Local-file workflow
Offline card sorting without participant accounts.
Where the workflow fits
A file-based instrument is useful for moderated same-device sessions, classrooms, travel, pop-up research, confidential unreleased taxonomies, limited connectivity, and organizations that need research material to stay on controlled devices. It trades remote scale and automatic collection for explicit custody and portability.
| File-based field lab | Hosted study platform |
|---|---|
| Researcher issues one HTML file. | Researcher publishes a participant URL. |
| Participant downloads one JSON response. | Response submits to the platform automatically. |
| No participant or researcher product account. | Researcher workspace account is typical. |
| No runtime API or cloud sync. | Hosted storage, dashboards, and collaboration may be included. |
| Researcher manages transfer, access, backup, retention, and deletion. | Platform and researcher divide those responsibilities. |
| No recruitment panel, recording, or remote monitoring. | Those services may be available. |
What the participant file contains
The file embeds one frozen edition: purpose, instructions, researcher-authored information, optional acknowledgement, completion rules, cards, predefined categories, and an edition fingerprint. It does not include researcher-only card notes or prior responses.
During a session, progress exists only in the open page until the participant downloads a saved or completed response. The file avoids local browser storage, hidden requests, analytics, and automatic submission. Save/resume uses an explicit JSON file so custody remains visible.
What the response contains
The response records a random response ID, revision, edition identity, researcher-supplied session code, timestamps, duration, presented order, final card order within every group, raw created labels, completion state, acknowledgement state, and optional final comment. It intentionally omits names, email addresses, IP addresses, geolocation, device fingerprints, recordings, biometrics, and telemetry.
What you give up
There is no automatic submission confirmation, participant panel, link analytics, cross-device resume, team collaboration, screen recording, or live response dashboard. A participant can misplace a file, and a researcher can mishandle one. Pilot the handoff route and naming convention before data collection.