If you have done a few online surveys, chances are that there were times when you could not complete a survey. Whether it’s at the start, middle, or end, you might have faced a frustrating message like this:
What are the sources of such interruptions in survey completion, and why do surveys shut down suddenly while you are still answering questions? Let us investigate the causes of this common problem.
Technical errors
Hardly anything works perfectly online at all times and online surveys are not an exception. Whether is it technical problems with the survey panel’s website, problems with their survey software, or a particular survey, technical difficulties occur.
If you come across these technical errors during the survey, then there is little that can be done except retaking the survey or contacting the provider to complain and request compensation.
The survey has closed
In another sad situation, your online data collection activity was interrupted when the required response number was reached either due to the manual shutdown of the survey or as a result of the survey software. The survey that you start taking usually gives no prior warnings or alerts that it is nearly complete (though some sites do inform their survey takers), which makes it hard to tell if the survey you started is almost full or just starting. This kind of situation is often treated as a result of bad luck.
Your demographic bucket has been filled
In the same manner, if enough people from the requested demographic category have already provided their responses, all at once you may be disqualified from the survey. For instance, if research wants an equal number of males and females, and you are disqualified as a female participant, the survey is still open for male participants.
You’ve been disqualified
Disqualifications are really annoying, especially with surveys that have terrible design elements – for example, asking qualification questions at the end, when it is the best practice to do this at the beginning. Consequently, they become a huge waste of everyone’s time. Still, even a perfect survey could contain several qualifying questions, and if you don’t fit the study’s criteria, you won’t be able to participate in the survey.
You triggered a block
Although most survey takers are honest people, some respondents give false answers or use bots. This may corrupt the data collected by the researchers which then will require measures to be taken in order to prevent such users from a finished survey. Behavior involving the use of form-filling software, VPNs, or answering surveys quickly with low-quality responses can lead to restrictions. In other situations, it is enough for the entire account to be suspended. If the account is deactivated check what the guidelines to resolve the issue say. If you suspect that your account has been flagged wrongly, it is important to immediately reach out to the survey panel to work out the problems.
Closed surveys
In the case when a survey is closed or has had enough responses, there is not much you can do to proceed. To improve your chances of filling up the upcoming surveys, watch the survey’s availability period. If you can establish the date when the survey was initially released (e.g., from your email), be careful with surveys that are available for a long time as it will be difficult to qualify for them or they can close at any time.
Survey sites that offer points or cash for disqualifications
These survey sites offer compensation if you get disqualified from completing surveys:
- Branded surveys – get cash e-gift cards for participating in surveys. 100 points (£1.00) joining bonus. Join Branded Surveys.
- Survey Junkie – Do surveys to earn gift cards as well as PayPal cash App available. Join Survey Junkie.
- PointClub – Periodically your points will be turned into cash via PayPal. £5 Join Bonus for PointClub.
Tip! Fill in ‘profiler surveys’ accessible in your survey panel membership account to decrease the number of instances in which you are disqualified from surveys.
What to do when you can’t complete a survey?
Sometimes, when struggling to finish a survey but meeting an obstacle, the received message might offer some information about the reason for the break. For example, ‘Sorry, this survey is now closed’, ‘Sorry, you do not qualify for this survey’, or ‘Sorry, this survey is no longer available’ provide different reasons for the interruption. The interpretation of these messages varies: The interpretation of these messages varies:
- “Sorry, this survey is now closed”: This shows that there are enough responses in general or in your demographic.
- “Sorry, you do not qualify for this study”: Indicates either a true mismatch with the qualification criteria, or possible blocking.
- “Sorry, this survey is no longer available”: This represents many opportunities such as technical issues, survey termination, disqualification, or potential blocking.
Dealing with disqualifications
In case you receive disqualifications from surveys, make sure you have fully answered the profile surveys in your survey panel account. If not, think of finishing them in order to qualify more for your survey. On the flip side, you can try joining survey sites that give compensation for disqualifications; therefore, you can earn some compensation for your spent time.
Disable potential browser conflicts
While responding to surveys, ensure that you switch off any ad-blockers or auto-fill software programs that you may have installed. Even though form-filling software can be useful during the registration for a survey panel, it can cause some problems during the taking of actual surveys.
Be aware of exhibiting desperation behavior
When you try to qualify for a number of surveys by overrating your interest in these areas or if you slip up a bit during a long, boring survey, the survey panel may take your behavior as “desperate”. Therefore, it is vital for survey participants to be aware of this possibility. If you get frustrated with surveys, you may want to take a pause and come back to them later.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that most online surveys are designed to either let you through or disqualify you immediately, there will still be situations where you struggle to complete a survey or reasons that are not clear. I also hope that these points provide you with some understanding of why these issues can happen, their root causes, as well as actions you can take to resolve them.