The Importance of Screeners 

Maybe you’ve been here: an email in your inbox prompts you to take a survey. You click the link, and it asks you questions that you’ve seen a hundred times before- what you do for work, where you live, your age range, your income, your household makeup. You answer the questions honestly, and then suddenly you’ve been rejected, with no survey in sight. What gives? 

What is A Screener?

Screeners, or screener surveys, are surveys that take place before the actual survey begins. They exist to ensure the respondent is the best fit for the survey in all aspects, so that the data being collected is as accurate to the desired population as possible. Screeners also add an extra level of security to the survey by weeding out bots and scammers trying to answer all of the “right” questions in a survey to get paid. Screeners act like a sieve- many potential respondents enter, but only the ones that are the best fit for the survey come out the other side. 

Best practices in market research dictate that screeners should be vague. The topics are meant to be unclear so as to ensure data quality- researchers want respondents’ honest reactions, and if they’re clued into what a survey is about before they even begin, it could cause biases to appear. It also protects the client, who may be conducting a survey on sensitive information or proprietary products and understandably wants as few potential leaks as possible. They are also meant to be short, to benefit the respondent and save them from spending unnecessary time answering questions without being compensated. Generally speaking, screeners should take no longer than five minutes to complete, and most surveys succeed at that.

Why Do I Need to Go Through Screeners?

Many times, panelists grow frustrated with the screening process. It’s understandable- panelists already share a lot of their information that gets asked again in a screener, only to be rejected a few minutes later. This is because the information that a panelist initially gives is fairly general.

A survey on baby formula may be sent out to all panelists that have indicated they are a mother, for example, but a screener will be able to get more detailed information. Such a screener may ask if the respondent has any children under the age of four, or what household items they’ve purchased in the last month, baby formula being one option. Thus, while a panelist may in fact be a mother, her children could be teenagers graduating high school, and therefore not the correct demographic for this kind of survey. This way, she gets ‘screened’ out of the survey.

There also may be demographic work happening behind the scenes, particularly regarding age or location. Many surveys require a range of information for a proper sample, and thus certain age, sex, location, or income quotas need to be met. For example, a survey for five hundred Wyoming residents may specifically require fifty men and fifty women from each of the largest counties. Thus, fulfilling quotas adds an extra level of screening, since not everyone taking the survey meets each quota. If you live in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, for instance, and fifty people from Sweetwater County have already completed the survey, that quota has been filled, and you would unfortunately be screened out. 

How Can I Avoid Screeners?

Unfortunately, there is no avoiding screeners. Screening surveys are a vital part of market research, to ensure that data is high quality and that demographic quotas are being met. It’s annoying, but it’s necessary. However, we encourage you to stick with it- while you may end up being rejected more than once by screeners, there are plenty of surveys waiting out there for you!