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Surveys

Longitudinal and Panel Surveys

Plan repeat waves with stable variables, comparable wording, respondent identifiers, and matched exports.

Plan Repeat Survey Waves

Longitudinal and panel surveys collect comparable measures from respondents over time. A strong workflow keeps variables, recodes, question wording, link strategy, respondent identifiers, and export structure stable across waves.

Before building the next wave, decide which measures must remain identical, which modules are new, how respondents will be matched across waves, and how changes will be documented in the codebook.

Create The Next Wave

  1. Step 1: Start from Surveys. Open Surveys and duplicate the prior wave when you need comparable structure.

    Step 1: Start from Surveys

    Personal Dashboard

    Live dashboard surface from the app shell (ephemeral help scene).

    Surveys

    Untitled surveyLast Modified
    Policy attitudes pilotLast Modified

  2. Step 2: Rename the copy. Add the wave number, date, or panel label to the survey title before editing.

    Step 2: Rename the copy

    Personal Dashboard

    Live dashboard surface from the app shell (ephemeral help scene).

    Surveys

    Untitled surveyLast Modified
    Policy attitudes pilotLast Modified

  3. Step 3: Preserve repeated measures. In Block Builder, keep variable names, recodes, and core wording stable for repeated outcomes.

    Step 3: Preserve repeated measures

    Block Builder: 7-Point Ideology Scale

    A standard 7-point political ideology measure. The question name ideology_7pt becomes the column header in the export.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

  4. Step 4: Add new content separately. Put new modules in separate blocks so the repeated measures remain easy to compare.

    Step 4: Add new content separately

    Survey Editor

    No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

    Add a Block

    Trash is empty.

  5. Step 5: Use the right link strategy. In Deploy, use personal links when each participant needs an individualized token that persists across waves. Upload a contact list for this wave — the Deploy tab shows a live completion count and lets you send reminders to non-responders without generating new tokens.

    Step 5: Use the right link strategy

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Deploy

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

  6. Step 6: Compare exports. Submit pilot responses and compare export headers with the previous wave before launch.

    Step 6: Compare exports

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Export: Ideology Scale

    With recodes 1–7 set, the ideology_7pt column exports numeric values instead of label text — matching the codebook and analysis plan.

Build For Comparability

  • Variable names: use the same names for repeated measures unless the wave number is intentionally part of the naming convention.
  • Recodes: keep scale direction and missing-value codes stable across waves.
  • Survey structure: duplicate a prior survey when creating a new wave so block order, Flow, and end screens start from the same baseline.
  • Documentation: record any wording, option, quota, or Flow change in the codebook with the affected wave.
  • Link strategy: use personal links if each respondent needs an individualized path, invitation, or identifier. The Deploy tab tracks completion per batch and lets you send reminders to non-responders using the same tokens.

Flow: Conditions and Routing

Block Builder
Preview
Deploy

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

Handle New Content Carefully

Add new questions in separate blocks when possible so existing measures stay easy to compare. If you add an experiment to a later wave, document condition assignments separately from repeated outcome variables.

  • New modules: place them after repeated core measures unless the research design requires earlier exposure.
  • New screeners: check whether they create attrition that makes the wave less comparable to prior waves.
  • New incentives: update consent, end screens, and participant links so respondents know what changed.
  • New experiments: test each arm and export condition fields before launching the wave.

Block Builder: Variable Name

Block Builder: Question Name

The export variable label is the column name for this question in downloaded data.

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Redirect (optional)

Export And Analysis Notes

Before launch, export pilot responses from the new wave and compare headers with previous waves. This helps catch changed labels, missing recodes, or new fields before data collection begins.

For panels using personal links, the ID column in each wave's export contains the respondent token. Merge waves by joining on your master participant list — the token is stable within a wave but differs across surveys. Export pilot responses from each wave and compare ID column values before launch.

If a public link is used instead, document how repeat respondents will be recognized, or note that wave linkage is not possible.

Export: Data Output

Block Builder
Preview
Deploy

Export

Download analysis-ready response data from the Export tab.

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