Preview and Pilot Test a Survey

Preview and pilot testing catch problems before a survey reaches participants. In academic survey research, a pilot should test wording, consent, eligibility, branching, randomization, quotas, data quality checks, mobile layout, and export structure.

Use Preview for quick internal checks while building. Use a small pilot when you need realistic timing, comprehension feedback, device variation, or evidence that the data export matches the analysis plan.

1. Step 1: Open Preview. From the survey editor, choose the Preview tab and begin the survey as a participant.

   Step 1: Open Preview

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Preview

   Walk through respondent-facing behavior in the same preview surface.

2. Step 2: Test basic completion. Complete the default path and watch for confusing wording, missing required settings, or validation messages.

   Step 2: Test basic completion

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Preview

   Walk through respondent-facing behavior in the same preview surface.

3. Step 3: Test mobile layout. Resize the browser or use a phone to check matrix, ranking, heatmap, slider, and conjoint tasks.

   Step 3: Test mobile layout

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Preview

   Walk through respondent-facing behavior in the same preview surface.

4. Step 4: Test Flow paths. Return to Preview with different answers to exercise each branch, treatment arm, and end screen.

   Step 4: Test Flow paths

   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

5. Step 5: Test quotas if used. Review quota behavior in Deploy and confirm quota-full paths end where expected.

   Step 5: Test quotas if used

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Deploy

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

6. Step 6: Inspect Export. Submit test responses and open Export to confirm headers, recodes, conditions, and randomized-order fields.

   Step 6: Inspect Export

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Export

   Download analysis-ready response data from the Export tab.

After internal preview, run a small pilot with people who resemble the target population. Ask them where wording is confusing, how long the survey takes, which page felt most burdensome, and whether any instructions or end screens were unclear. Use pilot feedback before publishing the final public link.

Keep pilot notes tied to the survey version. If a pilot response should not be analyzed later, mark it in your cleaning log or collect it through a route you can identify in Review and Clean Survey Responses.

• Instructions: consent, task instructions, validation messages, and end screens use participant-facing language.
• Question types: each measure matches the intended exported variable and has needed names and recodes.
• Flow: screeners, branches, experimental conditions, and end screens route correctly.
• Quotas: targets track the intended arms or eligibility groups, and quota-full paths are understandable.
• Mobile layout: dense grids, rankings, sliders, heatmaps, and conjoint tasks are usable on small screens.
• Export: response data includes fields needed for analysis, cleaning, conditions, and randomized order.

• Publish and Share a Research Survey
• Create Experimental Conditions
• Set Survey Quotas
• Survey Data Quality Checks