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Starting a Discussion Topic

Create a Discussion Topic

A new Discussion Topic can be started from within a Study.

Prerequisite: You must be a Study administrator.

  1. Go to the Discussions tab of a Study.

  2. Select Add Topic.

  3. Enter a Subject — this is what appears on the main Discussions page and is used by participants to identify the general theme of the conversation.

  4. Enter a Description — this explains the aim of the Topic in detail and can include attached photos, videos or files.

  5. If Discussion Categories have been enabled, select a category.

Screenshot of the Discussion Topic creation form, showing the Subject field, the auto-generated Topic URL with a Modify button, the Category dropdown, and the Description rich text editor with its formatting toolbar.

Basic Settings

Some basic Topic Settings are available during Topic creation by a Study administrator:

  • Follow this topic to be notified of new posts can be selected so you receive notifications for all new replies and comments in the Topic (please note that a popular Discussion Topic could have dozens of notifications)

  • Announce topic in the Summary tab stream can be selected so that there will be an announcement that appears to participants for when they are reviewing things in the Summary page's Stream

  • Feature this topic in the topic list can be selected to star the Topic, which will help prioritize it by pinning it to the top of the Topics list

  • Block pasting of external content can be selected to prevent participants from pasting external content into their Replies or Comments to the Topic.

Screenshot of the Basic Settings tab of Topic Settings, showing four checkboxes: Follow this topic to be notified of new posts, Announce topic in the Summary tab stream, Feature this topic in the topic list, and Block pasting of external content.

Similar to an Activity's setup, you'll need to control who has access to the Topic and the level of socialization. In terms of Topic Visibility, you can select from the following options:

Topic visibility for Participants:

  • All participants so that all study participants can potentially add to the Topic

  • Only select segments so that only select groups of participants can access the Topic for a more focused discussion

Topic visibility for Clients:

  • All clients so that all client observers can view the Topic and its responses

  • Only select clients so that only selected clients can view the Topic and its responses

  • Hidden from clients so that the topic will be hidden from all client observers

Screenshot of the Topic Visibility section, showing two radio button groups: Topic visibility for Participants (All participants or Only select segments) and Topic visibility for Clients (All clients, Only select clients, or Hidden from clients).

Topic Reply Sharing

In terms of Topic Reply Sharing, you can select from the following:

  • Public: All replies are visible immediately so that participants can read through any posts that have been made and contribute as they'd like

  • Uninfluenced: Replies are hidden from participants until they reply so that participants are mandated to post a reply to the Topic before they get to see others' posts and interact with them

  • Private: No sharing of replies among participants so that participants can make posts to your Topic that are not seen by the other participants

Screenshot of the Topic Reply Sharing radio button options: Public (all replies visible immediately), Uninfluenced (replies hidden from participants until they reply), and Private (no sharing of replies among participants).

📌 Note:

🗣️ Still have questions or want to leave feedback on how we can do better? Contact us at helpdesk@recollective.com.

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