# Introduction

Welcome to the Pulse Labs Research Exchange — a UX research platform that lets you run surveys and manage unmoderated evaluations, all from one place. This guide will direct you from sign-up to your first completed study.

## What you can do

The Research Exchange (“platform”) gives researchers two core data capture methods, each designed for a different type of research question:

* [**Surveys**](/pulse-labs/data-capture-tools/survey-creation-and-management.md) — Build questionnaires with a survey creator, collect responses asynchronously, and review results as they come in. Great for screening, quantitative feedback, and large-sample studies.
* [**Evaluations**](/pulse-labs/data-capture-tools/evaluations-task-based-research.md) — Set up unmoderated, asynchronous studies. Participants record their screen and camera as they complete activities you define. Review their submissions with synced video playback and transcripts.

Both methods are managed within a research project created on your workspace. A single project can contain multiple surveys and evaluations.

## Your first study at a glance

### 1. Sign in

Go to the Pulse Labs platform and sign in with Google, Microsoft, Apple, or your email (you'll receive a six-digit code — no password needed). New users complete a short profile setup.

### 2. Pick or create a workspace

A workspace is your team's shared environment. If your organization already has visible workspaces, you'll see it listed after sign-in. Otherwise, create a new one and choose a privacy level (Open, Closed, or Hidden).

### 3. Create a project

Inside your workspace, go to **Projects** and select **Add Project**. Add a name and a short objective or overview description. Your project starts as a hidden draft visible only to you.

### 4. Add a data capture method

Inside your new project, select **Add Capture Series** and choose your first capture method:

* **Survey** — Paste in a survey outline to auto-generate a draft, or build one manually with the SurveyJS editor.
* **Evaluation** — Define activities, choose device type and recording options, then launch for participants to complete on their own time.

### 5. Add participants

Switch to the Recruitment tab to invite participants by email, upload a CSV, or source participants from the Pulse Voices panel. 

### 6. Launch and collect data

Launch your capture method. Responses, recordings, and transcripts appear in your project dashboard as participants complete the study.

## Key concepts

<table data-first-column-sticky><thead><tr><th width="158.79998779296875"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Term</strong></td><td><strong>Definition</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Capture method</td><td>A specific research instrument within a project. Each type (survey, evaluation) has its own creation flow, dashboard, and data review experience.</td></tr><tr><td>Evaluation</td><td>Evaluations enable participants to complete unmoderated activities across a single session or longitudinally. Each evaluation has instructions, and participants can record their screen and camera while completing them. </td></tr><tr><td>Participant funnel</td><td>A structured funnel that ensures participants meet your criteria and have completed any required verification steps (screener survey, location check, ID verification, document signatures, language verification, custom verifications) before they access your capture methods.</td></tr><tr><td>Project</td><td>A container for a single research effort and a list of enrolled participants. Holds one or more capture methods (surveys, evaluations, etc.). Has its own team roles and visibility settings.</td></tr><tr><td>Survey</td><td>A questionnaire that lets you collect structured responses from participants asynchronously. The SurveyJS editor gives you access to a full range of question types, conditional logic, and validation rules.</td></tr><tr><td>Workspace</td><td>A shared environment for your team. Controls who can discover and join your research organization. Contains multiple projects.</td></tr></tbody></table>

***


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://pulselabs.gitbook.io/pulse-labs/getting-started/readme.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.