Survey Execution with SirWay¶
This guide explains how to execute surveys using SirWay, the execution stage of the Askalot Research Operating System. SirWay handles all survey interactions, from respondent access via magic links to interviewer-assisted interviews (phone and in-person).
Core Concepts¶
Survey Session¶
A Survey represents a single survey session linking a respondent to a questionnaire. Each survey tracks:
- Which questionnaire is being completed
- Who the respondent is
- Whether an interviewer is facilitating
- Current progress and answers
- Completion status
Execution Modes¶
SirWay supports two execution modes based on who operates the survey interface:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Direct | Respondent completes survey independently |
| Interviewer-Assisted | Interviewer facilitates survey by phone or in person |
Survey Sources¶
Surveys can originate from two sources:
| Source | Description |
|---|---|
| Campaign-generated | Created through the campaign invitation workflow in Targetor |
| Ad-hoc | Created on the spot by an authenticated user |
Direct Mode¶
In Direct Mode, respondents complete surveys independently without interviewer involvement.
Magic Link Access¶
The most common access pattern for direct mode surveys:
- Campaign sends invitation via email with magic link
- Respondent clicks link - no login required
- Survey loads directly in SirWay
- Respondent answers questions at their own pace
- Survey completes when all required questions answered
Magic links:
- Authenticate the respondent without platform login
- Direct to the specific survey
- Expire after a configurable period (default: 7 days)
- Cannot be reused after survey completion
Direct Mode Use Cases¶
- Online panels: Large-scale data collection via email
- Customer feedback: Post-transaction surveys
- Research studies: Remote participant surveys
- Self-service assessments: Training or diagnostic questionnaires
Interviewer-Assisted Mode (Field Interview)¶
In Interviewer-Assisted Mode, an interviewer operates the survey interface on behalf of the respondent — either by phone or in person.
Interviewer Access¶
Interviewers are platform users assigned the interviewer role:
- Interviewer logs in to SirWay with credentials
- Views assigned respondents on their worklist, or picks a running campaign
- Starts interview for specific respondent
- Operates the survey interface - reading questions, entering responses
- Submits answers on behalf of respondent
- Completes survey when finished
Interview Workflow¶
From Campaign Assignment:
- Project manager assigns interviewer to campaign in Targetor
- Manager distributes respondents among interviewers (workload assignment)
- Interviewer sees assigned respondents on SirWay landing page
- Interviewer clicks "Start Interview" to begin
Walk-in (volunteer):
A volunteer is someone who was never drawn into the campaign's respondent pool and takes part anyway — a person who walks up to an intercept interview at a shopping centre, a colleague who offers to fill one in. Their survey belongs to the campaign like any other: same questionnaire version, same dataset. It is marked as a volunteer so the analysis can tell them apart from the people the sample design selected, which is what keeps the weighting honest.
- Interviewer opens the Campaigns tab on the SirWay landing page
- Picks a running campaign and clicks Walk-in
The button only appears where the campaign accepts them. That is set per campaign in Targetor ("accepts walk-ins"), and the campaign must also be active — a draft campaign is still being set up, and a paused one was paused to stop collecting. 3. Records the respondent's details
The fields are the ones the campaign's sampling strategy actually measures — if it stratifies on age group and region, that is what you are asked for. Name and email are optional: someone who does not want to give a name can still take part. 4. Reads the quota note, if there is one
Beside the entered details you see how that person's cell stands against the study's targets — "under target", "at or over target". It is advice, not a gate: you can always start the interview. It is shown only to the interviewer, never to a respondent answering for themselves. 5. Starts the survey immediately
Open link (volunteer, no interviewer):
A campaign can also carry a standing open link — a public address anyone can
open to take the survey themselves, with no interviewer and no account. Someone
arriving that way is a volunteer exactly like a walk-in: same campaign, same
pinned questionnaire, same dataset, marked volunteer.
It is published from the campaign in Targetor, carries a maximum number of arrivals fixed when it is published, and can be stopped at any moment without pausing the campaign. Like the Walk-in button, it admits people only while the campaign accepts walk-ins and is active. See Preview Links and Open Links.
The one difference from a walk-in is who is present: nobody vouches for the person's details, and nobody reads them the quota note — the quota advisory is shown to interviewers only, because telling a respondent which demographic a study is short of is an invitation to answer as that one.
Trying out a questionnaire: walking an instrument to test it is a preview. You can launch one from several places, all equivalent: the Preview button on the questionnaire in Targetor, the Preview command in the QML editor, the Test a questionnaire tab on your own SirWay landing page, or a preview share link you sent to a reviewer. A preview names no respondent and no campaign, and it cannot reach a dataset: extraction refuses previews outright, with no setting that admits them. A preview is not kept: it lives in its own short-lived record with an expiry, and once that window closes it cannot be found again. It never appears on the Surveys page.
Training an interviewer is not a preview. Practice with a real person produces answers somebody actually gave; field it as an interview or do not record it.
Use Cases¶
- Phone interviews: Telephone-based data collection (CATI)
- In-person interviews: Face-to-face data collection (CAPI)
- Assisted completion: Helping respondents with limited digital literacy
- Translation scenarios: Interviewer reads questions in respondent's language
- Complex questionnaires: Surveys requiring clarification or explanation
Access Patterns¶
SirWay provides different interfaces based on access method and user role.
Magic Link Access (Respondent)¶
When respondents access surveys via magic link:
- No login required
- Survey loads directly
- Only the assigned survey is visible
- Simple, focused interface
Respondents see only the survey questions without any administrative functions.
Authenticated User Access¶
When users log into SirWay:
Interviewer View:
- Simplified interface
- List of assigned surveys and respondents
- Focus on conducting interviews
Interviewer landing page — three tabs:
- My worklist — the respondents you personally have to interview, across every campaign, with their status. If a manager has distributed the campaign's respondents among interviewers you see your own share; on a campaign nobody has distributed yet, you see everyone in the pool.
- Campaigns — the campaigns being fielded that you are on, with your progress on each and the Walk-in button where the campaign accepts one.
- Test a questionnaire — every questionnaire you can already reach (the same ones you can list on the Campaigns questionnaire page), each with a one-click Preview button. It appears only when you can reach at least one questionnaire, and it opens by default in place of the worklist only when both My worklist and Campaigns are empty. A questionnaire pinned to a running campaign is marked Fielded; hover the badge for the reminder that the preview walks the questionnaire's current draft, which may not be the exact version that campaign is fielding. See "Trying out a questionnaire" above.
Manager/Admin View:
- Full interface
- Questionnaire selection for previewing, on the Test a questionnaire tab — a walk that records nothing, never a survey. Every survey belongs to a campaign, so there is no such thing as a campaign-less test survey
- Ability to record a walk-in on a campaign that accepts one
- Access to respondent details
Survey Lifecycle¶
Status Transitions¶
Surveys progress through three states:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Pending | Survey created but not started |
| In Progress | At least one question answered |
| Completed | All required questions answered |
Navigation¶
During survey execution:
- Next: Submit answer and proceed to next question
- Back: Return to previous question (if allowed by questionnaire design)
- Skip: Skip optional questions (if permitted)
Questions are presented based on the questionnaire's branching logic. Some questions may be skipped automatically based on previous answers.
When a questionnaire repeats a block for several subjects — for example asking the same questions about each member of a household (a roster) — the survey shows an iteration banner (such as "2 of 4") so the respondent or interviewer always knows which subject the current questions refer to.
Campaign Integration¶
Campaign-Generated Surveys¶
When surveys are created through campaigns:
- Respondents are added to the campaign pool in Targetor
- Invitations are sent via email with magic links
- Progress is tracked in campaign statistics
- Completion rates appear on the campaign dashboard
Progress Tracking¶
Campaign dashboards display:
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Response Rate | Percentage of respondents who completed |
| In Progress | Surveys started but not complete |
| Pending | Surveys not yet started |
Ad-Hoc Surveys¶
Ad-hoc surveys are created on the spot without campaign association.
Creating Ad-Hoc Surveys¶
- Log into SirWay
- Navigate to the landing page
- Select a questionnaire from the dropdown
- Enter respondent details or select existing respondent
- Click "Start Survey"
Ad-Hoc Use Cases¶
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Testing | Verify questionnaire flow before campaign launch |
| Training | Train interviewers on survey execution |
| Opportunistic | Capture data when encountering eligible respondent |
| Pilot | Run small-scale test before full deployment |
Considerations¶
Ad-hoc surveys:
- Are not included in campaign statistics
- Have no campaign-based workload assignment
- Do not trigger invitation tracking
- Are useful for testing and opportunistic data collection
Best Practices¶
Direct Mode¶
- Test magic links before mass distribution
- Set appropriate expiration based on response window
- Monitor bounces to identify delivery issues — a hard-bounced address is suppressed platform-wide until an operator lifts it (Delivery Limits and Bounced Addresses)
- Send reminders for unreturned surveys, keeping in mind that one address accepts at most five messages an hour from the same part of the platform
Interviewer-Assisted Mode¶
- Balance workloads among interviewers
- Provide interview scripts for consistency
- Monitor per-question response times to identify issues — each survey's detail page in Targetor breaks the interview down question by question
- Review early interviews for quality control
Survey Design¶
- Keep surveys focused - avoid excessive length
- Use clear language - appropriate for target audience
- Provide progress indicators - help respondents track completion
- Allow saves - enable respondents to pause and resume
Troubleshooting¶
Magic Link Issues¶
Link expired:
- Generate new invitation from Targetor
- Extend default expiration for future invitations
Link already used:
- Survey already completed - check campaign statistics
- Generate new survey if re-interview needed
Survey Completion Issues¶
Survey stuck:
- Check for validation errors on current question
- Verify required fields are completed
Progress not saving:
- Check network connectivity
- Verify survey hasn't already been completed
Interviewer Issues¶
No respondents visible:
- Verify assignment in campaign
- Check interviewer role on user account
- Confirm campaign is active
Cannot start interview:
- Check if survey already exists for this respondent
- Verify respondent is in campaign pool
- Confirm questionnaire is active