What Are Screening Rules?
Screening rules are conditions that must be met for a participant to continue. If a participant fails a screening rule, they’re redirected to a completion page and marked as “screened out.” Example:Your study requires participants who own smartphones. Screening question: “Do you own a smartphone?” Screening rule: If answer = “No” → Screen out
Why Use Screening Rules?
Quality Control
Ensure participants match your target audience:- Right demographics
- Relevant experience
- Qualifying behaviors
Cost Efficiency
Don’t pay for unqualified responses:- Screen out early in the survey
- Save incentive costs
- Focus resources on qualified participants
Data Integrity
Keep your data clean:- Only collect responses from target audience
- Avoid analyzing irrelevant data
- Improve research validity
Screening vs. Conditional Logic
| Feature | Screening Rules | Conditional Logic |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Terminate unqualified participants | Show/hide questions |
| Outcome | End survey immediately | Continue survey differently |
| Use when | Participant doesn’t fit your criteria | Questions aren’t relevant to them |
Use screening to remove unqualified participants entirely. Use conditional logic when participants qualify but need different questions.
Setting Up Screening Rules
1
Create Screening Questions
Add questions early in your study that determine qualification.
2
Select the Question
Click on the screening question to open its settings.
3
Add a Screening Rule
Find the screening rule settings and click “Add Rule.”
4
Define Disqualifying Answers
Specify which answers should screen out participants:
- Select the disqualifying option(s)
- Set the rule to terminate the survey
5
Test the Rule
Use test mode to verify screening works correctly.
Types of Screening Criteria
Demographic Screening
| Criteria | Example Question | Screen Out If |
|---|---|---|
| Age | ”How old are you?” | Under 18 |
| Location | ”What country do you live in?” | Outside target markets |
| Gender | ”What is your gender?” | Doesn’t match quota |
| Income | ”What is your household income?” | Outside target range |
Behavioral Screening
| Criteria | Example Question | Screen Out If |
|---|---|---|
| Product usage | ”Have you used [product] in the past 6 months?” | No usage |
| Purchase intent | ”Are you planning to purchase in the next 3 months?” | Not planning |
| Category involvement | ”How often do you shop for [category]?” | Never shops |
| Decision role | ”Do you make purchasing decisions for your household?” | Not a decision maker |
Experience Screening
| Criteria | Example Question | Screen Out If |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | ”Do you work in marketing, advertising, or market research?” | Yes (avoid professionals) |
| Brand affiliation | ”Do you or any family member work for [brand]?” | Yes |
| Past participation | ”Have you participated in a similar study in the past month?” | Yes |
Screening Question Best Practices
Place Screening Early
Put screening questions at the beginning of your survey:- Don’t waste participants’ time
- Don’t pay for unqualified responses
- Keep costs down
Ask Neutrally
Don’t reveal the “right” answer: Bad: “We’re studying smartphone users. Do you own a smartphone?” Good: “Which of the following devices do you own? (Select all that apply)“Use Multiple Choice
Avoid open-ended screening questions:- Harder to set rules on
- May be gamed more easily
- Use clear options
Hide True Intent
When possible, embed screeners among other questions:“Which of these products do you own?”This makes it harder for participants to guess the qualifying answer.
- Laptop
- Tablet
- Smartphone (target)
- Gaming console
- Smart TV
Setting Up Multiple Screeners
You can have multiple screening rules:Sequential Screening
Screen on each qualifying criteria in order:- Age screening
- Location screening
- Product usage screening
Combined Criteria
Handling Screened Participants
Screen-Out Experience
When screened, participants see:- A polite thank you message
- Explanation that they don’t qualify
- Optional redirect to another page
Customizing the Message
You can customize what screened participants see: Example message:“Thank you for your interest. Unfortunately, you don’t meet the criteria for this particular study. We appreciate your time and hope to include you in future research.”
Data for Screened Participants
Screened participants:- Appear in your response dashboard
- Are marked with “Screened Out” status
- Have partial data (only answered screening questions)
- Are excluded from analysis reports
Monitoring Screening Results
Screening Rate
Track what percentage of participants are being screened out.| Screening Rate | Indication |
|---|---|
| 0-10% | Very permissive criteria |
| 10-30% | Normal for targeted studies |
| 30-50% | Narrow criteria |
| 50%+ | Very restrictive - may be hard to recruit |
Screening by Question
See which screening questions eliminate the most participants:- Helps identify bottlenecks
- May indicate criteria that are too restrictive
- Useful for adjusting recruitment
Common Screening Mistakes
Screening too late
Screening too late
If screening questions come after 10+ questions, you’ve already wasted participant and your time.
Revealing the right answer
Revealing the right answer
“We need homeowners for this study. Are you a homeowner?” makes it easy to lie.
Over-screening
Over-screening
Too many criteria = very few qualified participants = expensive and slow recruitment.
Not testing
Not testing
Test your screening rules to ensure they work. Wrong rules can screen out qualified participants.
Screening and Incidence Rates
Your screening criteria affect your incidence rate—the percentage of people who qualify. Example:- Screening for smartphone owners: ~85% qualify (high incidence)
- Screening for owners of a specific brand: ~10% qualify (low incidence)
- Screening for heavy users of a niche product: ~2% qualify (very low incidence)