello, everyone. It's me.

I wanna talk to you about two things that can get you kicked out of a study and blacklisted from future ones really fast.

Neither one of them is worth it.

One of them could be an innocent mistake. The other one is an even bigger mistake.

Two Things to Avoid

The first one is using AI to answer questions.

And the second one is switching tabs during an online study.

Which could be something that you innocently do.

Why You Should Never Use AI

Let me start with AI.

I know it's tempting because you're sitting there and you get a question and you think, “Let me just consult ChatGPT real quick.”

Just don't.

Researchers are trained to spot AI-generated responses anyway. They're already looking for certain kinds of language.

Surveys and screeners are extremely sensitive to anything that sounds artificial, and they're going to pick up on it quickly.

A Better Alternative

So avoid AI at all costs.

There's no reason to use it.

If you need to prepare your answers ahead of time, type them up, print them out, and then type them into the chat box or software that you're using.

Just avoid AI.

Besides, they're paying you for your opinion.

They hired you for the gig because they liked you.

They want to hear what you have to say.

They think what you're saying is valuable.

So give them their money's worth.

What Happens if You Get Caught

If you get caught using AI — and you probably will — you won't just be removed from the study.

You'll be flagged.

Your name will basically be mud.

Platforms share data.

Your account could be suspended or permanently banned.

And then that's it.

So don't do it.

Why Tab Switching Can Also Hurt You

Tab switching is also something that you want to avoid.

If you do it once in a study, they're probably not going to notice.

But if you do it as a habit, they are going to notice.

They're going to flag you, and they may decide not to pay you for that study.

Final Reminder

So just a heads up — these are things that you need to be aware of.

Absolutely under any circumstances whatsoever: no AI.

And that's it for this lesson.

I had to say it.

I just want to help you avoid getting kicked out.

And now that it's said, I will see you in the next lesson.