What measures does the consumer platform have in place to stop multiple accounts from one user or fake accounts being used?

There are two considerations that will impact whether a stakeholder is considered Verified, Unverified or Registered. The first consideration is whether or not a stakeholder has registered an account with Research Say while engaging with your project.

If the stakeholder has not registered an account (which is not required for engagement), then they will remain in the Unregistered state.

If a stakeholder has registered for a Research Say account, they will either be Verified or Unverified based on whether or not they completed their user registration with Social Pinpoint's email verification system.

In short, Verified users confirmed their email address, while Unverified users did not.

Research Say stakeholder verification is just one of the tools in place to deter spam comments on your projects.

Where is my data stored?

Research Say utilises the public cloud to develop, build and deploy all its infrastructure and services. Specifically, Research Say utilises Amazon Web Services (AWS) for all its cloud hosting and server infrastructure.

All data, including backups, are hosted within a data centre in Sydney, NSW, Australia.

The AWS Data Centres that hosts Research Say’s customer information assets are housed in a secure nondescript facility and physical access is strictly controlled both at the perimeter and at the building ingress points.

Do you offer a discounted fee for Monash University EMCR or PhD students?

We only offer a service for a fee as we are obliged to cover our operating costs and the software licensing costs. However, the fees we charge to internal Monash staff are kept at minimum and charged on a cost recovery basis only. Please approach your head of unit or head of School to seek funding support.

Why would I come to this platform when I can go directly to consumer organisations?

Please feel free to go directly to the connections you may already have, we are not looking to replace these.

Many of the consumers representatives working with peak bodies are professional consumer representatives with clinical trial experience. The consumers in the MUCTC engagement platform come from a diverse variety of backgrounds, locations and have a range of health experiences. They can provide you with fresh insights about your clinical trial directly from the public and a research naive perspective.

We are able to post a request and receive responses quickly to support you research project and deadlines.

Is Research Say’s network of consumers diverse?

One of our key priorities is to create and maintain a diverse network of consumers. In order to do this, we:

• Encourage all our consumers to complete their profile page so we can understand their age, cultural background, and location. We use this information to identify gaps in the diversity of our consumer network.
• Liaise and partner with peak bodies and community groups across Australia to reach underrepresented communities.
• Undertake wide-reaching recruitment campaigns that target diverse populations.
• Translate our project pages into ten of the most common languages in Australia.

How will my project reach the right consumers?

If your project is not reaching the right consumers—those who meet your eligibility requirements—our team will launch additional marketing campaigns to ensure you find enough suitable consumers.

Do I need ethics approval to use the platform?

No, you most likely do not need ethics to undertake consumer engagement in research. Although research techniques like surveys, interviews, or focus groups may be employed, involving consumers does not constitute research and seldom presents ethical concerns. Consumers do not engage in the same manner as research participants.

Watch this video from Monash Partners to find out more or read the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance Toolkit.