Fitting Consent Kit into your research workflow

Consent Kit is flexible enough to support different research workflows, but we’ve found one approach works particularly well for most teams. Let’s explore both our recommended workflow and an alternative approach.

The Golden Path: Consent-first workflow

This is the workflow we recommend and have optimised Consent Kit for. It puts informed consent at the heart of your research process.

The workflow steps

1. Add participants to your study
2. Send consent forms (with full study information for informed consent). You can also send NDAs at this point too
3. Schedule sessions (automated after consent)
4. Track incentives
5. Done

Why we advocate this approach

Informed consent done right Your consent form becomes the single source of truth about the research. Participants learn everything about the study - what you’re researching, how long it takes, how their data will be used - all in one place. Only after understanding and consenting do they move to scheduling.

Efficiency benefits

• No-shows drop significantly (participants who consent are committed)
• Scheduling links only go to consented participants
• Audit trail is clean and complete from the start
• GDPR compliance is built into the flow

Better participant experience

• One clear journey from invitation to participation
• No confusion about what they’re signing up for
• Consent before commitment (they can opt out before booking time)

Setting it up

1. Create your consent form with complete study information
2. In Form Settings > Workflow, set up either:
   • Direct redirect to your scheduling tool (Calendly, etc.)
   • Confirmation page with a booking button
3. Send forms to participants
4. They complete forms → automatically see scheduling → book their slot

Alternative: Schedule-first workflow

Some teams prefer to schedule first, particularly when recruiting through external platforms or when calendar availability is the main bottleneck.

The workflow steps

1. Participants schedule through your booking tool
2. Redirect to consent form after booking
3. Collect consent and add to study
4. Track incentives
5. Done

When this might work better

• Recruiting from external panels where scheduling happens first
• Very short notice studies where availability is critical
• Unmoderated studies where scheduling isn’t needed
• When using recruitment platforms that handle scheduling

Setting it up

This requires a bit more configuration:

1. In your scheduling tool (like Calendly):
   • Set up a redirect after booking
   • Point it to your Consent Kit form URL
2. In Consent Kit:
   • Create your consent form
   • Get the shareable link from the form
   • Participants who complete it are automatically added to your study
3. Important consideration:
   • Participants appear in Consent Kit only after consent
   • You’ll need to track scheduled-but-not-consented participants separately
   • Consider adding calendar questions to your consent form to capture their booking

Which workflow should you choose?

Choose consent-first if:

• You’re building long-term participant relationships
• Compliance and ethics are paramount
• You want to reduce no-shows
• You’re recruiting from your own panel or user base

Choose schedule-first if:

• You’re using external recruitment platforms
• Calendar availability is your biggest constraint
• You’re running unmoderated studies
• Your recruitment tool requires this flow

Remember, Consent Kit supports both approaches. Choose the one that best fits your research practice and participant needs.

Related links

• What is informed consent?
• Informed consent best practice