---
title: "Studies — one workspace, many research methods | Minds"
canonical_url: "https://getminds.ai/guide/chats"
last_updated: "2026-08-24T04:42:49.258Z"
meta:
  description: "Run an in-depth interview, explore a synthetic audience, use a questionnaire, or test a concept in one reusable Study workspace."
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  "og:title": "Studies — one workspace, many research methods | Minds"
  "twitter:description": "Run an in-depth interview, explore a synthetic audience, use a questionnaire, or test a concept in one reusable Study workspace."
  "twitter:title": "Studies — one workspace, many research methods | Minds"
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Minds

September 10, 2025·Minds Team

# **Studies — one workspace, many research methods**

Studies are the persistent research object in Minds. A Study can contain a one-on-one Mind interview, qualitative audience exploration, a structured questionnaire, concept or message testing, and follow-up questions. Quick starts fast; Custom provides an AI-guided setup for the research goal, audience, method, and question plan.

Studies are where research happens in Minds. One persistent Study workspace can use several methods:

- an **in-depth interview** with one Mind
- **qualitative exploration at scale** with a reusable Audience
- a structured **questionnaire** with directional quantitative readouts
- a **concept, message, pricing, or visual-asset test**
- a **segment comparison** across two or more Audiences

Researchers often call a reusable synthetic Audience a panel. In the product, **Audience** names the people being studied; **Study** names the saved work.

## Starting a Study

_How to start a Study — Quick or Custom_

Click **New Study** in the sidebar. The smart input suggests Minds and Audiences as you type. Choose a single Mind for an in-depth interview, one Audience for a group study, or multiple Audiences for a segment comparison.

Other shortcuts:

- From any Mind's profile, click **Interview** to start a one-on-one Study.
- From any Audience in the sidebar, click the name to start an Audience Study.
- Start typing or attach a source — Quick proposes the Audience first, and the Study starts only after you confirm it.

### Quick or Custom

**Quick** is the fast start. The Twinkle loader stays visible while Minds resolves the prompt plus any URL, upload, or supported integration attachment, infers the intended Audience, and searches your private and Marketplace Audiences. It can suggest several existing and **NEW** exact or adjacent Audiences. Existing Audiences show their real stored Mind count; only NEW Quick drafts use the current 5–20 Mind range. Even an exact existing match must be confirmed before the Study opens.

**Custom** opens the AI-guided setup. Define the research goal, add context, and select existing Audiences or **NEW** Audience drafts without leaving the setup. NEW drafts stay visibly marked through final review and are created with the grounded Quick pipeline only after you confirm the complete Study plan; the Study opens when they are ready. You can also review the method, question structure, and response formats. Advanced methods appear only when requested and only execute when their catalog status supports execution.

When you open an Audience Study, a greeting shows the selected Audiences as tiles. Click a tile to inspect who is included before you ask your first question. The input can also suggest ready-made questionnaire items addressed to the complete Audience.

## Adding research material

You're not limited to text. Drag in:

- landing page screenshots
- pitch decks and PDFs
- product images, packshots, mocks
- competitor ads, campaign creative
- interview notes, raw transcripts

Hit send. Every selected Mind or Audience in the Study can use the attachment as context.

## Directing the Study

In a multi-Mind or multi-Audience Study, use `@name` to address a specific persona:

```
@Sarah what do you think about this positioning?
@Mike can you stress-test Sarah's take?
```

Without a mention, everyone in the Study responds.

## The deep-dive pattern

Audiences give you scale. In-depth interviews give you depth. You can move between them without losing the Study context.

When a Mind's response catches your eye — _"that CMO said something sharp about pricing"_ — click her in the response. You're now in a one-on-one with just her. Ask why. Show her a competitor. Challenge her logic. Ask what would actually change her mind.

This is where the insight gets real. Surface a pattern from the Audience, probe individually, then return to the Audience Study for the aggregate view.

## Managing Studies

_How to read Study results and build a report_

- **Rename** — click the Study title in the header and edit it inline.
- **Add perspectives** — @-mention more Minds, or drag a Mind from the sidebar into the input.
- **Delete** — remove a Study permanently from its entry in the sidebar.

All Studies are saved under **Studies** in the sidebar. Click any one to pick up where you left off.

## Memory across Studies

Cross-Study memory is off by default. Turn it on in **Settings → General → Cross-Study memory** if you want Minds to use stable profile details, such as your name or communication preferences, in future Studies.

Even when enabled, prior projects and research topics are not introduced into unrelated Studies.

---

_Study is the consistent container. Interview, questionnaire, qualitative exploration, concept testing, and audience comparison are the methods inside it._