Moderated vs Unmoderated

The key question is:

Do you need to interact with the participant and adapt the research based on their responses?

Moderated Research

Choose moderated research when you need to:

• Ask follow-up questions
• Explore unexpected responses
• Understand reasoning in depth
• Adapt the conversation based on participant responses
• Explore an unfamiliar or complex topic

Unmoderated Research

Choose unmoderated research when participants can complete a predefined study independently.

Use it when:

• The task or questionnaire is clearly defined.
• Real-time probing isn't required.
• You want a consistent experience for participants.
• You need to reach a larger number of participants.
• Speed and flexibility are important.

Rule of thumb

Need to explore the unexpected? → Moderated
Have a clearly defined task and need scale or speed? → Unmoderated