Key Differences: LIVE vs. ASYNC Studies

MobLab Research offers two types of studies to accommodate different research methodologies. Understanding the difference is key to setting up your study correctly.

ASYNC (Asynchronous) Studies

  • Best for: Surveys, tasks, and experiments that participants can complete on their own schedule.
  • Participant Experience: Participants can start the study at any time after receiving an invitation, up until the study's expiration date.
  • Key Feature: You can pause and resume an ASYNC study to temporarily halt recruitment.

LIVE (Synchronous) Studies

  • Best for: Real time interactive games, group experiments, or studies that require all participants to be present at the exact same time.
  • Participant Experience: Participants will be invited as the study is launched and then they will be notified to join the study 10 minutes before the start of the experiment.
  • Key Feature: LIVE studies cannot be paused. They have an ACTIVE period before the official start time where participants can reserve their spot.

💡 Pro Tip

Choose ASYNC for surveys and individual tasks, LIVE for group experiments and real-time interactions.