Getting logged out of the survey when you are in the middle is a very common problem with online surveys.
I was even unlucky enough to be disqualified from the survey AT THE VERY END! That pinches like a sharp needle but I have listed down the reasons why this might have happened.
1. The Online Survey Has Been Taken Down
You obviously weren’t the only one taking the survey. As soon as the surveyor has gather enough responses, he might close down the survey manually or the software that generated the survey shuts it down.
Unluckily, most of the sites do not give out information or warning on how long the survey will be open for filling. So you can never be sure if you got to the survey a little too early or a little too late.
2. Enough People Have Already Taken The Survey
This is much like the previous problem discussed above. We know that the surveyor try to focus on gathering responses from people who are best suited to the survey.
Let say, for example, a survey wants a 50-50 response from both males and females. Now when you were busy being lazy on the couch, enough girls/women already opted for the survey.
Now, the surveyor still wants responses but he will only aim for qualifying men and there is not much you can do about it. Consequently, you will be booted out the survey with no prior warning.
Survey Closed? Unfortunately, you are helpless! The best you can do is keep an eye on how long that survey had been available for. Don’t waste time on taking surveys that have been around for a couple of days.
3. You Were Unlucky Enough To Have Technical Problems
What are technical problems? They can be anything from software malfunction to problems with the website and even just a glitch with your internet speed.
Its a virtual world! You can’t expect everything to work perfectly 100% of the time. So if a technical error occurs when you are completing a survey, the only thing you can do is to re-take it after some time.
You can also try contacting the survey provider and discuss the problems with them. If you are lucky, they might settle for partial compensation.
4. Maybe You Just Got Disqualified
Prior to taking any survey, you might be asked a certain amount of qualifications questions. In worst cases, these questions might pop-up at the end of the survey.
One way or another, if the survey designer thinks that you are not fit for the survey or your feedback will not be valuable enough, you will be disqualified almost immediately.
It’s nothing personal. If you don’t satisfy the criteria for the study there is no point in taking the survey.
Disqualification hurts? No worries! One thing you can do is complete the profiler surveys from your account panel to reduce the chances of being disqualified.
5. You Were Rushing Instead of Being Honest
Just because you are behind the screen does not mean they can’t see through you. If you exhibit too much of a “desperate behavior” in completing the survey instead of being honest on the way, you might not be allowed to attend the survey at all.
Your low quality answers are not much of a help to the surveyor if they have no element on truth to them. In fact, this way you will only be making the research results foggy.
If you are tired, take a break! There is no point in rushing ahead for a few cents (if the survey is paying at all!). You might think saying yes to every question that comes your way is a smart move but the surveyor will see clearly that you are just being inattentive.
6. Your VPN or Bot-service was ON
We are humans and we are honest (mostly!). However, there are handsome amount of users out there willing to muddy the research data that the surveyors are so desperate to collect.
Well, desperate times then call for desperate measures! For this reason, sites have taken steps to block users who might be taking help from form-filling software or VPN and other types of proxy.
If that was the case with you, I suggest you back out right now! This is because the seemingly small issue can turn into a bigger one. When using a free VPN, you can’t be sure that your data won’t get leaked, which is why many online survey platforms take measures against people who rely on such programs. Your entire account might be flagged and deactivated.
Remember to disable form-filling software as they can pose problems when completing some online surveys.
Last Words
Most of the online surveys will let you fill out the form completely or quickly disqualify you once you have attempted the qualification questions. It’s sheer bad-luck if you end up wasting time on a survey that you could’t complete later.
Nonetheless, I hope that the article was helpful in fixing some of the issues that might be hindering survey completion for you.
