Platform task type
Discussions and guided conversations
From open conversation to structured dialogue, get to what your audience really thinks.
(threaded discussion view on platform)
Overview
Discussion tasks give participants the space to share their views in depth and in their own words, responding in text, video, audio, or image. Three formats give you control over how much guidance participants receive and whether their responses are visible to each other.
Open discussion
Engage participants in open, freeform conversation and give them the option to enrich their responses with images, voice notes, screen recordings, and videos. Social media-inspired features including shares, likes, and mentions encourage genuine dialogue between participants and with moderators. The result is a vibrant conversation thread ready for thematic analysis and AI summaries.
Guided conversations
Create a series of questions for participants to work through step by step. Participants can respond in any format, and you can probe for more detail directly or brief incAI to moderate on your behalf. Guided conversations work well when you need structured, comparable responses across a large or distributed sample.
Private discussion
When exploring a sensitive topic or when you do not want participants influenced by each other's responses, a private discussion ensures that each participant sees only their own posts and any follow-up questions from the moderator. The moderator sees all responses in a single, easy-to-moderate stream. Participants can respond in any format including video, audio, and screen share.
Features
Everything in the discussions tool
All features are included at no additional cost. No limits on participants, threads, or exchanges.
Minimum word count
Set a minimum response length to ensure depth of engagement.
Stimulus attachment
Attach any form of media as stimulus.
Any response format
Text, video, photos, screen recordings, or audio clips.
Public, private, or unbiased
Control visibility of responses between participants.
Any device
Participants post from mobile, tablet, or laptop.
Auto-transcription
All audio and video content is automatically transcribed.
Auto-translation
Non-English content is automatically translated.
AI moderation
Moderate directly or brief incAI to respond on your behalf.
AI thematic summaries
Automatically generated with supporting participant quotes.
Use cases
Ideal for
Discussions work whenever the conversation between participants is as valuable as their individual responses, or when structured dialogue is more appropriate than a formal questionnaire.
Pre-tasks and homework
Ask participants to share initial reactions or join a discussion on a topic before a live focus group. This ensures they arrive prepared and gives you an unbiased baseline of views before group dynamics come into play.
Brand and product perception research
A guided conversation is well suited to exploring how participants feel about a brand, product, or category in depth and in their own words, before they have been exposed to any stimulus or framing from the research team.
Community engagement and co-creation
For longer-term or always-on communities, open discussions allow participants to respond to each other, start their own threads, and feel genuinely involved. This builds engagement and surfaces ideas that a more structured approach would miss.
Message and communications testing
Share a piece of copy, a campaign concept, or a product claim and ask participants to respond in a guided conversation. The step-by-step format ensures you get a response to every question while still capturing open-ended depth.
Detailed stimulus review
When you need participants to carefully review and respond to a series of stimulus or questions, guided conversations ensure every item is considered rather than participants focusing on one element at the expense of others.
Sensitive topic research
Private discussions are well suited to research involving health, finances, relationships, or any topic where social desirability or peer influence could compromise honesty. Each participant shares freely, knowing their response is seen only by the moderation team.
Ready to see incling in action?
Book a demo and see how discussions, and the full platform, can work for your next project.