What Is Chicago Booth CDR?
Chicago Booth CDR (Center for Decision Research) is a crowdsourcing platform for behavioral science studies and research. Here, participants from around the world can get paid to take part in studies that help researchers better understand human interaction, thinking, feelings, and more. The CDR has been conducting this type of research since 1977.
General Details 📜
Status: | Active, Legit |
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Helps You: | Make Money |
Platform Type: | Crowdsourcing Marketplace Rewards |
Opportunities: | Academic Research Participation Focus Group Participation Research Interview Participation Survey Taking |
Contact Info ☎️
Socials: | LinkedIn • Twitter |
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Emails: | cdrlabs@chicagobooth.edu (for general support) |
Phone: | 773.834.9857 |
Support Pages: | Contact |
Company Details 🏢
Founded: | 1977 |
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Also Known As: | Chicago Booth Center for Decision Research, Chicago Booth CDR, Chicago Booth Virtual Labs, Roman Family Center for Decision Research, Roman Family CDR |
Founders: | Hillel Einhorn |
Headquarters: | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Who Is Chicago Booth CDR For?
Chicago Booth CDR is for those who are interested in making money participating in behavioral science studies. Just keep in mind that the opportunities you receive on this platform aren't guaranteed to be consistent, so don't expect to earn a lot.
Requirements 🔎
Minimum Age: | 4 years old Those under 18 years old can only participate in studies via a parent or legal guardian's account. Specific studies are available for minors. |
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Supported Locations: | Worldwide Chicago Booth CDR only pays out via Amazon.com gift cards. |
Supported Languages: | English |
Supported Devices: | Computer, Smartphone, Tablet Chicago Booth CDR can be accessed via web browser on any device (user experience may vary). |
Other: | Zoom calling may be required for some studies. |
How Does Chicago Booth CDR Work?
For Participants
Chicago Booth CDR participants can make money by participating in surveys and live research interviews related to behavioral science. After completing a study, payment is sent via Amazon gift card.
Getting Started 🔢
Becoming a Chicago Booth CDR participant is free. To get started, head over to the virtual labs page of the website and fill in the application form. You'll be asked to provide your full name, email, country and zip code. You'll also be asked to share why you're interested in joining the platform.
After you complete the application form, you should receive an email within 1-2 business days with your login details.
The first time you access the platform, you'll be asked for a bit more information about yourself including your age group, gender identity, ethnicity, level of English fluency, other languages, employment status, income status, annual household income, and more. This info is used to connect you with relevant studies, so be sure to fill it out accurately.
Next, you'll want to take the paid computer skills screening (to be eligible for survey studies) and the Zoom prerequisite study (to e eligible for virtual lab interview studies). If you complete both screeners, you'll earn a cool $5.
Sign up bonus: $5 after completing the intro screeners.
Earning Money 💵
There are three (3) types of studies to participate in on the Center for Decision Research:
- Surveys. Surveys are questionnaires that require you to type answers or select answers to a set of given questions. The links to these surveys are given as soon as you select the survey in your dashboard. Usually, surveys take between 5-15 minutes to complete.
- Virtual labs. Virtual labs are Zoom studies that could last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. This depends on the nature of the study. Sometimes, studies are broken into 2 parts if they tend to extend past an hour. Studies like this could be a simple conversation or take the form of a role-play. Most will require a Zoom account.
- Virtual labs for children. These are very similar to the virtual labs for adults, except they're for anyone aged 4 years or older. According to Chicago Booth CDR, these studies last around 5-15 minutes each and typically ask children to listen to stories and respond to a series of questions. As a parent, you can be present during these studies, but just as a spectator.
Before participating in any study, you can read its details, see how much it pays, and see its estimated duration. You aren't forced to take any studies you don't want to.
Cashing Out 💰
Once you have earned any amount of money (there's no minimum payout), you can cash out your Chicago Booth CDR earnings via Gift Cards.
After cashing out, you can expect to receive your Chicago Booth CDR payout in 1-4 days. (Payouts are sent within 1-2 business days.)
Key Points 📝
Work Type: | Casual |
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Income Type: | Active |
Work Schedule: | Flexible Once you apply for a study, be sure to adhere to the schedule (or cancel with more than an hour's notice if you can't attend). Missing your scheduled study without proper cancelation twice will result in a permanent restriction in enrolling for future studies. |
Workplace: | Remote |
Minimum Payout: | None Payouts are initiated automatically after study completion. |
Payout Options: | Gift Cards Amazon Gift Card Amazon gift cards from CDR are specifically for Amazon.com. |
Payout Speed: | 1-4 days Payouts are sent within 1-2 business days. |
Sign Up Bonus: | $5 after completing the intro screeners. |
Pros: |
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Cons: |
Pros and cons are based on real Chicago Booth CDR Participant reviews. |
Tip: Read our Chicago Booth CDR Earning Guide to learn more about making money on the platform.
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Chicago Booth CDR Videos and Images
Our Editorial Chicago Booth CDR Review
Is Chicago Booth CDR Legit?
We believe the Chicago Booth CDR is legit. Launched in 1977 and run by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (a well-respected institution that was founded back in 1898) we have no reason to believe this platform could be a scam.
Green flags:
- Looks like the platform has been running virtual studies since 2020.
- Transparent information on how the platform works before signing up.
- Easy to find information on the faculty behind the platform.
- Free to get started as a research participant.
- Able to find proof of payment online along with positive reviews.
Note: All research is done independently and could be wrong or change as new information is gathered. Please do your own due diligence.
Is Chicago Booth CDR a Good Way to Make Money?
Chicago CDR is a great opportunity for anyone looking to earn a side income participating in academic behavioral science studies. It won't provide a full-time income but the rates are good, participation is simple, and the research being done is quite interesting!
Safety Rating: 3/5
Chicago CDR asks for basic personal information but says they keep everything confidential. That said, they don't have an official privacy policy specific to virtual lab participation, so that hurts their safety score a bit.
Support Quality: 5/5
Based on the users we've surveyed, Chicago CDR's support team seems helpful and quick to respond.
Earning Potential: 1/5
Based on real user data, you can expect to earn around $5.33/hour with Chicago CDR. Unfortunately though, opportunities can be quite sparse and you may only receive a few a month, leading to an overall low earning potential. Still, good for side cash!
Payout Minimum Rating: 5/5
Chicago Booth CDR has no minimum payout amount.
Payout Speed Rating: 4/5
Payouts are sent within 1-2 business days. Overall, based on our data, you can expect to get paid in 1-4 days after reaching the minimum payout amount.
Ease Of Entry: 4/5
Chicago CDR is available worldwide to anyone with English fluency and basic computer skills.
Commissions / Fees Rating: 5/5
No fees.
User Experience Rating: 5/5
The Chicago CDR users we've surveyed all reported a great user experience and smooth site usability.

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Try It!Chicago Booth CDR Statistics
General Platform Statistics
25k
Avg. Monthly Site Visitors
Data as of May 30, 2023 • Sources: Similarweb
Participant Earnings Statistics
Based on real data from our 4 Chicago Booth CDR Participant reviews. View all Participant statistics here.
Help make this data more accurate by writing a review!
Chicago Booth CDR Reviews From Participants
Average Scores
Reviewer Recommendation
😁 100%Rating Breakdown
Reviews By Total Earnings
- Unknown (0%)
- Less than $100 (75%)
- $100-$999 (25%)
- $1,000-$9,999 (0%)
- $10,000-$49,999 (0%)
- $50,000-$99,999 (0%)
- $100,000+ (0%)
Reviews By Age Range
- Unknown (0%)
- 13-17 (0%)
- 18-24 (50%)
- 25-34 (50%)
- 35-44 (0%)
- 45-54 (0%)
- 55-64 (0%)
- 65+ (0%)
Reviews By Length of Use
- < 1 month (0%)
- 1-3 months (25%)
- 3-6 months (25%)
- 6-12 months (25%)
- 1-2 years (25%)
- 2-3 years (0%)
- 3-5 years (0%)
- 5+ years (0%)

A little bit of money never hurt anyone
Very okay site to earn a few usd per month, don’t just put all your hopes on it because you wouldn’t get so much surveys to earn something tangible.
- Surveys are easy and quick to complete.
- You get sent your gift card payment 2 days after the survey, which in my opinion is swift.
- Not much Survey invitations.
- Complete all the prerequisite surveys required for you to complete after joining (this will open you up to receiving more surveys)
- This won’t pull in so much in a month, so have something stable and this should just be a side hustle.

Great way to make some beermoney while contributing to science
- Payment are sent directly to your email address.
- There's no withdrawal limit. You do not have to achieve any milestone to make withdrawals. Once you earn a dollar, it is sent to you directly.
- When a scheduled study is cancelled, they let you know at least an hour early, and you often get compensated for the cancelation.
- The Video studies are always interesting. Gives you an avenue to earn while contributing to the development of greater things.
- Using the website is pretty straight forward.
- Timing. All studies are conducted at PST
- Payment takes 2 - 3 days
- Payment option is limited to Amazon gift cards only
- Always pick time slots that are convenient for you. You must understand timezones, as they only post study times in PST, so it is left to you to schedule accordingly. The also frown on participants missing studies, and penalize them too.
- Try to participate in video studies
- Visit website often to catch new opportunities on time

Quite fun doing their tasks
Centers for Decision Research is great for anyone who just wants to rack up a few dollars on Amazon.
- how simple it is to know when surveys are available
- it takes a while to receive the Amazon gift card
- I really dislike the video focus groups because I don't like showing my face
- if you must cancel make sure you pay attention to the deadline