Analysts and Moderators may wish to remove incomplete or low-quality responses in a study to ensure such data doesn’t skew the final reports. Recollective already allows you to delete individual Activity responses but our latest release includes a new Delete Contributions feature which permits you to remove all Activity and Discussion responses from one or more inactive participants at once.

A new option called Inactive has been added to the Participant Directory. When you select this option, the directory will list Panelists that were previously part of the study but have been removed or deactivated.

With just a few clicks, you can delete either the contributions of a single panelist or multiple panelists' contributions simultaneously.

Once “Delete Contributions” is selected, a confirmation modal will appear. You will have the option to remove the user from the “Inactive” list at the same time.

Once contributions are deleted, they will no longer appear in summaries or be included in any transcripts or data exports. Charts and word cloud will be redrawn automatically as necessary.

Recollective Single Sign-On (SSO) is an API that enables automatic authentication of new and returning users at your Recollective site. With SSO, accounts are created or updated automatically, and new sessions are initiated without the need for users to register or log in. While SSO is primarily intended for Panelist accounts, it can also be used to authenticate Administrators.

This updated approach to SSO improves both usability and security. It features an improved cryptographic signature that will expire within a specific timeframe.

The new SSO v2 offers an enhanced experience with:

To learn more about SSO, please contact our help desk or your account representative.

Since June 2022, segments created in a study, either through programming or Bulk Import, are automatically only visible in that study. You can update the visibility of a segment in the Site Administration area to make it appear in other studies.

We’ve simplified these controls offering you the option to make a segment visible in:

☝️ We are on a mission to improve segment management. This is the first of several planned improvements in this area. Keep an eye out for more great segment management features in 2023.

Recollective already allows you to copy an entire Study to keep as a backup or to use as a template for your next Study. Now, when you select a new time zone in the Study Copy modal, all copied activities and discussions in the newly created study will make use of that new time zone.

Custom blank labels for Fill the Blanks Tasks are now included in the HTML output of the Activities Transcript. This is useful when exporting an Instructions Only Activities Transcript for translation into another language as it maintains the custom label that will be visible to participants.

Recollective’s new Video Playlists feature now includes an export option to generate beautiful highlight reel videos with smooth cross-fade transitions and dynamic text overlays.

It is unique in how it can overlay text captions that provide important context for each clip with minimal effort. These text overlays are customizable and generated via dynamic values drawn directly from the individual video clips.

During the export process, text is rendered automatically into each video clip by dynamically pulling in the required information about the participant, the source activity or the clip itself.

Two white lines of text will appear over a dark translucent rectangle to ensure they can be clearly read over bright video clips. You can even control how long the text appears on each clip (e.g. 5 seconds).

Many variables are made available for the text overlay template such as the participant’s First Name, Last Name Initial, Username and Panelist ID. Even custom Profile Fields can also be included by specifying the field name in a dynamic tag {p:fieldname}. Other variables are made available to highlight the source activity of the video clip, the original date of the response or simply information about the current clip and playlist. Once defined, this template is saved for future exports.

Once the export is initiated, an animated progress bar will appear on the page so you can track its progress. All previous exports remain listed and available for download so your entire team will have easy access to the exports without having to regenerate them. Any unwanted exports can easily be removed from the list.

Note that exporting a playlist as Multiple Video Files has also been improved in this release. Rather than generating the export in the background, the ZIP file of video clips starts downloading instantly.

Learn more about this new feature in our blog post, Product Update: Highlight Reels.

Chart customization now includes ability to set the desired decimal precision for all charts. This applies to absolute values and percentages. Admin can select a “No Decimals” (e.g. whole numbers only) OR they can restrict it to 1 or 2 decimals of precision.

The look and feel of video uploading has been updated to the appearance of photo upload. A larger drop target is provided when dragging videos onto the browser. File selection is still possible. Tabs are available to access the webcam or screen recorders.

Recollective is an ideal platform for collecting and analyzing video for qualitative research. Participants can submit videos via their mobile devices, desktop webcams, or by joining live meetings and interviews.

Recollective allows perfectly-timed video clips to be saved by simply highlighting text in video transcripts. In this release, study administrators can now group those video clips into Video Playlists so they can be sequenced, previewed and exported as a highlight reel.

An interactive playback bar appears below the playlist preview video. It highlights the relative duration of each clip, simplifies clip selection and skipping within a clip. You can even drag the entire clip section to reposition it in the playlist.

Video Playlists can be accessed from the “Admin” and “Reports” menus within a study.

Playlists are also accessible while saving excerpts in video transcripts. Admins are able to create new playlist without leaving the transcript page.

This release also includes updates to the Excerpt Report which can be used to find and filter existing video clips for inclusion in one or more playlists.

We plan to offer two playlist export options. This initial beta includes the first of the two options, Multiple Video Files, which exports a playlist as separate video clips, in order, within a single ZIP file.

The second option, which will arrive soon, goes further by combining the separate clips into a single video with smooth transitions and customizable text overlays.

In late July, we released Message Templates which allowed administrators to save and re-use message texts. This feature has been enhanced to allow templates to be limited to select studies.

This improvement ensures that Moderator-role admins only have access to relevant templates. Analysts will also be shown the filtered list of templates within a study but they can always clear the filter to browse all saved templates.

When saving or updating a template, a “Study Visibility” option now appears to permit the selection studies. If none are selected, the template remains visible to all studies.

When collecting video via the Multimedia Task, the webcam recorder is now loaded directly in the page instead of a pop-up window. If “Video” is the only response type enabled, the webcam recorder will appear instantly. This improvement streamlines the overall flow for participants and ensures the task instructions remain visible at all times.

The customizable home page of a Recollective site includes a “Studies” card listing all available studies. Multiple pages and cards can be added to this area. Admins can now configure additional “Studies” cards to focus participants on select studies.

Integration with Recollective sometimes depends on external systems being made aware of key actions that take place within the site. Such external triggers are called Webhooks and we’ve added a new event type, “Activity: Available”. This new event will be triggered whenever an activity becomes available in a study. One can focus the webhook on activities within select studies and those visible to select segments. The event applies to all activity types.

To improve the overall security of the platform, Recollective now limits the inclusion of custom scripts and embedded page elements from third-party sources. Recollective previously allowed administrative users more flexibility in this area, but this new approach ensures user accounts and their data are better protected. If you would like a special script or third-party component integrated into a page, please contact our help desk for assistance.

Recollective now allows administrators to save and re-use templated messages!

Administrators can leverage templates to save time and ensure consistency in communications. Templates can be used to invite, welcome, remind, support, prompt, question, thank, warn or guide participants.

Message Templates are simple to create, find, preview and use. Each template can have one more of the following values:

In some areas, these values are combined to create the final message. We’ve also added two new dynamic values for use in the Signature area:

Template messages can be created in two areas of Recollective:

Site Admin > Settings > Message Templates

A new section appears in the Site Administration area which permits Analysts to manage all templates created within the site.

Study / Site > Email Broadcast > Save as Template

Administrators also have the option to save an email broadcast message they’ve composed as a new template to ensure it can be reused in the future.

Once templates have been created, they can be accessed in a variety of areas. Note that an option to limit the visibility of a template to specific studies is coming soon.

Expand each section below to see how templates are deeply integrated into Recollective.

When defining Poll and Prompt tasks, choices can be configured to assign one or more Basic Segments. It is now possible to create new segments while defining these choices. Newly created segments will only be visible to the current study but can be updated so they are available to other studies.

Segments are defined for the site but their visibility can be limited to select studies. Various improvements have been made to ensure limited-visibility segments are exposed to additional studies when needed:

Recollective recently created a System Check tool that helps users prepare for live meetings. Users are now actively guided to complete a System Check if they have not done so in their current web browser within the past 30 days. They are also guided to re-test if they did not pass the check.

A tooltip with the text “Ensure your browser is ready for live meetings” will now appear in two locations. The first will appear over the System Check button seen on the activity overview page for Live Group Chat and Live Video Interviews activities.

The second tooltip will appear when entering a new live meeting. The option to complete a System Check is always available on the entry page but the new tooltip will draw the user’s attention when it is required.

The outcome of each System Check conducted by users is now stored and made visible to administrators in two areas.

The first is a data table seen when editing a panelist or admin account in the Site Administration area. It is titled System Checks and lists each and every check the user conducted. It includes the date, operating system platform, browser name/version, IP Address and the outcome of the test.

A system check result can be Passed, Issues or Failed. The outcome label can be selected to view relevant details. A downloadable report is available for advanced debugging requirements.

The most recent System Check Result for each participant will also appear in the Participant Summary table for both the Live Group Chat and Live Video Interview activity types. The test outcome can be selected to view more details.

When users choose to add a video, the user interface has been improved by displaying the types of video submission options as highly-visible tabs. In most areas, “Record Webcam” will be the default option.

When users choose to record their screen, a subtle preview of the selected screen is now displayed behind the instructions. This assures users that they’ve selected the correct screen, application or browser tab for the recording.

When a task is optional, a new option appears to allow admins to control whether participants are asked why the participant is skipping the task. This was previously enabled by default and could not be disabled. It is now optional and disabled by default.

If “Ask for reason if skipped” is enabled, the “Skip Task” question will continue to appear when participants press the “Skip Task” button during activity completion. All tasks created prior to this update will have it enabled to ensure consistency in the participant experience.

In many countries, it is required by law to get a user’s consent prior to the collection, processing and storage of personal information. Recollective now offers customers a built-in template labeled “Personal Information Consent” in the Agreements area.

This consent agreement follows best practices and guides administrators to fill-in essential information within select [[placeholder]] values. Those placeholders must be replaced before the agreement can be activated. Note that this template is only offered in English as this time.

The ability to have the “Agreement Page” appear inline below the opt-in statement is also a new addition to Recollective’s powerful Agreements features. This option ensures click-through agreements are compliant with legal standards while avoiding tall or intimidating opt-in statements. The inline agreement box has a maximum height and users are expected to scroll through the agreement within the space provided.

The summary stream shows recent activity responses and discussion posts. It also allows Analysts and Moderators to highlight and save text excerpts. Longer text posts start collapsed to save space but can be expanded to see them in full (with paragraph breaks). Rather than having to expand each one separately, a new “Expand All” control now appears as a switch above the stream.

Analysts and Moderators can highlight any text shared by a participant to save it as an excerpt. After text is highlighted, a menu will appear with a “Save Excerpt” option. Once an excerpt is created, the page enters “Excerpt Mode” which shows details in the left-hand margin. All existing excerpts are also highlighted. Admins can enter into this mode at any time via a switch labeled “Excerpt Mode”.

The “Excerpt Mode” control will most often be found in the top-right portion of the page next to an “Options” menu.

To improve the usability of the flexible card-based Home Page, some menu options have been updated. For example, “Page Layout” is now “Edit Page”.

Summary charts can be shown with “Values” or “Percentages”. Pie charts previously included the values alongside the percentages but those are now hidden in “Percentage” mode.

Unauthenticated users following a link from an email will be presented with two options, “Send Code” or “Login”. The emailed code (e.g. ABC-123) allows them to enter without needing to know a password, which is ideal for new users joining a study.

Panelists that verify their identity in a particular browser will benefit from an automatic login experience thereafter. They’ll only be prompted to re-verify their identity once every 30 days unless they change their browser or follow an emailed link that has expired (e.g. more than 24 hours old).

If the secondary verification flow is not desired, it can be disabled in Site Admin > Settings > Email Settings.

Note, however, that invitations emailed to new administrators will always require an emailed code. This exists to secure the onboarding of new administrators. The prompt seen by those invited to register only includes a “Send Code” option given they cannot login.

Note that invitations emailed to new panelists will not require a code if the invitation is accepted within 72 hours. After that time, the invitation email will still function for 30 days but panelists must provide an emailed code to start the registration process.

Segments created within a study will now only be visible to the study in which it was created. Segment visibility can still be edited at any time in the Site Administration area.

Recall that can be created various ways within a study:

When participants join a study via a Shared Invitation Link, the flow was recently updated to require immediate verification of the email address provided (an emailed code was requested). To minimize friction for new participants, this requirement has been disabled. An update will be introduced in the future that will allow user-provided email addresses to be verified without interrupting the registration flow.

Standard and Journal activity responses can be marked as reviewed by Analysts and Moderators. A new setting now allows Clients of a study to be limited such that they only see fully reviewed responses. This is ideal for studies requiring manual reviews to ensure personal information was not shared by participants (e.g. in webcam recordings). This new setting can be found in Study Settings → Permissions.

To assist new and returning panelists, links in outgoing emails can perform an automatic login. Analysts can now control if this feature is enabled and how it is configured. If an automatic login link has expired, or is followed by an administrator, a secondary verification code can be provided for instant access without a password. This secondary identity verification can now be disabled while still benefiting from automatic login links that last 24 hours by default.

It is now possible for Text responses to a Multimedia task to be made optional while still enforcing a word limit if and when text is provided. This is ideal for when a video OR a text response is desired and admins want to ensure a minimum amount of text is given.

It can be useful for participants to keep the task instructions in view while responding. This is especially the case when the task requires they record their screen or webcam.

When “Video” or “Screen Recording” responses are enabled for the Multimedia task type, extra emphasis is given via an additional control below the instructions. All other tasks will have only a small “pop-out” control in the top-right corner of the task instructions area.

Once the instructions are opened in a separate window, it can be resized and kept visible while responding, even while recording one’s actions in another browser tab.

Profiling participants sometimes means offering long selection lists for poll fields (e.g. list of countries, states, cities, etc.). Questions with more than 10 choices will now present as a dropdown instead of a long list of checkboxes or radio buttons.

When participants self-register (i.e. they followed a shared invitation link), they’ll be asked to retrieve a code sent to the email address provided. This ensures the address is valid and in their control. The same flow will take place when participants change their email address.

Emailed-verification codes are now 3-letters and 3-numbers, separate by a dash.

It is now possible to configure a Webhook to submit its parameters and values as a JSON payload. This is required by various popular tools, including Slack via incoming Webhooks.

During a live meeting, if a user’s connection appears to be slowing down, an in-meeting prompt labeled "Having issues?” will appear in the title bar. It guides the user to refresh the page and re-enter the meeting. If issues persist, it suggests running a System Check.

The page seen before entering any live meeting now includes link to the new System Check, includes a new headphone suggestion improves the formatting of the statement shown concerning meeting recordings.

Every notification for live activities that relates to an upcoming meeting now stresses the importance of running a System Check on the device, browser and network the user intends to use.

When users follow emailed links that are expired (e.g more than 24 hours old), they can continue to gain access without a password via a secondary verification step. It is now possible to have emailed codes resent. The option to use the regular login flow has been made more noticeable.

Participant profiles within studies have always included account details and profile field values but they now take centre stage at the top of the profile page.

The previous “Meeting Test” utility has been renamed to System Check and greatly improved. It is now accessible at all times at by adding /system-check after the site address. It verifies the user’s browser, camera, microphone, network connectivity and system performance.

When a user shares their screen during a live meeting, a preview now appears to the user. The preview is partially masked to prevent confusion when sharing the same screen. Selecting “Preview” show the shared screen without the overlay.

Once the overlay is removed, the preview can be hidden and an additional “Stop Sharing” control is made available.

Profile fields can now be shown on any home page via a new Profile Fields card. Administrators can select which fields appear and in what order. Participants will only see the fields they are permitted to see (due to segmentation) and are guided to the first incomplete field. A card can feature a single field (e.g. doing a quick poll) or one can sequence many fields.

Prior to the arrival of the interview participants, hosts can now choose to start the meetings early so they can collaborate with Backroom attendees and translators via an audio connection.

While in a live meeting, administrators will now see a simplified “Audio” menu that has a dedicated switch for each available audio channel. The example below includes a simultaneous translator.

The site and study-level screeners were updated to match the new styling for task responses. The background is shaded and each question more clearly stands out on a white background.

Task completion forms have been simplified and updated for much greater clarity of user focus. To minimize potential for distraction, the study header and navigation bar no longer appear while responding to tasks. The study and activity names appear in the breadcrumb along with a progress bar that spans the width of the page.

The task instructions and response area are now clearly delineated in white sections over a theme-coloured background. Form controls are now larger and centred. The help option (“?” bottom right) includes an “Ask” option which opens the in-study message form.

It is now possible to limit the visibility of a profile field to select segments of panelists. This is useful for screening questionnaires and the Account Settings page. Combined with the ability to set segments via Poll fields, participant screening now support simple branching (e.g. one can ask a user if they have children to have follow-up questions configured o only appear to those placed in the “Parent” segment).

Site Log entries can now be exported to Excel before or after filters have been applied. New filters have been added for Segments, Studies and Date. The keyword search now matches on the Site Log ID. Individual site log entries have their own URL so they’re easy to bookmark or share. A shortcut is now provided to filter on recent video minutes consumed.

The controls provided that prevent panelists from modifying their own basic account fields (e.g. name, email, username and photo) are now consistently applied to the registration and account update forms. A new option allows each area to be configured separately when this is required.

Topics of discussion could already be categorized but now those categories support an additional level of sub-categories. It is possible to limit participant-created topics to specific sub-categories while admins continue to post new topics at the category level for enhanced visibility. Customization controls for categories have been extended to sub-categories.

Admins can now guide participants to visit pages on other sites via a new “Prompt” field type. Such prompts will typically be surveys. One can even track the completion of those external tasks via a “Success URL” parameter. Once a survey has been completed, just redirect the participant back to that address and the profile field will be deemed completed for that user within Recollective.

Sample configuration:

Recollective has integrated support for multiple enterprise-grade identity providers. These integrations improve security, simplify site access and streamline the onboarding of new panelists and administrators.

Integrations options have been added for Okta, a leading identity platform, and OpenID Connect (OIDC), an open source protocol for federated identities. Our existing integrations to Google and Facebook have also been completely redeveloped to centralize and streamline the configuration of identity providers.

For more details, please see the related blog post.

When screen recorder is configured as the only response type for a Multimedia task, the recorder will now appear immediately in the page.

Notifications for upcoming Live Group Chats now match the appearance of notices for Live Video Interviews. They clearly highlight the meeting time and emphasize the time zone details.