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Use this guide when fieldwork is not performing as expected. Most issues trace back to redirect setup, misaligned specs, or quota configuration.

Quick diagnostic checklist

1

Check redirects

Test complete and terminate in an incognito window. Broken redirects cause abandons.
2

Check specs

Compare estimated IR/LOI to actuals via Performance Indicators.
3

Check quotas

Confirm quota totals, calculation type, and that cells are not contradictory.
4

Check Defender terms

Review security outcomes in traffic report — see Research Defender.
5

Check CPI

Niche targets often need BCPI 50–100% above floor price.

High abandon rate

Symptom: Many respondents show Abandon status; traffic slows or pauses. Suppliers typically throttle traffic when abandon rates exceed ~30%.

High Defender (security) terms

Symptom: Elevated security outcomes; few respondents reach your survey. Export the Defender report to see termination codes. See Research Defender in Research Desk.

Slow or stalled traffic

Symptom: Quotas not filling; few entrants despite Live status.

High over-quotas (OQs)

Symptom: Quota cells show full but entrants still arrive as over-quota.

Low incidence (IR)

Symptom: Yellow/red performance indicator; many terminates, few completes.
  1. Update survey IR to reflect actual field performance
  2. Increase BCPI to attract more supplier traffic
  3. Review screening questions — avoid re-asking qualifications already passed on entry link
  4. Consider broader targeting or cloned sources with higher CPI

Redirect hashing errors

Symptom: Error page after complete instead of Research Desk confirmation.

Reconciliation issues

See Reconciliation.

When to contact support

Contact clientsuccess@repdata.com, use live chat or the in-app form, or submit at researchdesk.com/support when:
  • Redirects test correctly but production abandons remain high
  • Defender terms spike without an obvious cause
  • A source is paused and you cannot identify why
  • You need threshold adjustments or a market not in Live Markets
Include project number, survey name, source name, and screenshots of traffic metrics.