There are several reasons why you might wish to block a researcher on Prolific. For example, if a researcher is publishing studies that you aren't interested in, or they have published lots of the same study, or perhaps you had a bad experience with the researcher. Regardless of whether you've taken a study with the researcher, you're able to block them, and their studies, from your Prolific account.
You can block a researcher in two different ways, depending on whether you've participated in their study or not:
When you haven't done a study with them
Find the researcher's study on your dashboard
Click on the study and scroll down to the bottom of the study details
Click the "Block Researcher" button
This prevents their studies from appearing in your dashboard in the future.
When you've already done a study with them
Go to your "Submissions" page
Find the study conducted by the researcher you want to block
Click on the researcher's name
Select the "Block Researcher" option
Once blocked, you won't see any new studies from this researcher.
How do I unblock a researcher?
To unblock a researcher:
Go to your "Submissions" page
Click "Submission History"
Select "View blocked researchers" from the dropdown menu
Find the researcher you want to unblock and click the "Unblock" button
Click "Unblock researcher" in the confirmation popup to finalize your decision
Does blocking/unblocking a researcher impact them or me?
No! Blocking a researcher is completely anonymous and can be done for any reason. The researcher won't be notified, and it won't affect their account or yours. The only change is that you'll stop seeing studies from this researcher.
If you later decide to unblock a researcher, this action is also anonymous with no impact on either account. You should begin seeing their studies again within a few days.