Article by Patrick Fiorenza, RMS Director of Research Analytics –
To collect valid and accurate data, many Research and Marketing Strategies (RMS) surveys often require the use of screening questions. For example, we may be looking for people who use (or have not used) a specific product, or people who live in a certain area, have various knowledge levels of a particular topic, etc. If a prospective research participant does not meet the required criteria for a survey, they are “screened out” from the study. To save time and avoid the frustrations of completing most of a survey before being removed, screening questions are most often (and should be) placed at the beginning of a survey.
Getting “screened out” can be frustrating for participants, but it is a necessary part of the research process when specific parameters need to be met by the participants. Properly screening survey respondents is important because it:
- Controls the number of respondents based on set criteria, helping to make the survey more representative.
- Enhances the data quality knowing that only individuals who qualify for the study participated.
- Saves time and money: if you are paying per completed survey, screening people out saves considerable time when compared to removing participants who never should have been included in the study in the first place.
- Saves participant’s time and offers an improved survey-user experience: There is no sense in having someone participate in a survey to ultimately collect irrelevant data, or worse, screen someone out after they have completed most of the survey.
Best Practices for Screening Criteria
Here are a few of the best practices that the RMS team recommends using when developing screening criteria:
- Be sure to put all screening questions at the start of the survey: There is nothing worse than going through most of a survey, only to discover that you do not qualify. It’s a poor experience for the participant. While we have had cases where it can be tricky to move some of the screening, as it’s contingent on previous responses, it’s exceedingly rare not to be able to place the screening questions upfront.
- Ask as few screening questions as possible: Do not overwhelm your participants and take a lot of their time on early screening questions. Ideally, your initial questions should feel like a “warm-up” and not a screening. Questions that are too personal or too in-depth may lead people to drop off and not finish your survey even when they qualify. Also, work with data that you already have. For example, if your sample already includes an age variable (and you trust the accuracy), don’t ask that question again. Or you can pipe in the data and simply ask people to “confirm” if the available information is accurate and update as needed.
- Make sure questions follow standard survey-writing best practices: Be sure your questions are clear and concise. Avoid leading and loaded questions, do not have double-barreled questions, and always pilot-test the survey before launching. All the best practices for writing survey questions also apply to your screener questions.
- Consider what you can capture from those who are disqualified: Sometimes there is valuable information to learn from those who “screen out.” For example, if you are screening based on a new product or usage of service, and the individuals “screen out” due to lack of knowledge, you can potentially ask a few follow-up questions. Sometimes there is valuable information to learn in the absence of consumer/client use of a service or product. Your screener might be able to route someone toward more targeted information or collect a unique perspective that is hard to capture otherwise. By writing compelling and engaging survey questions, you may be able to collect additional information to support your study.
Writing well-designed screening questions is an essential part of a market research project. You have put in considerable time and resources to design the study, identify research participants, and identify the scope of your project. Now, the challenge is to ensure that your study invites the right participants into the survey and removes those who do not qualify for the research. Following some of these best practices can help you to bring in the right participants for your next market research project.
About the Author – Patrick Fiorenza
Patrick is passionate about helping clients achieve their goals and designing effective strategies through customized market research projects. He has extensive experience in survey design, data analysis, and qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research. As the Director of Research Analytics, Patrick monitors all aspects of the research project, assuring validated and high-quality results are provided to RMS clients. He is also passionate about providing coaching to analytic staff and collaborating closely with clients to ensure needs are met. Pat holds a master’s in public administration from Syracuse University and is pursuing his doctorate in curriculum, instruction, and science of learning from the University at Buffalo.
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About RMS
Research & Marketing Strategies, Inc. (RMS) is a full-service market research firm in Central New York. Formed in 2002, RMS helps organizations that are looking to know more about their customers and/or potential customers. We conduct surveys, focus groups, mystery shopping, studies, and analyses. Each project is customized and gets personal attention so that actionable, data-driven findings are delivered. RMS has a reputation for getting results. We offer an independent, professional means to conduct telephone, on-line, and mail surveying, as well as in-depth interviews, intercept interviews, and participant recruitment. We also host discussion groups through QualiSight, our onsite call center and focus group facility. We have a proven reputation for successfully recruiting and moderating focus groups, community forums, and town meetings.
