Online discussions and bulletin boards

Every response, in full and in their own time

Qualzy Discussions runs asynchronous online qual: bulletin boards, online discussions, diaries and pre-tasks, where participants answer in their own time over a few days or a few weeks. They take part as a forum or as a chat with an AI moderator, and every response gets AI analysis, included as standard.

New See how the AI-moderated chat works
Forum, chat or AI-moderated chat

One Discussion, three ways to take part.

You build a Discussion once: the activities, the stimulus, the groups. Then you choose how participants work through it, whether that's posting in a forum where they can read and build on each other's answers, or answering one step at a time in a chat, with or without an AI moderator following up. Every response gets the same AI analysis whichever you choose, so you can pick the format that suits your participants.

As a forum

This is how Qualzy has always worked. Participants see the activities, post their answers and, where you allow it, read and reply to each other's posts. You moderate as the posts come in.

As a chat

Participants are taken through the same project one step at a time, in a conversation. The chat follows the flow and structure you built, activity by activity, so it works with no AI at all. You moderate it as you would a forum.

As an AI-moderated chat

The same chat, with an AI moderator working to the goals you set for each question. When an answer falls short, it follows up while the participant is still there, asking for the detail that's missing or for a better photo. You can step in and moderate whenever you like.

Both chat options cost nothing extra and aren't a separate tier. Every activity works in the chat except ideation and screen recording.

How AI-moderated interviews by chat work
Common uses

How researchers most often use async research.

Most projects start from one of these, but they're far from the only options. Combine them, change the length or build your own design. You open fieldwork when you're ready and close it when you have what you need.

Pre- and post-tasks

1–3 days

Short tasks that sit around live fieldwork. Prime people before an interview or group with a few questions and a video, or catch their reactions on the day the group ends. Discovery Research run many of their Qualzy projects as pre-tasks ahead of in-person groups and IDIs.

Typical activities
  • Priming questions before an IDI
  • Same-day capture after a group
  • Quick reactions to stimulus
  • A single video response
Best for
  • Preparing for interviews and groups
  • Showing stimulus in advance
  • Post-group debriefs
Read the Discovery Research case study

Quick discussion

3–5 days

A focused discussion around one question or one piece of stimulus. It's long enough for people to give considered answers and short enough to report back within the week. Concept tests, ad reactions and creative reviews often run at this length.

Typical activities
  • Open questions
  • Video responses
  • Polls and rating tasks
  • Reactions to images and mood boards
Best for
  • Concept and ad testing
  • Decisions that can't wait weeks
  • Creative response

Diary study

1–4 weeks

Follow people through a real experience while it's happening: a product trial at home, a run of shopping trips, a month in a category. You hear how it felt at the time, which is often different from how people remember it afterwards.

Typical activities
  • Daily check-ins
  • Photos and video in the moment
  • Tasks that build week by week
  • End-of-week reflections
Best for
  • In-home product trials
  • Category immersion
  • Brand and product experience
Read the Veylinx case study

Bulletin board

Up to a month

A group discussion that runs in waves. Participants come back on a schedule, react to stimulus as it develops, and read and build on each other's posts. Every participant answers every question in full.

Typical activities
  • Tasks released in waves
  • Stimulus that changes between waves
  • Group forum discussion
  • Tracking tasks across the weeks
Best for
  • NPD and concept iteration
  • Shopper and usage studies
  • Research in several phases
Read the Feeling Mutual case study

Need the same people for months? That's Qualzy Community.

Methods

Design the study your method needs.

The activities are building blocks, so your method decides the shape of the project. Here are some of the studies researchers run most often, each with its own page.

Concept, ad and pack testing

Show each concept, ad or pack, collect scores and open reactions, then probe the reasons. Split participants into groups so each group sees different stimulus.

In-home product testing

Follow a product from unboxing to first use to the weeks after, on video, with a diary and ratings along the way.

Innovation and co-creation

People come up with ideas on their own first, then vote on them with reasons and build on the strongest ones.

Diary and usage studies

Repeated entries with forms, photos and video over days or weeks, so you see behaviour where and when it happens.

Brand perception

Mood boards, positioning maps and brand scoring that show what a brand means to people, and why.

UX and digital experience

People use your site, app or prototype on their own device and talk you through it, on screen recordings.

Customer and shopper journeys

Take participants through an experience stage by stage, with a score and media at every stage, a journey chart you can split by segment and AI analysis across the whole thing.
Activities

The activities inside a Discussion.

Each activity collects a different kind of evidence. Use them in any order, and give different groups different ones.

Study design

Different groups, different stimulus.

Inside one Discussion you can put participants into groups and give each group its own stimulus, activities or questions. Most concept tests and A/B designs are built this way.

Participant groups

Assign people by screener segment, by recruited group or at random. Each group follows its own path through the activities.

Different stimuli

Show Concept A to one group and Concept B to another. Both answer the same questions, and every answer stays tied to what that person saw.

Compare by group

Key points, Maizy Chat and themes all respect the groups, so you can filter and compare to see what worked, and for whom.

Running the same study in several countries? Each market is its own Qualzy project, built from the same design and fielded at the same time.

Feeling Mutual have launched six markets at once this way. Projects run in 30+ languages, and posts are translated as they arrive. More on global research.

AI included

AI from the first post to the debrief.

AI is included in every Discussion, and whether you use it is up to you. When it's on, it works on each response as it arrives and drafts replies while you moderate, so by the time fieldwork ends you aren't starting from a pile of raw transcripts. Nothing reaches a participant until you've chosen to post it.

On or off, project by project. Switch the AI on or off for each Discussion, and set suggested replies to automatic, on request or off. With it off, you moderate and analyse the way you always have.

  1. As each response arrives

    Key points on every response

    Every post, video and form answer gets a summary and key points, each backed by the participant's own words. Videos are transcribed first, so a 20-minute video becomes a short list, each point linked to its moment.

  2. While you moderate

    Suggested replies and probes

    For each post, the AI drafts a thank-you, a follow-up question and a reply to your own instruction, in the participant's language with an English version beside it. Edit one and post it, or write your own.

  3. During or after fieldwork

    Maizy Chat

    Ask the whole dataset questions in plain English. Answers come with the participant quotes they're built on, so you can check every one.

  4. Once fieldwork closes

    Themes and clip reels

    Build themes from the key points, with the quotes and clips that support each one, and gather the best video moments into a reel for the debrief.

"If you have 50 people and you have seven tasks for each, it's incredibly hard to analyse all that manually, but we can now."

Hamish Kynoch, Head of Qualitative Research, Discovery Research

Everything the AI does, in one place

How it analyses, moderates and builds themes, and how participant data is protected. Nothing participants say is used to train AI models.

Explore AI for research
Included

Also included in every Discussion.

Unlimited moderators and observers

Add as many as the project needs, with no seat fees. Clients can follow responses as they arrive, out of participants' sight.

Participant reminders

Automatic nudges bring people back for the next task, so you're not chasing them by email on day three.

Your data after the project

Responses, key points, clips and themes stay available after the project closes, for as long as you need them.

People, not tickets

Support from people who know your project, working UK, US and Australian hours.

ISO 27001 certified

Participant data is handled under a certified security system. Trust and security.

Customers

Researchers using Qualzy Discussions.

"We used to ask for input in pre-tasks and get them to email things. Now it is all captured in one place inside Qualzy."

Hamish Kynoch, Head of Qualitative Research, Discovery Research Discovery Research case study

"Unless a client insists on another provider, we'll always prefer Qualzy. It's now part of our standard offer for in-home testing."

Mariana Monroy, VP of Insights, Veylinx

62 coffee machines shipped to real homes, fewer than 10% dropout and 50+ videos.

Veylinx case study

"Even when we come up with quite mad timelines, they ask no questions. The guys just move fast and simply make it happen."

Dafydd Jones, Associate Director, Ninth Seat Ninth Seat case study

All success stories

Other products

When a Discussion isn't the right fit.

Discussions are built for projects measured in days and weeks. Two other parts of Qualzy cover the rest.

The same people for months

Qualzy Community

For a community that runs for months, with the same members coming back for wave after wave of activities.

Explore Qualzy Community Live interviews and groups

Qualzy Live

For IDIs and focus groups on video, and interviews in person. Live sessions sit in the same project as your online work, so a pre-task and the groups it feeds are analysed together.

Explore Qualzy Live
FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

What's an online bulletin board in qualitative research?

It's a discussion that runs over days or weeks. Participants answer in their own time, read and build on each other's posts, and you moderate as it goes.

How long can a Qualzy Discussion run?

From a day to a few weeks. Pre-tasks often take a day or two, a quick discussion three to five days, and diaries and bulletin boards one to four weeks. For months with the same people, use Qualzy Community.

What's the difference between the forum and the chat?

You build the project the same way. In the forum, participants see posts and reply to each other. In the chat, they're taken through it step by step, and an AI moderator can follow up when an answer falls short of your goal. More on the AI-moderated chat.

Does the AI-moderated chat cost extra?

No, nothing extra. It's an alternative way to complete the same project.

Can I run a discussion in several countries?

Yes. Each market runs as its own project at the same time, in any of 30+ languages.

When does the AI analysis happen?

Key points appear for each response as it comes in, and Maizy Chat works at any point. Themes are built once fieldwork closes. Nothing participants say trains AI models.

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Walk us through the methodology, the timeline, the audience. We’ll ask a few questions and you’ll have a clear picture of how Qualzy could work for you by the end of the call.

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