How to earn money from the comfort of your home

Imagine being able to earn money without even changing out of your pyjamas! Good news – you really can, with our remote paid research opportunities. They can be focused on a specific location or cover the whole country, meaning you can take part from wherever you are, whether that’s up in the Scottish highlands, or down in Land’s End!

The opportunities can include a range of tasks like playing video games under observation or keeping a food diary for the week. Take a look below for some ideas on the type of research you can get involved with from the comfort of your home…

Online surveys

Surveys are usually shorter than our typical research session, with some taking less than five minutes to complete! Researchers usually do surveys when they want to collect data on occurrences that cannot be directly observed. The incentives can vary, from being entered into a prize draw to an Amazon voucher for each survey completed.

Home-based interview

Don’t worry: when we say ‘interview’, it’s much more of an informal chat; it’s not like a job interview! It will be a discussion within an environment you are comfortable in. During the session, you will be required to simply engage in conversation, be articulate and eloquent, while covering a wide range of discussion topics. Basically, you can earn money just for chatting to someone about a topic you are comfortable with.

Observational study (ethnography)

We also have observational sessions available from time to time. These can take place at your work, but more often than not, they will take place from the comfort of your very own home. The aim of this research is to view your behaviour in certain circumstances the researcher is interested in. They will observe you in your typical surroundings and ask you to act as you normally would – not so easy when someone is sat there watching you. But the upside is… you earn money for just doing your daily routine!

Diary studies / homework task

These are often ‘hybrid’ projects, which can include both in-person and remote parts. This may involve attending a research briefing before being asked to complete a homework task, such as a diary study. In this case, you would be told how many days you have to complete the study, how it should be recorded and how long you should spend on it each day. Some sessions may also involve an in-person debrief following the research. While these ‘hybrid’ projects can take a little longer to complete, the incentives are usually higher to make sure you get rewarded for your dedication.

Card sorting

While this sounds like a magic trick, we promise you it’s the real deal! During a card sorting session, you will be asked to organise topics into categories that make sense. You might also be asked to label the groups you organised. This type of research is usually to help website developers and other professionals to organise website navigation or menu options.

Remote focus group

This type of research is a rarity, so if you see a remote focus group available to take part in, snap it up quick! It’s similar to a standard focus group, but takes place online instead – the sessions tend to be an informal discussion, often led by a member of the research team. The size of the group can vary from three to 12 (or more) people. Topics can be anything, from reviewing a service to discussing a product you have recently purchased.

Remote testing

This could be testing anything, from a new website to an app or game. All you need to take part in this type of research is an internet connection! You may also be asked to use screen sharing software, which will allow you to communicate and show your actions at the same time, and can be deleted once the session has taken place. Remote testing allows the research teams to reach out to a wider audience and not be restricted by geographical location.

And, finally, you can earn money for doing… online UX testing

Don’t be put off by the techy acronym UX (user experience) – this just means it looks at the experience of the user (that’s you!) during testing to see how you interact with a product, software application, website, process, or service. It will more easily access the user-friendliness of an item before the product makes it to the end-user.

While it can seem too good to be true, paid research from your home often gives researchers the most natural responses, which is exactly what they’re looking for! Meanwhile, you don’t have to move an inch to earn some extra money.

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5 reasons paid research is worth your time

To find out more about our remote paid research and testing studies, take a look at our Opportunities page to get started!