Finding the right research participants the first time using screeners

Have you ever realised in the middle of a research session that the data is invalid because the participant is a bad match? Having a well-written screener survey ensures you never find yourself in that situation. Let's discuss how to design one that gets it right the first time. A screener survey is a brief questionnaire used during research recruitment to identify the ideal test participants (actual users or representatives of the target demographic) who meet the study's criteria.

Why you should get your screener right the first time

A poorly-written screener leads to irrelevant or low-quality feedback, missed insights from ideal users, and wasted resources. In essence, a screener is your research filter that helps you stay aligned with your goals and recruit individuals who will move your product forward.

How to write a good screener survey

To ensure your screener survey hits the mark from your first try, here's what to do:

• Define who you want to include before writing anything. Don't write a screener until you know who you're screening for. Putting down demographics alone isn't enough.
  

• Get specific about behaviour: Instead of saying. "We need iOS users aged 25–40," Say: "We want people who've installed two or more financial apps in the past year." That slight change filters for actual experience, not just surface traits.
  

• Must-haves vs nice-to-haves. List out your:

  • Must-haves- Actions or experiences they must have (e.g., ordered a meal online in the past 3 months)

  • Nice-to-haves: Contextual traits that help but aren't critical (e.g., orders food frequently)
    

Write better screener questions

Once you know your ideal participant, write screener questions that help you filter out those who do not exhibit real-world behaviour. Achieve that by following this simple guideline:

• Use closed-ended questions. Open-ended questions are unreliable for research. Use yes/no, multiple-choice, and checkbox options. They're faster to analyse and easier to filter at scale. For example:
  

  Do: "Which of the following apps have you used in the last month?"

  [ ] X

  [ ] TikTok

  [ ] None of the above

  Don't: "Tell us about your budgeting habits." (Too vague)

• Avoid leading questions. This prevents you from tipping people off to what you're looking for and unconsciously influencing their answers.

  Bad: "Would you consider yourself an expert in using budgeting tools?"

  Better: "Which of these actions have you taken in the last 30 days?"

  [ ] Connected a bank account to a budgeting app

  [ ] Tracked expenses manually

  [ ] Haven't used any budgeting tools

• Ask about behaviour, not intentions. People are bad at predicting their own behaviour. Focus on what they have done.

  Use: "Have you booked a hotel online in the last 6 months?"

  Not: "Would you be willing to use an app to book a hotel?"

• Apply red herrings to test attentiveness. Add a "none of the above" or fake option to spot inattentive or dishonest respondents.
  

  "Which of these tools have you used for note-taking?"

  [ ] Notion

  [ ] Evernote

  [ ] PandaNote (fake)

  [ ] None of the above

• Evaluate & Test Your Screener

  Don't launch to the public without testing your screener internally or with a pilot group. Cautionary checklist to follow:
  

• Would someone random qualify? (They shouldn't.)

• Are your skip logic rules clear? (Test your survey tool's branching features.)

• Are your filters too broad? (Narrow them based on your must-haves.)

• Are you introducing bias? (e.g. asking about "tech-savviness" may be loaded or exclusionary.)

Run test responses through your filters to ensure only ideal participants are selected.

What tools can help you write better screener surveys

These platforms help make screener creation and UX research recruitment easier and faster:

Maze – Great for unmoderated testing with built-in screeners.

Ethnio – Powerful targeting for intercepting users on your website or app.

Dovetail – To combine recruitment with analysis workflows.

Veilworx Participant recruitment screener - To identify participants who match the criteria for your research.

Strong research starts with strong participants. And strong participants come from intentional, well-crafted screeners. If your research feels off, check your recruitment. Now that you know how to fix it, there's no reason to guess anymore.