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Pausing and Resuming a Study (ASYNC)

This feature is only available for ASYNC (self-paced) studies. It gives you the flexibility to temporarily halt recruitment.

ASYNC Studies Only

This feature is not available for LIVE studies. LIVE studies run on a fixed schedule and cannot be paused once launched.

How to Pause

Click the "Pause Study" button on your dashboard.

Effect

No new participants will be able to start your study. However, participants who are already in the middle of a session can still complete it.

How to Resume

When you are ready to continue, click "Resume Study."

Effect

The study becomes active again, and our system will resume sending invitations to fill the remaining spots.

When to Use Pause/Resume

Consider pausing your ASYNC study in these situations:

Planned Breaks

  • Weekend breaks: Pause Friday evening, resume Monday morning
  • Holiday periods: Temporarily halt during holidays when response rates are low
  • Research schedule: Align data collection with your availability to monitor

Technical Issues

  • External study problems: Issues with your Qualtrics/SurveyMonkey study
  • Completion flow issues: Problems with completion codes or redirect URLs
  • Data quality concerns: Pause to investigate unusual completion patterns

Study Modifications

  • External study updates: Need to make changes to your survey
  • Instruction clarifications: Update study description based on participant feedback
  • Quality improvements: Make adjustments to improve completion rates

How to Pause a Study

Pausing an ASYNC study is straightforward:

  1. Navigate to your active study (status: STARTED)
  2. Open the study management dashboard
  3. Look for the "Pause Study" button
  4. Click "Pause Study"
  5. Confirm your action in the popup dialog
  6. The study status will change to PAUSED

💡 What Happens When You Pause

  • New invitations stop: No new participants will be invited
  • Current participants continue: Anyone already in progress can still complete
  • Reserved funds remain: Your allocated funds stay reserved
  • Data is preserved: All completed submissions remain intact

Study Status: PAUSED

When your study is paused, you'll see:

Dashboard Changes

  • Status indicator: Shows PAUSED
  • Recruitment status: "Recruitment inactive" message
  • Progress tracking: Continues for participants still completing

What Continues

  • Participants already in the study can finish
  • Submissions are still processed
  • Progress metrics continue to update
  • You can still monitor completion rates

What Stops

  • New participant invitations
  • New participant recruitment
  • Study visibility to new potential participants

How to Resume a Study

When you're ready to continue data collection:

  1. Navigate to your paused study (status: PAUSED)
  2. Open the study management dashboard
  3. Look for the "Resume Study" button
  4. Click "Resume Study"
  5. Confirm your action
  6. The study status returns to STARTED

💡 What Happens When You Resume

  • Recruitment restarts: New participants will be invited immediately
  • Progress continues: Picks up where you left off
  • Target tracking: Still aims for your original sample size
  • Timeline adjusts: End time may extend if you're behind target

Alternative: Stop Instead of Pause

From the PAUSED status, you also have the option to stop the study completely:

When to Stop vs. Resume

  • Stop if: You've collected enough data or discovered major issues
  • Resume if: You still need more participants and issues are resolved

Stopping a Paused Study

  1. From the paused study dashboard
  2. Click "Stop Study"
  3. Confirm the action
  4. Status changes to STOPPED
  5. Proceed to review submissions

⚠️ Important Considerations

  • Frequent pausing: May confuse participants and affect response rates
  • Long pauses: Extended pauses might impact participant interest
  • Reserved funds: Funds remain locked during the pause period
  • Study timeline: Pausing doesn't extend your study's end date automatically

Best Practices for Pause/Resume

Communication

  • Update your study description if the pause affects the timeline
  • Consider if participants need to be notified of changes

Timing

  • Pause during low-activity periods when possible
  • Keep pause periods as short as necessary
  • Resume during high-activity times for better recruitment

Monitoring

  • Monitor completion of in-progress participants during the pause
  • Check if technical issues are truly resolved before resuming
  • Verify your external study is working before resuming recruitment

Troubleshooting Pause/Resume

Can't Find Pause Button

  • Check study type: Only available for ASYNC studies
  • Check status: Study must be in STARTED status
  • Refresh page: Button may load after dashboard updates

Resume Not Working as Expected

  • Wait a few minutes for recruitment to restart
  • Check if participant filters are too restrictive
  • Verify your study hasn't reached its end time

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