Stop a running survey

You can manually stop a running survey in My Effectory. This gives you full control over your survey process and lets you react quickly if something unexpected happens.

Here’s when and why you might want to do this, what happens when you stop a survey, and what to keep in mind before making the decision.

Why stop a survey

You might want to stop a survey early if: 

• The response rate has reached 100% (learn how to follow your response rate).
• A mistake was made and the survey should not continue.

What happens when you stop a survey? 

• The survey’s end date is set to the exact moment you stop it. 
• No new responses will be accepted.
• No data is lost, and all collected responses and results remain available for reporting. 
• If phased release of results is enabled, you will see a message about the scheduled results release date. You can adjust this in the Results release settings. 
• You can choose whether to send a notification email to non-respondents.

Before you stop a survey

Before stopping a live survey, double-check with other coordinators or stakeholders to make sure everyone agrees. Please keep in mind that:

• Stopping a survey is permanent.

• A stopped  survey can’t be restarted or reopened.

• If you stopped it by mistake, you’ll need to create a new survey.

How to stop a running survey 

1. Go to My Effectory. 
2. Find and open the running survey you want to stop in Surveys > All surveys.
3. Click the three dots in the top right corner and select Close survey.
4. Choose whether to notify non-respondents by email.
5. Confirm your choice. 

The survey will immediately be closed and marked as completed.  

If you stopped the survey because it reached 100% response, the results will be available as planned based on your settings.