--- title: "Setting Up a Qualitative Study" url: "https://help.getdecode.io/en/article/c5451585-b67d-44cb-b7dc-ddedf10c4b2b" language: "en" last_updated: "2026-08-26T17:02:38.147Z" --- # Setting Up a Qualitative Study **Overview** This article explains how to create and configure a live moderated research study in Decode. This lets you run live sessions with participants and analyse the recordings in one place. **Step 1: Create a new study** From the Decode dashboard, click Create New Study and select Live Interviews. You'll land on the Configure view with four sections in the left navigation: Details, Availability, Participants, and Screener. ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/5bf273f3-c92f-4c65-bcc2-19193cd0683d) **Step 2: Fill in meeting details** *Title and Description* Give your study a clear title. The description is optional but helps participants understand what to expect before the session. *Duration* Select the session length from the dropdown. The default is 30 minutes. *Meeting Language* Select the language spoken in sessions. This is used for auto-transcription. *Session limits* - **Maximum sessions per day** — the maximum number of sessions that can be booked on any single day - **Maximum sessions per study** — the total number of participants who can book a session using the study link *Technologies* - **Facial Coding** — captures emotional data from participant faces during live sessions - **Face Blur** — blurs participant faces in the recording; enable this if participants have requested anonymity *Select meeting type* - **One - One Meetings** — the moderator conducts individual sessions with each participant - **One - Many Meetings** — the moderator runs a session with multiple participants at the same time, such as a group discussion. A maximum of 5 participants can join a single session. ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/f3493fdb-c009-4bdc-9be8-6107f6edcf66) **Meeting Attendees** Scroll down within the Details section to add attendees: - **Moderator's name** and **Moderator's email address** (required) — the moderator leads the session and receives a dedicated join link - **Additional Moderators** (optional) — enter each email address and press Enter to add more than one moderator - **Observer's email address** (optional) — observers can watch the session without participating; enter each email and press Enter to add multiple observers ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/080b7ccd-f27d-4c15-893c-87fd810467da) **Step 3: Set availability** Go to the Availability section to set when participants can book sessions. - **Start Date** and **End Date** — the date range of the study itself, not when participants book. Participants can only book within whatever slots fall inside this range. - **Time Zone** — participants see available slots in their own local time zone. Configured hours are stored in the moderator's timezone. - **Available Hours** — choose a preset (**Weekdays 9-5** or **Every day 9-5**), or select **Custom** to set your own schedule. With Custom, check each day you're available and set a time window for it, use the **+** button to add multiple time slots on the same day. Days left unchecked are not available for booking. ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/6c768234-42a1-4916-9d0c-be9b20f0d50f) **Instant Meeting** Turn on **Available when online** to let invited participants start a Decode session whenever a moderator is online, instead of booking a slot in advance. Enabling this appears to override the fixed weekly schedule above, since participants no longer need to pick a slot within it. ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/cedd5b9c-a348-4a01-81dc-f2713a808973) **Step 4: Add participants** Under Participants, choose how you want to bring people into the study: - **Add Participants Manually** — enter participant email addresses under Send To and press Enter after each one. Participants receive an invitation email (from [**noreply@getdecode.io**](mailto:noreply@getdecode.io)) with a link to schedule their session. The invitation message under Description is pre-filled but can be edited before sending. ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/107534e2-7059-4535-8052-47d760cb26f3) **Step 5: Configure the screener** The Screener lets you add qualification questions so only eligible participants can book a session. Two pages are included by default: - **Welcome Page** — shown to all participants when they open the study link; title and description are editable - **Screenout Page** — shown to participants who don't meet your criteria; the default message is "Sorry, you are screened out!" and can be customised To add a screening question, click **Add Question**, then fill in: - **Question text** — the question shown to participants - **Description** (optional) — additional context or instructions for the question - **Question type** — for example, Single Select - **Answer options** — click **Add Option** to add each possible answer. For each option, set whether it routes the participant to **Qualify** (continue to booking) or **Disqualify** (routed to the Screenout Page) ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/f70cf36d-d8ea-4bcc-a0ac-76ed84433f06) **Step 6: Publish** Once all sections are complete, click Publish. The study moves to the Sessions tab, where the shareable study link is available. Share the study link with participants; when a participant selects a slot, they receive a calendar invite with their join link. Each role gets a separate join link. From the Sessions tab, click the link icon on any booked session to see the individual links for the Observer, Moderator, and Participant. **Managing sessions** After publishing, the Sessions tab shows all booked interviews. Each session card shows the participant email, scheduled time, and current status. **![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/d4559e19-10ae-40e3-a75e-c1430da57c5c)Session Actions** - **Join** — enter the session as a moderator; opens the Decode Live meeting link for that session directly - **Reschedule** — propose a new time to the participant; they'll receive an updated calendar invite with the new slot - **Cancel** — remove the session; the participant will be notified that it's been cancelled - **Link icon** — view the join links for that session; a modal opens with separate links for the Moderator, Participant, and Observer, which you can copy individually ![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/293971b3-93c1-4b08-9277-2f8d7fbd7f63) **What to do next** To learn how to run a session once it's scheduled, see *Run a live session*.