Skip to main content
A reporting wave groups a Storyline’s interviews into one analysis period. You may also see a reporting period called a chapter in the interface. Waves let you compare findings from successive periods without setting up a separate study each time.

​
Why waves are different from re-running a study

The program keeps its study and incoming interviews together. Conveo assigns completed interviews to reporting periods and connects related findings across waves. Read Insights to understand finding histories. Reporting does not replace recruitment management: a study still needs participants, suitable recruitment settings, and enough usable data for the questions you want to answer.

​
The lifecycle of a wave

The scheduled check for closing reporting windows runs hourly. Analysis then takes additional time; a period ending does not mean its report is immediately ready. A processing error can leave analysis unfinished. Contact Conveo if a wave remains stuck or expected results are missing.

​
Which interviews belong to a wave?

Assignment uses the interview’s completion date, rather than the date it started. An interview completed exactly at the next wave’s start belongs to that next wave. Test, hidden, and deleted interviews are excluded from normal wave assignment and completed-interview counts. Late-arriving data can belong to an earlier period. For example, an uploaded interview with a completion date inside a past wave can be assigned to that wave. Do not assume the upload date determines its reporting period.

​
Can closed results change?

Closed does not mean immutable. Late data can be assigned to an earlier wave, and Conveo can rerun historical analysis. Changing the underlying data and regenerating an output are separate processes: do not assume a previously generated report has incorporated a later correction. When importing historical interviews or requesting a correction, agree with Conveo which waves and outputs need reprocessing. Recheck any shared conclusions after the update.

​
Recruitment vs. reporting

Recruitment controls how participants arrive. Reporting controls the periods used for analysis. A program can recruit continuously while reporting monthly, or use a different recruitment cadence. A wave boundary does not itself establish a fresh participant quota or promise a new panel launch. Confirm those arrangements for your program. See Recruiting participants and Quotas for the study’s recruitment behavior.

​
Choosing a cadence

Reporting supports weekly, biweekly, monthly, and quarterly periods. Agree the cadence with Conveo during program setup; reporting administration is managed by Conveo. Choose a period long enough to collect useful evidence. A weekly program with very few interviews may give a less reliable comparison than a monthly program with a larger sample. A change in the people recruited can also change the findings without indicating a change in the wider population. Wave labels reflect their cadence, such as Apr 2026 for a monthly period or 2026 Q1 for a quarterly period. Use the underlying date range when comparing periods or supplying historical data.