Survey Options Overview

Question 1

My participants are telling me that their survey link is not working. What could be causing this?

There are several possibilities:

Prevent Multiple Submissions: The participant may be attempting to take a survey on the same computer and browser with the Prevent Multiple Submissions feature enabled in the Survey Options. Prevent Multiple Submissions places a cookie on the participants browser that will prevent another survey session from being started from that device. The participant will need to clear their browser cache.
Used Individual Links: The participant may be trying to access the survey through a used or expired Individual Link. Individual Links are created automatically for every person in your contact list when you send the survey out through the Qualtrics mailer or create Personal Links. This kind of survey link can be used only once and then becomes invalid. We recommend not forwarding any Individual Link to avoid this situation. In addition, if your respondent clicks onto the link, decides not to fill anything out, and leaves the survey for a long time (one week by default), this can also cause the link to close, because the incomplete survey response timeframe has passed. In both of these scenarios, the participant will need to receive another survey link (either through a new email distribution, Personal Link, or the Anonymous Link) in order to access the survey.
Expiration: The participant may be trying to access a survey that is expired. In the Survey Options, there is an option to set an Expiration Date (after which participants can no longer start new surveys). Turn off the expiration to allow them access to the survey. (Please note that copying a project will copy over all survey settings, including the Expiration Date.)

Question 2

How can I make sure the participant only takes the survey once?

If you are distributing your survey through the Qualtrics mailer or Personal Links, then Individual Links will automatically be generated for each participant. These Individual Links can be used only once and then become invalid.

If you are distributing your survey through the Anonymous Link, there are 2 options to prevent participants from retaking the survey:

Prevent Multiple Submissions: You can enable Prevent Multiple Submissions in your Survey Options. This option will place a cookie in the participant’s browser that will restrict them from retaking the survey on that browser. However, the participant could still clear their cookie cache, use a different browser, or use a different computer in order to take the survey again.
Authentication: You can use the Authenticator element in the Survey Flow. This option will require the participant to be a member of a contact list you have previously set up within your account. The Authenticator options will allow you to prevent contacts from retaking the survey by using the contact list as an authentication database.

Question 3

How do I insert a back button?

Open the Survey Options.

Click on the Responses tab.

Toggle the Back Button to the "on" position.

Note that certain features disable the back button. See this page for details.

Question 4

How do I display different messages for different participants at the end of the survey?

In the Survey Flow, you can create multiple End of Survey elements, each with a different End of Survey message, and create branches to house those elements. Once made, you can place logic on those branches to specify which respondents go to which End of Survey element. To create these custom survey ending messages,

Open the Survey Flow.

Examine your existing blocks and branches and determine where you want a survey ending.

Click either Add Below or Add a New Element Here, whichever is closest to the spot you want to place the new element.

If you are not already under a branch, add a Branch that sets the conditions for the special end of survey message.

Indented under this branch, add an End of Survey element.

Click Customize and select the Override Survey Options checkbox.

Change the end of survey message from Default to Custom and choose a pre-written message from your library or write a new one.

Click OK and move the End of Survey element to where you need you it (be sure it is within the correct branch for your logic!).

Note that you can add End of Survey elements to each branch if you choose so. If you need a random ending, even on the same branch, you can use the Randomizer element to randomly present a different ending.

Question 5

How do I show respondents their progress in the survey?

You can insert a progress bar to indicate how far along the participant is in the survey.

Question 6

I set a survey expiration date, but some responses are still coming in. What is happening?

The Survey Availability determines how long participants have to use survey links (any type) to start new responses. Once the expiration date passes, clicking on the survey link will give a message that alerts the respondent that the survey has expired. These links will be reactivated if you take the expiration off or extend it to some point in the future.

When the survey expiration date arrives, respondents who have already started their surveys will be able to complete their responses for a limited period of time. How long they have is determined by the Incomplete Survey Response setting (also found in Survey Options).

For example, let's say Survey Availability is set to 60 days and Incomplete Survey Response completion is set to 2 weeks. You receive your survey link and wait 55 days before clicking on it. As soon as you move past the first page (i.e., click the first "next" button), the Incomplete Survey Response setting takes over. You now have 2 weeks to finish taking the survey (even though the survey expires in 5 days). In this situation, participants can submit survey responses after a survey has expired or been deactivated.

If you want to avoid this scenario, you can pause response collection and choose to close all incomplete responses. This will close all surveys regardless of Incomplete Survey Response status and stop anyone from submitting after that point. All the partial data will be added to the Recorded Responses page with all the other survey data.

Question 7

How do I change the link expiration when I email my survey using the Qualtrics Mailer?

When you are composing your email, select Show Advanced Options in the bottom-left corner in order to adjust the Link Expiration. You cannot change this after the email has been sent.

If you would like to change the expiration for your entire survey and not just a few links, see Survey Availability. This availability can be changed at any time.

Question 8

Why do the options for Anonymous and Multiple Completes links not show up when I try to change the Link Type in my email I am sending?

Your survey is set to By Invitation Only.

Navigate to the Survey tab and select Survey Options. In the Survey Protection section you can change your survey to be Open Access which will allow you to choose Anonymous or Multiple Completes links when sending your survey.

Question 9

Does a survey expire? Under what circumstances?

Yes, a survey can expire in one of the following manners:

Incomplete Survey Responses: After someone begins a survey session, they will have 7 days to complete the survey before it closes (meaning the data is recorded and they can no longer edit their response). You can adjust this setting in the Survey Options in the Survey tab. Once changed, the change only applies to new respondents going forward.
Link Expiration: When you send an email distribution or create personal links, your respondents will have 60 days to open the survey link before it expires. After they begin the survey, they will be subject to the Incomplete Survey Responses rule mentioned above. Once this expiration is set, it can’t be edited.
Survey Expiration Date: You can set this in the Survey Options for a specified date and time. Any respondent that attempts to start the survey after the set expiration date will not be able to enter. However, those respondents who have already started a survey will still be able to access it. You can turn this expiration on or off at any time.

Question 10

How do I translate my survey into other languages and specify a language for my survey respondents?

The Translate Survey feature allows you to add multiple languages to a single survey. Using contact lists, you have the ability to set the language each respondent will see the survey appear in. Because there is just 1 survey containing all of the translations, all of the results will appear in the same data set.

Question 11

How can I redirect respondents to another website or survey after they have submitted their response?

In your Survey Options, you can set a default URL that all respondents will be redirected to when they complete the survey.

If you would like to send different subsets of respondents to different pages, you can create branches for the different subsets and customize end of survey elements with different redirect URLs.

Question 12

I want to offer the opportunity to enter a raffle following the end of my survey for my participants. I want participants to submit their email address, but keep it separate from their response so it remain anonymous. Is this possible?

Yes, this is possible! Just follow the instructions on this page.

Question 13

What is the incomplete survey responses setting?

After respondents start a survey, they have a certain amount of time allotted for them to complete the survey, regardless of the survey’s activation status or expiration dates. How much time the respondent has is determined by the Incomplete Survey Responses setting, found at the bottom of the Survey Options in the Survey tab. If the respondent has not completed the survey and the allotted amount of time passes, the survey will automatically close and record as a partial response.

For more information regarding Incomplete Survey Responses, visit the Partial Completion support page.

Question 14

When I click the link, I see an old version of my survey! Are my changes not being saved?

First, make sure your changes are published. Changes have to be published before they will appear in the live survey link.

Next, check whether you have Allow Respondents to Finish Later turned on in your Survey Options. If you've been testing out your survey on the Anonymous Link while you make edits, then you're seeing an old version of the survey because a cookie was placed on your browser to save your progress. Open your Anonymous Link in an Incognito Window or a Private Window. If this window has your changes, then Save and Continue is just saving your place, and you don't have to worry about brand new respondents seeing an old version of the survey.

(Note: We recommend testing your survey using your preview link instead of your anonymous link for this reason.)

Survey Options Overview

About Survey Options

General

Responses

Security

Post-Survey

Advanced

Survey Options in Different Project Types

FAQs

Get the latest news on XM events, research, and product launches