How to Collect Data Faster

There are a few factors that seem to impact the speed at which is collected.

Pay Rate.  High pay rates (at least 10 cents per minute) are attractive, and can reduce the time it takes to collect your data.


Number of Available HITs.  For some research designs, you may be able to publish duplicate HITs.  For others, you may be able to increase the number of people who can complete a HIT.  Doing so allows multiple people to have access to your HIT at the same moment in time.


Recruitment Pool.  The size of the pool can be increased or decreased based on the Mechanical Turk settings you specify when you set up the HIT.  For instance, you can specify that only Workers who have completed a certain number of HITs can view your HITs.  Requiring 1,000 HITs (as opposed to 100 HITs) reduces the number of people who can participate, and then contributes to the length of time it takes to collect data.


Requester Reputation.  Workers (myself included) often choose to complete HITs based on the reputation of the requester.  Why?  Because my future opportunities on Mechanical Turk (and my ability to make money) depends on my acceptance rate.  By choosing to work with Requesters who have a positive reputation, I enhance my chances of success.  


Context.  Consider the context of your sample.  For instance, response rates for full-time employees tend to be higher during the early to late evening hours, and on weekend and holidays.  Response rates for other samples may be impacted by the circumstances in which your potential participants find themselves.