Glossary

A

Attestation

A verified credential on an expert's profile. Attestations include Government ID verification, LinkedIn connection, company/school email verification, and IP-based location. Opportunities can require specific attestations.

Auto-Judge

An AI-powered review method that evaluates participant submissions against your defined criteria automatically, without manual review.

Auto-Topup

A billing setting that automatically purchases additional credits when your balance drops below a configured threshold.

C

Cost Per Participant (CPI)

The total cost for one approved participant: the participant's incentive plus Terac's platform fee. Sometimes quoted as a single number.

Credits

The currency used to pay for participant work on Terac. Credits are purchased upfront and deducted when submissions are approved.

D

Discussion Guide

A structured script of questions and prompts that the AI moderator follows during interviews. Part of a research guide.

E

Expert

A verified individual in the Terac panel who can participate in opportunities. Also called a panelist.

F

Feasibility

Whether Terac can reach and recruit your target audience within your timeline, and at what cost. Checked before launch via filter match counts, the audience feasibility tool, or a feasibility request for niche audiences.

Filter

A demographic, geographic, or professional criterion that determines which experts can see and apply to an opportunity. Filters are applied before experts see the opportunity.

I

Incentive

The reward a participant receives for completing an opportunity, paid out on approval. The incentive is one part of the cost per participant; Terac's platform fee is the other.

Insight

An AI-generated or manually created finding from interview data. Insights include themes, key quotes, and evidence links.

Internal Panel

Terac's database of verified experts. Researchers can search and invite experts directly from the internal panel.

M

MFA

Multi-factor authentication. An optional security setting that requires a second form of verification when logging in.

O

Opportunity

A research project posted on Terac with defined criteria, tasks, and compensation that experts can apply to.

Organization

The top-level workspace on Terac. Contains projects, opportunities, team members, billing, and settings.

P

Participant Cap

The maximum number of participants an opportunity will recruit. Recruitment stops when this cap is reached.

Platform Fee

Terac's fee on top of participant payouts, covering sourcing, screening, and platform services.

Project

A container within an organization that groups related opportunities, research guides, and recordings.

Q

Quota

A target number of participants for specific screening answer combinations, used to ensure a balanced sample.

R

RBAC

Role-based access control. The system that determines what each team member can do within an organization.

Recruitment Link

A unique URL that brings participants directly to a specific opportunity's application flow, bypassing the normal discovery process.

Redirect URL

Also called a callback URL. The URL a third-party survey or task tool sends a participant back to when they finish, so Terac can record the outcome (completed, screened out, over-quota, or rejected) and review the submission.

Research Guide

A comprehensive document containing a discussion guide, screening policy, stimulus materials, and generated insights. Used to power AI-moderated interviews.

S

Screener

A qualification question asked during the application flow. Can be auto-graded or manually reviewed.

Screening Policy

Rules attached to a research guide that determine whether a participant qualifies based on their interview responses.

Sourcing Channel

A mechanism through which Terac reaches potential participants (internal panel, targeted ads, referrals, outbound, recruitment links).

SSO

Single sign-on. Allows members to authenticate through an organization's existing identity provider.

Stimulus

Images, videos, or files shown to participants during AI-moderated interviews.

Submission

A participant's end-to-end journey through an opportunity, from application to completion. Tracks state, screening results, task work, and review decisions.

V

Virtual Incentives

Terac's payment provider. Approved participants receive payouts through Virtual Incentives, choosing from gift cards, prepaid Visa, and other reward options.

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