Screening survey: what it is and how to do it
7 min read
A study that is committed to reaching the right audience needs a good screening survey. But, if you don't know what it is or how it works, we'll explain it here.
What is a screening survey?
A screening survey is a step performed before the main survey to identify which participants meet the criteria defined by the study.
Through an initial questionnaire, it is possible to verify characteristics, behaviors, habits, or experiences of the respondents and select only those who are part of the research's target audience.
In this way, the screening survey helps ensure that responses are collected from the right people, making the results more relevant and reliable.
Does every study need a screening survey?
Not every study needs a screening survey. It is especially useful when the research requires an audience with specific characteristics and it is necessary to confirm whether participants meet the defined criteria before answering the main questionnaire.
If the research is open and anyone can participate, screening may be unnecessary. However, in studies with segmented audiences, such as users of a certain application, consumers of a product category, or people of a specific age group, screening helps ensure that only suitable participants proceed to the research.
Why conduct a screening survey?
As mentioned earlier, finding the right people is the most important point of a survey. Screening offers the researcher several benefits, such as:
Ensure participants have the right profile
Not every respondent is suitable for all surveys. Screening allows verifying characteristics such as age, region, profession, consumption habits, purchase frequency, or experience with a particular product or service.
Increase response quality
When participants have a real connection to the research topic, responses tend to be more relevant and consistent. This reduces the participation of people who do not have sufficient knowledge or experience to contribute to the study.
Avoid responses outside the target audience
Without a screening stage, it is possible to collect responses from people who are not part of the universe that the research intends to analyze. Initial filtering reduces this type of occurrence and improves sample quality.
Make the research more efficient
Screening prevents participants from answering an entire questionnaire only to find out at the end that they do not meet the study's criteria. With initial questions, it is possible to direct or end participation more efficiently.
Improve sample representativeness
A good survey needs to reflect the audience one wishes to study. Screening helps control the composition of the sample and find participants with different characteristics within the established criteria.
Reduce costs and collection time
By focusing efforts on eligible participants, the research makes better use of available resources. Fewer inadequate responses mean less time spent on data collection, analysis, and processing.
Increase the reliability of results
The more aligned participants are with the defined criteria, the greater the research's ability to generate useful information for decision-making. Screening, therefore, directly contributes to the reliability of the collected data.
Allow for more specific research
Some studies need to hear from very specific audiences, such as people who recently bought a certain product, frequently use a service, or participated in a specific experience. Screening research facilitates the identification of these people.
When to apply the screening survey?
The screening survey should be applied before actually starting the main research. Its objective is to identify which participants meet the defined criteria for the study and are therefore eligible to proceed to the main questionnaire.
In this way, before presenting the central questions of the research, it is possible to verify information such as profile, habits, experiences, or behaviors related to the studied topic.
This process helps direct the research to the correct audience, avoiding responses from people who are not part of the desired profile and making data collection more efficient and relevant.
Example of a screening survey
Let's say you are conducting a study about people who use app X, are 18 years old or older, and live in São Paulo. To ensure you are truly speaking with people who meet these criteria, you can ask some screening questions before starting the main survey.
For example:
Do you use app X?
- Yes
- No
What is your age?
- Less than 18 years old
- 18 years old or older
In which state do you currently live?
- São Paulo
- Another state
From these responses, it is possible to identify who fits the profile defined for the study. Only participants who meet all criteria proceed to the main survey. In this way, screening helps ensure that the collected responses are truly relevant to the research objective.
What to do when the person does not match the audience?
When the person does not meet the criteria defined for the research, the ideal is to end their participation clearly and respectfully.
It is not necessary to allow them to continue answering the main questionnaire, as their responses will not be considered for that study.
In this case, you can present a simple message, thanking them for their participation and informing them that, at that moment, the person does not match the profile needed for the research.
Example message:
“Thank you for participating! At the moment, your profile does not match the criteria for this research. We appreciate your time and participation.”
How to create a screening survey?
Creating a screening survey is simple, but it is important to clearly define who can participate in the study before drafting the questions. The creation process is very simple:
1. Define the research audience
Start by establishing what characteristics the participant needs to have to be part of the study. Consider criteria such as age, location, profession, habits, frequency of use, or experience with a particular product or service.
2. List the selection criteria
After defining the audience, transform these characteristics into objective criteria. For example: be 18 years old or older, live in São Paulo, and use app X.
3. Turn criteria into questions
Create questions that allow verifying if each participant meets the defined criteria. Prefer simple, direct, and easy-to-answer questions.
4. Define who will be approved in the screening
Establish in advance which responses allow the person to continue to the main survey. To participate, the respondent must meet the necessary criteria for the study.
5. Define when to end participation
If the person does not meet any of the criteria, the screening survey should be ended. At this point, present a message informing that the profile does not match the necessary audience and thank them for their participation.
6. Direct approved participants
Those who meet all criteria should be directed to the main survey. Thus, only people who are part of the defined audience answer the study questions.
7. Review the screening before applying
Before making the survey available, conduct a test to verify if the questions are clear and if the flow is working correctly. This helps prevent people outside the audience from proceeding to the main survey or suitable participants from being mistakenly eliminated.
How to find respondents for the screening survey?
After defining the audience and research criteria, it is necessary to find people who can participate in the screening. One of the most efficient ways is to use a respondent panel, which gathers registered people interested in participating in surveys.
Through the panel, it is possible to select or direct respondents according to characteristics relevant to the study, such as age, location, consumption habits, product or service use, and other criteria. In this way, the screening survey can be applied to a group with a higher probability of being part of the target audience.
Screening works as a first selection stage: participants answer initial questions and, based on the responses, those who meet the criteria proceed to the main survey. This makes the collection more targeted and helps ensure that the results are obtained from people who truly match the defined profile.
With a respondent panel, you can find people to participate in the screening and more efficiently select who is within your research's audience.
Find the right respondents for your research
With PainelTAP, you can find people with different profiles to participate in your surveys and direct data collection according to the audience you want to reach.
Want to conduct research with the right audience? Discover PainelTAP and start your data collection.