When a respondent passes through a quota, the software will attempt to assign a value — much like a selectby variable, except it is also checking if the quota cap for that option has been met. Quotas can terminate respondents in two different ways: with the oq variable and assigning status Q - Over Quota, or the disp variable and status T - Terminate.
Single-punch vs. multi-punch quota behavior
In the case of a single-punch quota, if a respondent qualifies for multiple buckets (groups), they will be placed into a single bucket based on the evaluation of the specified selectby method (the default method being condition / random).
In the case of a multi-punch quota, respondents will punch as many options as they qualify for, provided that those buckets are not at or over the maximum number set in the Quota Manager. So long as there is at least one open bucket that a respondent qualifies for, they will pass through the quota, even if other quota buckets in that specific quota are full.
In either case, when a respondent only qualifies for buckets at a given quota which have already met or exceeded maximums, the respondent is considered 'Over Quota'. In the event that the respondent does not qualify for any buckets based on specified conditions, the respondent is reclassified as a 'Terminate'.
Default behavior
'oq' and 'disp' variables
For every survey with at least one quota, a system variable labeled oq is created. This variable has an option for every quota in the survey. If at any quota, a respondent only qualifies for quota buckets that are at or over the maximum specified in the Quota Manager, the respondent will receive the associated punch at oq for that quota.
Additionally, each quota will have an associated option at the disp variable for respondents who do not logically qualify for any buckets.
| Survey Code | oq and disp variables |
1. Which of these age groups do you belong to? desc: Age type: radio quotas: y 1. Under 30 2. 30 and over 2. Which of these best describes where you live? desc: Community density type: radio quotas: y 1. Rural 2. Suburban 3. Urban 3. Which of these best describes your employment status? desc: Employment status type: radio quotas: y 1. Unemployed 2. Employed part time 3. Employed full time 4. Self-employed |
Default term page
By default, respondents will immediately be routed to the term page that is automatically created by the survey. They will be assigned the appropriate status T or Q as described above and will not be allowed to re-enter the survey.
For more detail on customizing the content and behavior of termination pages, see end_survey.
Modifying default behavior
ifover tag
The ifover tag is used to determine where respondents are routed if they are 'Over Quota'. The ifover tag accepts a label which identifies a group or page. That page can contain a custom end message or redirect respondents to other webpages.
In the following example, respondents are routed to the page labeled 'overquota' once the maximum number of responses has been reached in the Quota Manager for the option that they select. We include the condition: 1==2 tag on the 'overquota' group to ensure that other respondents always skip that page (since it will always evaluate as 'false').
Caution! When a respondent is routed by ifover, their status is immediately changed to 'Q'. Because 'Q' is a closed status, the respondent will not be allowed to continue. Therefore, the group or label used with ifover must only have one page and must also include the endsurvey widget.
1. Which of these age groups do you belong to? type: radio quotas: y ifover: overquota 1. Under 30 2. 30 and over # Survey continues here... startgroup: overquota condition: 1==2 We're sorry, we have already collected enough responses that are similar to yours.
endsurvey
endgroup: overquota
ifnone tag
To change what happens to respondents who fail to meet the conditions of any option for the quota, use the ifnone tag. Like ifover, this tag accepts a label which identifies a group or page. Respondents failing to meet any quota option conditions are then sent to this page.
In the following example, the quotas tag input specifies that only the first two options will have buckets at the system-generated Q1_QUOTA variable. Respondents punching '99' will fail to qualify for any buckets, and thus will be routed to the page indicated at the ifnone tag.
Caution! When a respondent is routed by ifnone, their status is immediately changed to 'T'. Because 'T' is a closed status, the respondent will not be allowed to continue. Therefore, the group or label used with ifnone must only have one page and must also include the endsurvey widget.
1. Which of these age groups do you belong to? type: radio quotas: [1,2] ifnone: nonqual 1. Under 30 2. 30 and over 99. Decline to answer # Survey continues here... startgroup: nonqual condition: 1==2 We're sorry, you have not qualified to take this survey.
endsurvey
endgroup: nonqual
NEXT
Both ifover and ifnone tags accept the alias 'NEXT' instead of a page or group label as an input. When 'NEXT' is used, the system will allow the respondent to continue through the survey, even if they fail to qualify for a quota group.
1. Which of these age groups do you belong to? type: radio quotas: [1,2] ifnone: NEXT 1. Under 30 2. 30 and over 99. Decline to answer Survey Continues Here
Tip! ifover: group_name and ifover: NEXT are slightly different. Both set the oq value, but only ifover: group_name sets status to 'Q'. ifover: NEXT will continue to the following page without changing the status, and as such, the oq variable can be used to route certain quotas to a different end link and final status.
Note: The oq variable appears in System fields in the Field Selector hierarchy. Its label is Over quota.
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