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Create an External Survey Activity 🎦

Author: Mark Rickard Updated

beta-icon.png  The External Survey feature in Fuel Cycle enables users to distribute surveys to audiences outside the Fuel Cycle community, although it's currently accessible only to internal users. 

To create an External Survey activity, users must first select an existing survey to attach, as new surveys cannot be created within this workflow. Users can define their audience by either using an existing audience or by requesting that the Fuel Cycle team build a targeted audience. The Fuel Cycle team also manages the survey's details, including audience provider and various redirect URLs. In the final step, users can review details, update the activity status, and obtain the survey link for distribution.

Choose an Activity Type

Click the + Create button in the top right corner of the Activities list screen to get started.

  1. Select External Survey.
  2. Click the Next button.

Add Survey

At this point, you can choose to attach an existing survey that has already been created in a separate, 3rd-party platform like Alchemer or Qualtrics, or link to an FC Survey, or you can choose to generate a survey with AI through the Survey Builder.

Attach an Existing Survey

  1. Select an existing survey to attach to this new activity. Currently, only previously created surveys can be used in External Survey activities.

    You cannot create a new survey directly from this workflow. Create the survey first, then return to attach it.

  2. Enter your Survey Alias as seen in your activity. By default, it uses the survey's title, but you can adjust the alias to fit your needs.
  3. Select an objective to categorize research and guide data collection.
  4. Assign Team (optional)—By default, the activity is available to all moderators unless a team is assigned.
  5. Click Next to continue.

Start from Scratch

Click on Build from Scratch to import a survey that already exists on providers like Qualtrics or Alchemer, or open a new tab to go to the survey provider, create the survey there, and then return to the activities page to attach the survey.

If you need to go to the survey provider and create a new survey... 

  1. Click the Survey Provider menu item to display a drop-down menu with available survey providers. Select the one you want to join.
  2. Click the Launch open_in_new_16dp_5449CE_FILL0_wght400_GRAD0_opsz20.png button to launch your survey provider in a new browser tab. 
  3. When you are done, close your external survey provider's browser tab and return to this tab to link your survey using the Survey URL and Survey Alias (internal naming).

Design with AI

Launch the Survey Builder to create your survey and share it with an external audience.

Activity Setup

Define your activity objectives and assign moderator teams to lead.

  • Objective—Define your reason for the activity from one of the preset Objective options.
  • Assign Team—Assign a team of moderators to lead this activity. The activity is available to all moderators by default if no team is assigned. Once you assign a team, it cannot be changed.

Click Next in the bottom right to continue, or click Back in the bottom left to go back to the activity type selection screen.

Define your audience

You have two options for defining the audience:

  • I already have an audience—You already know who you are targeting. Skip audience setup and obtain your survey link after publishing the activity.
  • I need an audience—You need help finding people to take your survey. Our internal team will build a targeted external audience for you. Information you can provide to our team (required fields display an asterisk):
    • Desired Completion Date*
    • Sample Size*
    • Audience Region*
    • LOI (Length of interview)—Enter the estimated time it will take for respondents to complete the survey in minutes, if known.
    • Sample Description*—Write a detailed description of the target sample and any screening criteria (desired breakouts/quotas for demographics: age ranges, gender, household income, etc.).
    • Estimated Incidence Rate—Incidence rate is the rate (expressed as a percentage) at which people will qualify for the survey. Click the Calculate Incidence Rate to generate the Estimated Incidence Rate based on the provided audience or sample description. This LLM-powered feature offers time savings when requestors provide panel estimate information for initial processing.
    • Payment Method* — Please select your preferred payment method.

The original Audience Network Request Form remains active and can still be used. The Fuel Cycle team will proceed from there. They will reach out via email with pricing and begin building your panel. They will notify you when this activity is ready for review.

Details

The Fuel Cycle team will also handle the Details section. They will reach out via email when everything is ready for review:

  • Audience Provider
  • Audience Description

  • Tracking Parameter*

    Ensure your Tracking Private Value follows the correct naming convention. Incorrect values may cause errors and prevent launch.

  • Completion Redirect*—where participants should land after completing the survey
  • Disqualify Redirect*—the URL shown to participants who do not qualify
  • Over Quota Redirect*—the URL for participants screened out due to full quotas
  • Coming Soon Message*—a message users will see before the survey opens
  • Closed Message*

Click Next to continue.

Finalize and publish

In the final Publish step, you can:

  • Review all submitted details.
  • Update the Status of the activity, including when to publish.
  • Copy the Survey Link to share with your external audience
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