> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.repdata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Platform Overview

> What Research Desk is, who it is for, and the end-to-end workflow from project setup through reconciliation.

Research Desk is Rep Data's quantitative research sample platform. It brings respondent targeting, fraud prevention, fieldwork management, and reconciliation into one self-serve interface.

## What you can do in Research Desk

* **Centralize sample sourcing** — Manage manual suppliers, automated marketplace allocations, and internal test traffic from one dashboard.
* **Control quality** — Route all respondents through Research Defender fraud checks before they enter your survey.
* **Configure targeting** — Define qualifications, quotas, incidence, length of interview, and device compatibility per survey.
* **Monitor fieldwork** — Track starts, completes, quota fills, and source performance while surveys are live.
* **Reconcile and close projects** — Review completes, dispute invalid sessions, and export cost summaries for billing.

## Who Research Desk is for

Research Desk is designed for research teams that want direct control over sample procurement without managing multiple supplier logins. It supports nearly all commercially available survey platforms, including Qualtrics, Decipher, Confirmit, SightX, and Alchemer.

## Typical workflow

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a project">
    Open a project for a specific research initiative. Assign a project manager and keep the project scoped to a defined fielding window (typically 1–2 months).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create and configure surveys">
    Add one or more surveys to the project. Each survey targets one country-language combination with its own quotas and sample specifications.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add sources">
    Click **Buy Sample** to create Internal sources with qualifications and quotas, or add Manual/Automated sources for other traffic channels.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Launch and monitor">
    Move surveys to Live, run a soft launch (\~10% of target), and monitor traffic until quotas are met.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reconcile and close">
    Review completes during the reconciliation window, accept or reject IDs, and export project cost summaries.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Source types at a glance

| Source type                      | Best for                                                                                                                               |
| -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Internal Source (Buy Sample)** | Self-serve sample from Rep Data's integrated supplier network. Configure qualifications, quotas, and CPI from the Buy Sample workflow. |
| **Manual Source (Add Supplier)** | Sample you purchase directly from your own supplier relationships. Links and reconciliation are managed inside Research Desk.          |
| **Automated Source**             | Programmatic sample matching from Rep Data's marketplace when you need broad feasibility without manual supplier setup.                |

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Account Access" icon="user" href="/research-desk/getting-started/01-account-access">
    Sign in and manage your account.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core Concepts" icon="sitemap" href="/research-desk/getting-started/02-core-concepts">
    Learn how projects, surveys, and sources relate to each other.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>