Avoid Free Trial Trap: How to Choose Systematic Review Semi-Automation Tools for Yourself, Your Institute, or Library?
The marketing departments of automation programme companies are constantly contacting individuals, research-related libraries, institutes and universities, offering them free trial periods. While a free trial could be used to your advantage, it could become a trap if not used well.
This approach has been in place since a long time ago with databases and other 'Information Resources'; however, there is a danger of getting into the trap for the passive decision-makers. Passive deciders wait for the marketing departments to contact them and offer them a product instead of actively hunting for the best programs and comparative studies.
What can go wrong with free trials?
A. Free trial of a single product compared to nothing!
When you get a free trial for a single product, the users have no other reference or comparison point, so they cannot compare the products. The result of such a trial is, in most cases, obvious: the product is good, and better than nothing. So, feedback would tell you to get a subscription.
