Close or Pause Survey Collection

Closing or pausing a research survey should protect participants and preserve clean data. Before changing a live survey, decide whether you need to stop sharing links, close a quota cell, update an end screen, push a revised version, or unpublish the public link entirely.

Most collection controls are in Deploy. The Published card contains the public link, Push changes, and Unpublish. Quota controls and respondent structure settings are also reviewed from Deploy before you make a fielding change.

1. Step 1: Download current data. Open Export and download a backup before changing a live study.

   Step 1: Download Export

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Export

   Download analysis-ready response data from the Export tab.

2. Step 2: Check active links. Open Deploy and review which public or personal links have been shared.

   Step 2: Check Active Links

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Deploy

   Configure publishing, links, quotas, and theme from the Deploy tab.

3. Step 3: Update recruitment instructions. Stop distributing links through panels, email, course systems, QR codes, social posts, and lab webpages before you change the survey itself.

   Step 3: Update Recruitment

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Deploy

   Configure publishing, links, quotas, and theme from the Deploy tab.

4. Step 4: Use quotas when a cell is full. If only one arm or group should close, review Set Survey Quotas before changing the whole survey.

   Step 4: Quota Controls

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Deploy

   Configure publishing, links, quotas, and theme from the Deploy tab.

5. Step 5: Update end screens if needed. Use End Screens and Debriefing for Surveys when respondents need a closure or quota-full message.

   Step 5: Update End Screens

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Flow Canvas

   Interactive routing surface from the app, running in no-persist help mode.

   Consent and Study Intro

   1 question

   Political Knowledge Block

   2 questions

   Control Message

   1 question

   Treatment Message

   1 question

   Outcome Measures

   2 questions

   Survey Ends

   Anchors explicit end of survey

6. Step 6: Publish any change deliberately. If you edit a live survey, use Publish and Share a Research Survey to make the current version active.

   Step 6: Publish Changes

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Deploy

   Configure publishing, links, quotas, and theme from the Deploy tab.

• Pause recruitment only: stop sending the link but leave the survey published, useful when a panel or class roster will resume later.
• Close one quota cell: adjust the relevant quota or route quota-full respondents to a dedicated end screen instead of taking down the whole study.
• Fix a live typo or instruction: edit the survey, then return to Deploy and click Push changes so the published version matches the editor.
• Stop all public access: click Unpublish in the Published card after exporting a backup and recording the fielding status.
• Close after completion codes: verify that completion code or redirect behavior still works before the final respondents leave the survey.

Record the exact date and time collection paused or closed, which links were active, how many responses were collected, which quota cells were open, and whether any mid-field wording, quota, Flow, or end screen changes occurred. Add that note to your codebook so later analysis can separate design changes from respondent behavior.

• Panel Recruitment for Surveys
• Survey Incentives and Completion Codes
• Survey Data Quality Checks