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Quotas control how qualifying responses are distributed across selected screening answers. Each panel has its own quota configuration in Quotas, panels & links, with live fill counts displayed on Fieldwork.

Before you start

Save eligible Multiple Choice screening questions and decide the target and optional cap for every planned cell.

Create a quota

1

Open the selected panel

In Create, open the builder view menu, select Quotas, panels & links, and choose the panel to configure.
2

Add the quota

In Quotas, select Add quota and choose a Multiple Choice question, usually a screening question. The picker shows each question’s number. Its selectable options become quota rows. A quota on a question asked after screening shows a warning: participants over its quota are stopped partway through the survey.
3

Enter Min and Max

Use Min for the target and Max for the intake cap. Leave Max empty only when responses may continue past the target while the panel remains open.
4

Save and review totals

Resolve any validation message, save the form, and confirm the cells on Fieldwork.
Min does not stop intake. Max closes the cell to new qualifying participants: Max must be equal to or greater than Min and cannot exceed the allowed panel total. To exclude an answer entirely, use a screening rule instead of setting Max to zero.

Create nested quota cells

Use nesting to cross one eligible screening question with another, such as region within age.
1

Choose the parent row

Open its actions and select Add nested quota.
2

Choose the second question

Select the question that defines the nested rows.
3

Choose where to apply it

Apply the structure to the selected parent option or to all options at that level.
4

Preview and create

Review the cell structure, select Add Nested Quota, and enter Min and Max for each resulting cell.
Check whether every combined cell is recruitable. Two individually common answers can form a small intersection.
Nested age and region quotas with minimum targets and maximum caps

The 18–34 group has a target of 40, divided into four regional targets of 10.

Group options under one target

Select Group Options and choose at least two options, or drag one option onto another. The combined row receives one target and cap. Use Ungroup to restore separate rows. Grouped options cannot contain nested quotas. Keep options separate when the group also needs another quota dimension.
Two regional quota groups, each with a minimum of 60 and maximum of 70

Grouped options share one target: North and South together require 60 respondents, with a cap of 70.

Set quotas for a monadic or split test

When each respondent is placed in one cell, by an assignment variable or by a concept loop showing one concept per respondent, set the quotas on the whole sample, not per cell. A quota cannot target an assignment variable.
1

Set the quotas on the total

Add the quotas as usual, with each target equal to the per-cell target multiplied by the number of cells. With two cells of 300, the panel target is 600, and 45 women aged 18–34 per cell becomes a target of 90.
2

Balance the cells within the quota questions

In the assignment variable, keep evenly and select every quota question under within. For a concept loop, balance the rotation within the same questions. These must be single-choice questions asked of every respondent, placed before the first question that depends on the cell.
Each respondent is placed after answering the quota questions, in the cell that holds the fewest respondents of the same profile. Every profile is therefore split evenly across the cells. A respondent ends as quota exceeded only when their profile is full for the whole study, not because one cell is full while another still has room. Avoid quotas on variables that combine the cell with a profile, such as Cell 1 — Women. They can be saved, but the assignment does not read them: a respondent placed in a cell whose profile is full ends as quota exceeded, even when the other cell still has room for that profile. Respondents who started count toward the balance, including those who left without finishing, so cells can differ by a few completed responses when one cell has more drop-outs. This setup requires the same targets in every cell. Cells with different sizes or different profiles cannot be balanced this way. Check the split with a crosstab of the assignment variable by the quota questions. See Assign respondents to cells.

Monitor quota fills

Open Fieldwork and find Recruitment progress. Each row compares the current count with Min and, when set, Max. Review individual cells as well as the total panel progress. When a cell reaches Max, later participants who match it end as quota exceeded. The panel’s Quota Exceeded Redirect URL determines whether they return to a provider or see the built-in end screen.

Troubleshooting

Check whether Max is empty or higher than Min. Min measures the target; only Max stops additional intake.
Compare it with the screening rules, then review any nested dimensions. The UI identifies direct screener conflicts; a narrow combination may also require a feasibility decision.
The quotas combine the cell with a profile, and the cell was drawn without looking at that profile. Set the quotas on the total and balance the assignment within the quota questions, as in Set quotas for a monadic or split test.
Add and save a Multiple Choice question in the Screening section. Open-ended, numeric, custom-code, or main-questionnaire fields are not eligible quota sources.

Check the result

Reopen the saved quota and compare every cell with the sample plan. In fieldwork, distinguish progress toward Min from closure at Max, including nested and grouped cells.