====== Preparing and Launching the Survey ======

Once the questionnaire is completed, only a few more steps are necessary to launch the survey. Pretests may seem trivial, but they are important for a reliable collection of data and should be carried out diligently.

  * [[privacy|Privacy Settings]]
  * [[function-test|Technical Test]]
  * [[pretest|Pretesting the Questionnaire]] {{:tip.png?nolink|worth reading}}
  * [[clear-data|Deleting Pretest Data]] (optional)
  * [[publish|Specifying the Field Time]]
  * [[participants|Finding Participants]] {{:tip.png?nolink|worth reading}}
  * [[url|The Link to the Questionnaire]] {{:tip.png?nolink|worth reading}}
  * [[invitation|Optimising Emails]] {{:tip.png?nolink|worth reading}}
  * [[mailing|Sending Mailings]]
    * [[mailing-fields|Wildcards in Mailings]]
    * [[panel-download|Downloading Mailing List]]
    * [[:en:survey:opt-in-live|Multi-Wave Survey and Self-Recruitment]]
    * [[:en:survey:data-security-auth|Privacy Releases and Pseudonymisation]]
  * [[panels|Working with External Panel Providers]]
    * [[quota|Quotierung]]
    * [[:en:survey:mturk|Amazon MTurk]]
  

  * Good to Know
    * [[hot-change|Changing the Questionnaire During the Survey]]
    * [[unique-respondents|Prevent Multiple Submissions from Single Respondents]]

The chapter [[:de:results:start|Data and Documentation]] describes how to control the return rate and what to do after the administration period has ended.

===== How do the participants get to the questionnaire? =====

Participants are recruited in very different ways. Accordingly, there is a whole range of functions in SoSci Survey. Below you will find a brief overview of which function you need and when.

  * **Anonymous participation**\\ In the simplest case, communicate the [[:en:survey:url]] as a link on a web page, intranet page, or as a post on a social network ([:en:survey:participants]]).
  * **Individual links**\\ Individual links only allow you to fill out the questionnaire once ([[:en:survey:unique-respondents]]), but also make it easier to interrupt the survey. You have two options:
    * With the function [[:en:survey:access-token|participation-links]] you can create the necessary number of links in SoSci Survey and then send them yourself by e-mail.
    * With the function [[:en:survey:mailing]] you can import the address list into SoSci Survey and then send an email with personalized links using SoSci Survey to these email addresses. The serial mail function also allows personalized emails (e.g. personal salutation) and the sending of reminder emails.
    * The serial mail feature also makes it easier to conduct [[:en:create:waves|multi-wave surveys]].
  * **Codes for participation**\\ In some cases, participants are not invited to the survey electronically, e.g., by mail via letter, or they draw participation codes on slips of paper. The latter allows surveys with a very high level of data protection. For such surveys [[:en:survey:serials|serial numbers]] are used. Serial numbers are participation codes that are entered into a text field after calling up the [[:en:survey:url|questionnaire URL]].
  * **Participants from commercial panels**\\ If participants from a commercial panel are to complete your questionnaire, you must redirect participation back to the panel provider at the end of the questionnaire (redirects). How this works is described in [[:en:survey:panels]]. Often a screenout or quota stop is also desired here: [[:en:survey:quota]].
  * **Linking with external systems**\\ If the participants are managed in an external (web) application, e.g. in a newsletter system or in a system for participant or customer management, then this application can automatically create or request participation links in SoSci Survey: [[:en:survey:mailing-api]]