Screening: Qualify Responses
Screening determines whether a respondent’s answers meet your study requirements. In the distribution settings, this capability appears as Screening conditions. A respondent who does not qualify is terminated, does not count as a valid complete, and is not billed.
Use Distribution range when profile data such as gender, age, or city should decide who receives an invitation. Use screening when actual answers should decide whether a response qualifies.
Current scope
Screening, quota, and tracking settings currently apply to standard survey panel distribution. AI interview samples do not yet support these advanced settings.
Distribution range versus screening
| Capability | When it applies | Data source | If not matched |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distribution range | Before invitations are sent | Existing panel attributes and tags | No invitation is sent |
| Screening conditions | While the respondent answers | Questions in this survey or custom screener questions | The response is terminated, not counted, and not billed |
For example, to recruit “people aged 22–35 who purchased coffee in the last month”:
- Select age 22–35 in Distribution range;
- Add a custom screener: “Have you purchased coffee in the last month?”;
- Make “Yes” the valid answer.
Panel attributes are no longer shown as a separate screening source. This prevents the same targeting attribute from being configured and priced twice.
Two screening sources
Survey questions
Select an existing question and define valid answers according to its type. This works when:
- the main survey already asks about eligibility, usage, or purchase behavior;
- you do not want respondents to answer the same question twice;
- you need ratings, dates, matrices, or open text to determine validity.
The question stays in the normal survey flow. The submitted answer is evaluated against the rule.
Custom screener questions
A custom screener is independent of the main survey and appears before it. You can currently create:
- single choice;
- multiple choice;
- scale;
- number;
- text input.
These questions are required. A clear failure moves the respondent directly to the “does not qualify” ending instead of asking them to complete the main survey. The server validates the rules again on submission as a safeguard.
Use custom screeners for requirements that are not already in the survey, such as recent category purchase, current brand usage, or usage frequency.
Rules supported by each question type
| Question type | Rules | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Single choice, dropdown, image choice | Any selected; none selected | Brand A, B, or C qualifies |
| Multiple choice, ranking | Contains any; contains all; contains none | Must use both A and B |
| Scale, rating, NPS, slider, number | Between; at least; at most; equals | Rating at least 7; age 18–35 |
| Matrix single choice, matrix scale | Evaluate a row | “Support” row is satisfied or above |
| Short or long text | Contains keyword; is not empty | Mentions “EV” or “electric vehicle” |
| Date or date range | Between | Purchase date falls in a period |
| Province/city or cascade | Belongs to | Location belongs to selected cities |
Ranges are inclusive. “Between 18 and 35,” for example, includes both 18 and 35.
How to configure screening
- Publish the survey and open panel distribution;
- Expand Screening conditions and choose Add condition;
- Select Survey question or Custom screener question;
- Choose the matching rule and enter valid options, keywords, or a range;
- Add other conditions and review every AND / OR connector;
- Read the generated “A valid response must satisfy” preview;
- Review the refreshed quote and submit the distribution.
An incomplete rule blocks payment. If a later survey version removes a referenced question, repair the condition before launching again.
Combining conditions with AND / OR
Every pair of adjacent conditions has a clickable connector:
- AND requires both sides to pass;
- OR makes adjacent rules an any-match group;
- consecutive OR connectors form one group, while separate groups and ordinary rules are joined by AND.
For “uses brand A or B, and satisfaction is at least 7”:
Brand = A
OR
Brand = B
AND
Satisfaction >= 7The result is:
(Brand = A OR Brand = B) AND Satisfaction >= 7Check the natural-language preview after changing a connector.
Impact on collection and price
Respondents who fail screening:
- do not appear as valid responses;
- do not consume the target complete count;
- do not incur a valid-sample charge.
Only responses that pass screening, complete the main survey, and pass quality review are settled as valid completes.
The system converts the rules into an estimated incidence rate. A lower incidence means more invitations are needed to obtain the same number of qualified completes, so the per-complete screening fee rises.
The quote refreshes when you change rules, valid values, AND/OR connectors, target count, or quotas. See How Pricing Is Calculated for the current incidence tiers.
Using screening with quotas
Screening determines who qualifies; quotas determine how many qualified people are needed in each category.
When a choice question is used by both, quota candidates automatically narrow to options that can still pass screening. A good sequence is:
- Set the distribution range;
- Configure screening;
- Configure quotas.
This reduces contradictions such as assigning quota to a category that screening already excludes.
FAQ
Can I use distribution range without screening?
Yes. If panel attributes are sufficient, targeting them directly is faster and avoids extra screener questions.
Are custom screener answers main research data?
They are designed for runtime eligibility. If a variable must be analyzed later, keep the corresponding question in the main survey as well.
Do more conditions always improve accuracy?
No. More conditions generally reduce incidence, slow collection, and may increase price. Keep conditions that truly determine eligibility; use quotas or analysis for variables that do not.
Other names used in the industry
| Context | Common terms |
|---|---|
| Market research and panels | Respondent screening, audience screening, panel screening, recruitment screener, screener survey |
| Survey products | Screening conditions, screening rules, screener questions, qualifying / disqualifying questions, survey termination logic |
| Academic research | Participant screening, eligibility criteria, inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria, qualification assessment |
| Participant platforms | Pre-screening, prescreeners, eligibility screening, custom screening, participant criteria |
In this guide, screening is the capability and a screener is the question or short survey used to qualify respondents. Incidence rate (IR) is the estimated share of the audience that qualifies.
Related but not equivalent
Attention checks, trap questions, bogus items, red-herring questions, and Instructional Manipulation Checks (IMCs) test response quality or attentiveness. Skip logic, branching, and early termination are implementation mechanisms. They may support quality control, but they are not the same as eligibility screening.