Screeners rank applicants, they don't block them. Anyone can apply to your study; your screener answers determine each applicant's eligibility score, and that score determines who rises to the top. Here's everything that follows from that.
Every applicant answers every question
Screener questions have no skip logic or early exits (why?). Everyone who applies completes the full screener, and you see all applicants with all of their answers, eligible or not. Screeners are for screening, not data collection; if an answer is just nice-to-have, ask it in your session or survey instead.
Eligibility scores come from multiple-choice options only
When you write a multiple-choice question, you mark each option as approve or reject. An applicant's answers across all questions produce a percentage eligibility score. Someone who picks an approved option on every question scores 100%.
Open-text (short answer) responses carry no weight in the score. The system can't judge free text, so an open-text-only screener leaves every applicant unscored on the things you care about. This is the most common screener mistake we see, and it's the usual cause of wrong-fit recruits: a study asks "What is your role?" as an open question, scoring treats everyone the same, and the wrong people get invited. If a criterion decides who gets in, make it multiple choice with reject options.
This matters doubly with automated participant selection, where top-scoring applicants are invited automatically.
A scoring example
Which of the following fruits do you like to eat?
(Multi-select)
✅ Apple
❌ Banana
✅ Mango
✅ Watermelon
✅ Orange
❌ I don't eat fruits
If you want Apple eaters, an applicant who selects Apple, Banana and Mango still scores 100% on this question, because they picked at least one approved option. Selecting a rejected option doesn't cancel out an approved one on a multi-select.
If you specifically want people who reject something, flip the question:
Which of the following fruits would you NEVER eat?
(Multi-select)
❌ Apple
✅ Banana
❌ Mango
❌ Watermelon
❌ Orange
❌ I don't eat fruits
This pattern is useful for finding people who don't use your product or service.
Screeners lock once your study is live
You can edit screener questions freely while your study is in draft or in review. Once the study is live, screeners are locked, because changing the questions mid-recruitment would make applicants' scores incomparable. If you need a change on a live study, message us on live chat and with your permission, we can edit it on your behalf or see can I add a screener question after my study is live.
Reuse screeners across studies
In the Recruit tab's Screener questions section, use Copy from another study to pull in questions from a previous study. This works for studies within your own team; if you need screeners copied across from a different team, message us on live chat and we'll do it for you.
Use segments alongside eligibility scoring
The score is a ranking aid, not a verdict, and it can blur together when you have a complex matrix of criteria. Use segments to filter applicants by the specific answers that matter and manage your quotas precisely.
If you have any questions while writing your screeners, message us on live chat.