Survey stages

On the IntelliSurvey platform, surveys can be in one of four stages: Build, Field, Analyze, or Archived. By default, when a new survey is created, the survey stage is set to Build. Build stage is designed to facilitate programming and testing the survey, both in how it displays when it is run, and how the data generated from test records is stored. When the survey is ready to accept live respondents, the stage is changed to Field. Finally, when a survey is ready to be closed, the stage can be changed to Analyze or be Archived ("retired").

Overview of survey stages

Survey stages are displayed in two locations within the IntelliSurvey platform. Upon logging in, the Survey Navigator applet will display each survey's stage under the Stage column in the Browse Surveys table.

In the survey itself, the stage is displayed in the banner at the top of the Metrics tab of the Fielding Overview applet. This page is also where the survey's stage is changed (see below).

Build stage

Build stage is designed to facilitate testing of the survey by changing how data generated by test records is stored.

• While the survey stage is set to Build, all reports and quota counting will include test responses. However, switching the stage to Field will remove test records from quota and reports.
• Editing of records assigned with a final status (e.g., Complete, Over Quota, Terminated) is permitted, unless explicitly stated otherwise in the survey source by the editcompletes tag on the appconfig widget.

Field stage

When a survey is switched to Field stage, new responses will no longer be flagged as test data via the testmode variable, unless they are run in Testmode.

• Once the survey stage is set to Field, test responses will no longer appear in any quota counts or in reports. The only way to see test data in Field stage is by entering a test ID directly in a Response report. Other than that, the test responses will be invisible to all reports - and to quota counts.
• Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the survey source by applying editcompletes: y to the appconfig widget, respondents may not return to a survey and edit their answers if they are assigned a final status. Responses may be modified using the Batch Update or Add data tools, or within the Response reports.

Analyze (Close) stage

Changing the stage to Analyze closes the survey, preventing new responses. Respondents who attempt to click in after the survey is set to Analyze will not be allowed in. During a typical survey lifecycle, the survey is closed when all sampling needs are met. 

Respondents who attempt to click into the survey in Analyze stage, provided that there are no sample-provider-specific redirects in place, will see the following standard survey closed message: "We appreciate your interest, but this survey has been completed. We are no longer taking new responses."

To change the standard shutdown message, see message tags.

When selecting the Analyze stage, there are two options: Soft Close and Hard Close.

• Soft Close will block any new respondents, but allows those in-progress to continue. Inactive respondents will also be blocked and not allowed back in.
• Hard Close immediately closes the survey for all respondents, including those presently in progress.

It is a good idea to check on the status of non-completes when closing the survey, as it may influence which Analyze stage you want to use. The number of non-completes is displayed at the top of the Change Survey Stage modal (shown below).

Archived

Rather than delete surveys that are no longer running live, surveys can be "archived" for future reference. Currently surveys are automatically archived if there have been no respondents or survey changes for six months or more. Survey Owners will receive an initial email warning of the impending auto-archiving one week prior in case they need to retrieve any data, and then a second email at the six month mark notifying them that the survey has been archived.

When we archive a survey, we:

• Throw away deleted and changed data. This includes the various statuses a respondent was assigned (I, N, C, etc.) and answers that were changed later, either by the respondent or by an administrative user. This only drops the old data, not the latest answer for every question and field.
• Throw away activity_log data. This includes a record of every page visited by each respondent.
• Throw away exceptions recorded for that survey.
• Mark the survey as unable to be run.
• Mark the survey as not editable or changeable.

It is possible to "unarchive" a survey by changing its survey stage back to Build, Field, or Analyze (see below). When we "unarchive" a survey, we don't restore any data we threw away, but we do:

• Mark the survey as run-able (depending on the stage the actor sets the survey to).
• Mark the survey as editable and changeable, as normal.

Changing survey stage

To change the survey stage, select Change Stage from the Metrics tab of Fielding Overview.

The Change Survey Stage modal window appears, providing a list of the stages in which the survey can be set.

In this window, the current stage is displayed, as is the number of initiated and in-progress records. Select a stage from the dropdown menu. A description of the currently selected stage is shown below the menu. After selecting the new survey stage, click the Submit button. 

Scheduling survey stage changes

The Change Survey Stage modal also allows users to schedule a stage change for a specific date and time. Click on Schedule below the stage's description. Next, select a date from the calendar and fill out the required fields for date, time, timezone, and where to send confirmation emails.

If a stage change has already been scheduled, a note will appear at the bottom of the modal. Click the trash can icon to cancel the stage change and reschedule if desired. 

If other users should be notified as well, their emails can be added in the Send confirmation email(s) to text box.