Getting started with Studies
The first step to using Avicenna is creating a study. Studies form the core of Avicenna, representing entire research projects. You cannot perform research without setting up a study.
Managing Studies
Avicenna enables you to be involved in multiple studies as either a researcher or an owner. Access an overview of your studies through the My Studies page in your dashboard.
On this page, open a study by clicking its row or create new studies in the following ways:
Creating a New Study
To start a new study, click the Create Study button on the My Studies page.
This opens the Create a New Study dialog. Click Let’s Go to proceed and enter the study information. Submit responses using the checkmark button or your keyboard’s Enter key. And navigate through completed steps by clicking their titles.
Study Name
Provide a concise and memorable name for easy reference in dashboards and apps.
Organization Name
Specify the conducting organization’s name, defaulting to your affiliated institution but adjustable if preferred.
Consent Materials
Input the participant consent form content, usually approved by your institution’s review board. Ensure it addresses:
- Study purpose
- Participant risks/benefits
- Data handling and access
- Contact details for the research team
- Withdrawal procedure
If meeting participants in person for signed consent, keep content primarily informative. Without signed forms, include full consent text, informing participants that registration implies consent.
Participation Period
Set start and end dates/times for calculating participation duration. Avicenna schedules automatically upon participant joining. We explain this in more detail in the Participation Period.
Participation Duration
Decide how many days participants will engage in the study.
[!note]
Studies’s participation duration can not be bigger than the participation period’s duration.
Finalize
Click Start to create your study, triggering database setup. Afterward, you’ll be redirected to the study’s homepage (Basics Page) on your dashboard.
Duplicating a Study
While creating a study from scratch is common, If you’re the owner of a study, you can quickly duplicate a study. On the My Studies page, click the three-dot menu beside a study and select Duplicate. Confirm the action, and you’ll be notified of the process outcome via email.
Duplicated elements include:
- Basic settings
- Localizations and translations
- Sites
- Activities (the last version only)
- Data sources excluding beacons mapping
- Notification templates and their links to the activities
- Researchers, roles, and permissions
Also, all references to survey questions in criteria, question placeholders, and receiver questions will be updated based on the new duplicated survey IDs.
[!note]
Duplicated studies have a trial license. Configurations like SMS and chat (televisit) aren’t copied. Contact support@avicennaresearch.com for changes.
Basics Page
The Basics page displays essential configurations, allowing modifications as needed.
Here, view your study’s ID, name, organization name, consent materials, and participation timeline.
Study ID
Each study receives a unique ID for distinction on Avicenna. Share this ID with participants as per your Enrollment method.
Editing an Existing Study
Once a study has been created, you can update its settings anytime from the Basics page. You can also manage additional features:
- Participant Verification
- Enrollment Type
- Auto-Triggered Activities
- Participant-Triggered Activities
- Empty Message when no Sessions
- Participants Progress Page
- Capture Reason for Changes
- PII Visibility
Participant Verification
Decide whether Avicenna should verify each participant’s phone number and/or email address.
- Verify phone number – Used for sending SMS notifications. (To enable, contact Avicenna Support. Additional charges may apply.)
- Verify email – Ensures participants provide a valid email address before joining.
Enrollment Type
Specify how participants can join your study:
- Public
- Invitation-based
- Closed
Auto-Triggered Activities
Enter a title for activities that are triggered automatically. Participants will see this title on their study’s home page.
Participant-Triggered Activities
Enter a title for activities that participants can trigger themselves. This title will also appear on the home page.
Empty Message (No Session)
Create a message that appears on the participant’s home page when there are currently no available activities.
Participants Progress Page
Enable the My Progress feature to let participants view their progress directly from their study’s home page.
Capture Reason for Changes
When enabled, researchers must provide a reason whenever they modify a participant’s data.
PII Visibility
When enabled, researchers can access participants’ personally identifiable information (PII). Only the study owner can change this setting.
Study Background
Customize the look on the Avicenna app and website with a Study Background image. Ideal image aspect ratio is 9:16, such as 720 x 1280. To change the background, click Edit in the Study Background section, and select your image.The selected image will appear as the background in your study on the participant apps and registration pages.
