If you're on the Organization plan, screeners allow you to qualify or screen out testers directly within Maze.
Screeners are supported both in unmoderated mazes and in Interview Studies.
Each screening question can be single-select or multi-select. In single-select questions, each answer can either qualify or reject the participant. In multi-select questions, some answer choices may also be defined as not important.
Please note:
- To mitigate potential bias, participants can't go back and change their answers.
- It’s not possible to use conditions between screener questions.
- We always recommend previewing your screeners to make sure that questions are clear and easy to understand.
The following video guides you through an example of setting up qualifying criteria in your screener:
Single-select vs. Multi-select
The choice between single-select and multi-select should reflect the goals of your screening questions and the type of data you aim to collect.
Single-select questions are appropriate when you need clear, definitive answers on simpler preferences or behaviors. For example, if a grocery store aims to identify customers who prioritize low prices when choosing where to buy, a single-select question can force a choice, resulting in unambiguous answers on what influences their shopping decisions the most. This format is ideal for mutually exclusive responses—e.g. when asking about frequency, or a binary yes/no question.
Multi-select questions are suited for more complex inquiries where multiple responses are possible, or when the screening aims to be subtle, avoiding bias toward any specific outcome. This format allows participants to select several options, reflecting a broader range of preferences or behaviors. For instance, a grocery store survey on snack preferences might include choices such as nuts, granola bars, juices, chips, and popcorn, to identify customers interested in healthy snacks without skewing the data.
Both question types can be used strategically within the same survey.
What does each answer option mean?
Qualify
Selecting this option means the participant meets the criteria to continue with the test.
Reject
This option should be used to actively exclude a participant based on their response. Selecting any reject option will disqualify the participant, even if they’ve selected other qualifying choices as well.
Not important (only on multi-select questions in unmoderated mazes)
This option allows participants to proceed only if selected alongside a qualifying choice. Selecting a non-important option without a qualifying choice leads to the participant being disqualified from the test.
This option is only available when creating screeners for unmoderated mazes. It isn't available on Interview Studies screeners.
Example
Imagine a grocery store looking to refine its snack food selection based on customer preferences. They create a two-part screener that strategically filters participants for a targeted maze.
Question 1: Single-select — Have you ever made a purchase at XYZ store?
This question is designed to single out current customers of the store, using a straightforward yes/no format, where “Yes” is a qualifying choice, and any participants who select “No” are rejected.
The purpose is to actively screen out individuals who don’t shop at this particular store, making sure that the feedback collected will directly reflect the preferences of the store's actual customer base.
Question 2: Multi-select — Which types of snacks do you usually purchase?
Instead of directly asking, "Do you prefer healthy snacks?"—which might bias the responses—the survey asks, "Which types of snacks do you usually purchase?" Answer options include chips, baked goods, granola bars, fruits, and nuts.
Here, the key interest is in identifying customers who choose granola bars and nuts, indicative of a preference for healthier snacks. Those items are set as "qualifying" options, meaning that selecting any of these will qualify the participant and allow them to proceed to the maze.
Other options, such as chips or baked goods, are marked as not important. Selecting them won't disqualify a participant but must be chosen in conjunction with a qualifying option to continue in specific segments of the research.