How to Stop a Study Early

If you have collected enough data or need to end a study ahead of schedule, you can stop it manually. This guide explains when and how to stop a study, and what happens to your data and funds.

When to Stop a Study Early

Consider stopping your study in these situations:

Data Collection Goals Met

• Sufficient sample size: You've reached adequate statistical power
• Research questions answered: Initial data shows clear patterns
• Quality over quantity: You have high-quality responses and prefer to stop

Technical Issues

• External study problems: Unfixable issues with your Qualtrics/SurveyMonkey study
• Data quality concerns: Systematic problems affecting response quality
• Completion flow failures: Problems with completion codes or redirect URLs

Budget or Timeline Constraints

• Budget reached: You've spent your allocated research funds
• Timeline pressure: Need results sooner than the natural completion date
• Resource availability: Cannot monitor the study for the full duration

Study Design Issues

• Methodological problems: Discovered flaws in the study design
• Low completion rates: Consistently poor participant experience
• Unexpected results: Early data suggests need for study redesign

How to Stop a Study

Stopping a study is permanent and cannot be undone:

From STARTED Status

1. Navigate to your active study (status: STARTED)
2. Open the study management dashboard
3. Look for the "Stop Study" button
4. Click "Stop Study"
5. Read the confirmation dialog carefully
6. Confirm the action
7. The study status will change to STOPPED

From PAUSED Status (ASYNC Studies)

If your ASYNC study is currently paused:

1. Navigate to your paused study (status: PAUSED)
2. Open the study management dashboard
3. Choose between "Resume Study" and "Stop Study"
4. Click "Stop Study" if you want to end permanently
5. Confirm the action

What Happens When You Stop

Immediate Effects

• Recruitment halts: No new participants will be invited
• Status change: Study moves to STOPPED status
• In-progress participants: Can still complete their sessions
• New entries blocked: No new participants can start

Data Preservation

• All completed submissions are preserved
• Participants currently in progress can finish
• Partial data from incomplete sessions may be available
• All collected data remains accessible for download

Financial Impact

• Used funds: Payment for completed participants is processed
• Unused funds: Reserved funds for unfilled spots are returned to your wallet
• In-progress funds: Funds for current participants remain reserved until completion
• Service fees: Applied only to actual completed participants

Post-Stop Process

Transition to FINISHED

After stopping, your study will automatically transition:

1. Status remains STOPPED while in-progress participants finish
2. Once all in-progress sessions are complete or timed out
3. Status changes to FINISHED
4. You can then proceed to review submissions

Next Steps: Review Submissions

After your study reaches FINISHED status:

• Review process: Examine all collected submissions
• Payment decisions: Approve or reject individual submissions
• Data download: Export your collected data
• Final status: Study moves to REVIEWED when complete

Best Practices for Early Stopping

Timing Considerations

• Wait for in-progress: Let current participants finish before deciding
• Check completion patterns: Don't stop during a temporary lull
• Consider time zones: Peak participation times vary globally

Data Considerations

• Statistical power: Ensure you have enough data for valid conclusions
• Representativeness: Check if your sample is representative
• Balance across conditions: Ensure all experimental conditions have adequate participants

Documentation

• Note the reason for early stopping in your research records
• Document any issues that led to the early termination
• Record final sample size and completion statistics

Alternatives to Stopping

For ASYNC Studies

• Pause temporarily: Take a break while keeping the study available
• Modify recruitment: Adjust participant filters to improve response
• Extend deadline: Give more time for natural completion

For All Studies

• Increase compensation: If recruitment is slow but quality is good
• Improve study description: Make it more appealing to participants
• Fix technical issues: Address problems rather than stopping

After Stopping: What's Next

Once you've stopped a study:

Data Analysis

• Download and analyze your collected data
• Account for the smaller sample size in your analysis
• Document limitations due to early stopping

Future Studies

• Use lessons learned to improve future study designs
• Consider running a follow-up study if needed
• Apply improvements to participant experience