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Quotas are an advanced tool for keeping your respondent mix balanced. Once a quota is full, Listen automatically screens out any additional candidates who fall into that segment. Most studies do not need quotas. Natural fallout after the screener usually mirrors your target audience. Reach for quotas only when you have clear goals such as “ ≥ 20 % paid users” or “ ≤ 50 % companies under $1 B.”
How Quotas Work: After a respondent answers screener questions, the platform checks whether admitting them would satisfy or violate your quotas. If they satisfy all requirements, they’re let in — otherwise they’re rejected. Think of quotas as a soft extension of the screener. Quota Types:
  • Maximum: “At most X participants from this segment.” Once the cap is reached, further candidates from that group are screened out.
  • Minimum: “At least X from this segment.” When admitting a non-qualifying respondent would make the minimum impossible to reach, they’re rejected.
  • Exact: Combines a minimum and maximum. Use only when the split is essential, as it increases screen-outs.
Absolute vs. Relative Quotas:
  • Absolute: Fixed numbers (e.g., exactly 15 paid users)
  • Relative: Percentages (e.g., 30%). The platform translates the percentage to an absolute figure based on your response limit — and scales automatically if you raise the limit later

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Pro Tips

  • Use maximum quotas when in doubt: They’re easier to understand and lead to fewer screen-outs than minimum quotas
  • For multi-select questions: Minimum quotas can be useful to ensure coverage of all answer options
  • Advanced segments with min-quotas: If combining multiple questions or URL parameters in an advanced quota, either use max quotas, or make sure correlated segments are in the same group
  • If your study keeps pausing: Go to the Responses tab, filter for “Screened out responses,” and check the “Screen out reason” column to diagnose which quota is causing the issue

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Quick Reference

Quota TypeWhen to UseEffect
MaximumCap a segment (e.g., ”≤ 30% under 25”)Screens out once cap is reached
MinimumEnsure coverage (e.g., ”≥ 10 ChatGPT users”)Screens non-qualifiers when min is at risk
ExactRequire a precise split (e.g., exactly 50% women)Highest screen-out rate — use sparingly

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How to Set Up Quotas in Listen

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Step 1: Write Screener Questions First

Quotas reference screener question answers (or URL parameters). Before setting up quotas:
  1. Write your screener questions with clear answer options
  2. Each answer option will become a potential quota segment
  3. Learn more about setting up screener questions

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Step 2: Set the Total Response Limit

  1. Navigate to the Quotas tab in your study
  2. Set your Total Response Limit (e.g., 50 completes) — this is required before adding quotas
  3. This is the maximum number of completed responses your study will accept

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Step 3: Add a Quota

  1. Click Add a quota (or Advanced Configuration for multi-question segments)
  2. Choose the screener question (or URL parameter) you want to quota on
  3. Define segments — the answer options that form each group
  4. Select a rule: Minimum, Maximum, or Exact
  5. Set the count or percentage for each segment
Example — Maximum quota: “At most 10 participants under 25 years old.” Once 10 completes are in that age band, further under-25 candidates are screened out. Example — Minimum quota: “At least 10 ChatGPT users.” When admitting a non-ChatGPT user would make the minimum impossible to reach, they are screened out.

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Step 4: Advanced Quota Configuration

For quotas based on a combination of multiple questions or URL parameters:
  1. Click Advanced Configuration at the bottom of the Quotas tab
  2. Build segment combinations (e.g., “male & married”, “female & single”)
  3. Use maximum quotas when combining multiple attributes — minimum quotas won’t work as expected for complex combinations

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Step 5: Debugging a Paused Study

If your study pauses automatically, it’s usually because:
  1. Response limit reached: The study is full
  2. Too many screen-outs: 100 consecutive screen-out responses
  3. Low incidence rate: Less than 10% of responses qualify
To diagnose:
  1. Go to the Responses tab
  2. Clear the “complete” filter
  3. Switch to “Screened out responses” on the left
  4. Check the “Screen out reason” column
To fix:
  • If screener rejection is too high: review and relax screening criteria, or contact support for a custom recruitment quote
  • If quota limits are causing rejections: loosen quotas on less important segments, or update recruitment filters to match current quota needs (e.g., if your 65+ quota is full, set age filter in recruitment to ≤65)
Anything missing? Let us know at support@listenlabs.ai and we’ll help you out!