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Review progress by stage

Use the study’s recruitment views to check collection against its targets, then open Interviews to investigate individual responses. The interview grid initially applies filters: hidden interviews are excluded, and a completed study initially focuses on completed or paid interviews. Check those filters when investigating missing responses or drop-off. An interview, a participant, and a payment are different units. A diary participant can have several interviews, and a payment indicator does not establish that every analysis step has finished.

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Interpret interview statuses

Some older interviews can show Errored, a legacy technical-error status. Idle-interview classification runs periodically. The default inactivity timeout is 72 hours, but it can differ by study; a diary study may use a longer interval. Do not assume an interview becomes abandoned at the exact moment the timeout expires.

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Investigate drop-off or blocked entry

Start with the point at which participants stop progressing:
  • Not started: Check recruitment source, invitation delivery information, the intended link, and whether recruitment is open.
  • Screened out: Review the recorded screen-out reason, screening rules, and stimulus eligibility. Distinguish a genuine screening mismatch from a missing eligible stimulus.
  • Quota full or Study full: Review the relevant quota and recruitment limits. A quota block can protect capacity for another group even when the study has not reached its overall target.
  • Ongoing or Abandoned: Review activity, transcript progress, any scheduled break, and device/media problems. Ask the participant to use the existing interview link when resuming is appropriate.
  • Completed without media or analysis: Check processing progress and available source assets before concluding that the response is missing.
Avoid changing a live design solely to improve a completion count. Test the affected path and consider how changes apply to existing versus future participants. See Testing a study and The participant experience.

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Reopen an interrupted interview

With interview-management permission, open an abandoned or canceled interview and choose Mark as in progress from its action menu. This changes its status back to ongoing so the participant can attempt to resume using the existing link. It does not complete the interview or send an invitation. The action cannot reopen a deleted interview, an interview canceled for a safety issue, or an interview whose panel is paused or completed. Normal entry checks still apply when the participant returns. If no new activity occurs, inactivity classification can mark the interview abandoned again according to the study timeout.

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Review quality before deciding on exclusion

Inspect automated quality scores and flags alongside the source conversation. A low score, a VPN indicator, or detected profanity is a reason to review context, not an automatic conclusion that the participant is fraudulent. Some studies intentionally ask about sensitive or negative experiences. Scores can be unavailable while processing. Missing scores must not be treated as zero. Check whether the participant followed the task, whether the response addresses the research question, and whether the recording is usable. Use consistent criteria for the sample. Record a clear reason when hiding a response, and check important conclusions for dependence on that interview. Interview review explains transcript corrections, hiding, deletion, and reporting.

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Keep collection, analysis, and payment decisions separate

A Completed status is not a universal promise of incentive eligibility or immediate payment. Provider rules, reporting, and payment state matter. Hiding an interview by itself does not submit a provider report or reverse a payment. Review Recruitment before changing recruitment targets or pausing collection. A pause can have different consequences for new entrants and already active participants; use the behavior described for the relevant recruitment and quota controls. Before sharing results, review the analysis base, unresolved quality issues, and any pending processing. Previously generated reports or reels may require separate updates after excluding an interview. Use Personal data review for privacy findings rather than treating exclusion as erasure.