Required Questions and Validation Rules

Required questions and validation rules improve data quality when an answer is necessary for analysis, eligibility, Flow, quotas, or completion. They also add friction, so reserve them for fields that genuinely need a usable value and make the correction path obvious in Preview.

In Domandata, the Required switch is in the question card header. Short-answer validation lives in the question options area after you choose Short Answer as the question type.

1. Step 1: Open Block Builder. Select the survey and go to the block that contains the question.

   Step 1: Open Block Builder

2. Step 2: Toggle Required in the card header. The switch appears beside the question type label. Informational content blocks do not collect answers, so they do not need this switch.

   Step 2: Toggle Required

3. Step 3: Open the question options. For typed fields, choose Short Answer and find the Validation select in the options area.

   Step 3: Open Question Options

4. Step 4: Choose the validation kind. Select Integer, Number, Contains, or Python only when the rule matches the research protocol.

   Step 4: Choose Validation Kind

5. Step 5: Add bounds or rule details. For numeric rules, fill in Min and Max when values outside the range should be rejected.

   Step 5: Add Bounds

6. Step 6: Test the error state. Open Preview, leave the answer blank or intentionally enter an invalid value, and confirm the respondent can tell what to fix.

   Step 6: Test Error State

1. Step 1: Identify critical fields. Mark only protocol-critical questions as required, such as consent choices, screeners, assignment variables, or primary outcomes.

   Step 1: Identify Critical Fields

2. Step 2: Choose the right question type. Use Choose Research Survey Question Types when the response format is still uncertain.

   Step 2: Choose Question Type

3. Step 3: Add validation for typed answers. Use Short Answer validation for numeric, length, contains, or custom checks.

   Step 3: Add Validation

4. Step 4: Name validated variables. Give important validated fields clear question names before they feed Flow, quotas, or exports.

   Step 4: Name Variables

5. Step 5: Preview invalid answers. Use Preview to test blank answers, invalid numbers, and edge cases.

   Step 5: Preview Invalid Answers

6. Step 6: Inspect exports. Submit a test response and confirm the cleaned values appear correctly in Export.

   Step 6: Inspect Exports

• Eligibility age: use Short Answer with Integer validation and a minimum bound that matches the study protocol.
• Allocation variable: use Multiple Choice or Dropdown with fixed options, then name the variable before using it in Flow.
• Completion code confirmation: keep the field optional unless the code is required before the respondent can receive credit.
• Open-ended explanation: avoid strict validation unless the analysis plan needs a minimum length or specific phrase.
• Sensitive demographics: consider optional answers or a Prefer not to answer option so missingness reflects a real respondent choice.

Do not require sensitive demographic questions unless the research protocol needs them. For sensitive or identifying fields, consider inclusive response options such as Prefer not to answer and review Privacy and Anonymity in Research Surveys.

• Survey Data Quality Checks
• Attention and Manipulation Checks
• Custom Code in Survey Questions