Advice for setting up an open enrollment, 4-wave longitudinal survey | Experience Community
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Advice for setting up an open enrollment, 4-wave longitudinal survey

  • May 28, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 25 views
A
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Hi everyone,

I’m new to Qualtrics and setting up my first longitudinal research study, so I would really appreciate advice on best practices.

I will distribute surveys to the same participants 4 times over the course of a year. My current thinking is:

  • Survey 1 would collect demographic and contact information.
  • Surveys 2–4 would only include the repeated study measures/questions.
  • I was planning not to repeat demographic questions or sections that are unlikely to change, mainly to reduce participant burden, survey fatigue, and attrition.

However, I’m not sure if this is the best way to structure a longitudinal study in Qualtrics.

The study will start with open enrollment using a public link. Ideally, participants would:

  1. Complete Survey 1 and provide contact information.
  2. Then be invited to complete Surveys 2, 3, and 4 later in the year.

I also need all responses across the 4 waves to be linked to the same participant.

What are the recommended/best-practice ways to do this in Qualtrics?

Specifically:

  • Is it better to create separate surveys for each wave or manage everything within one project?
  • What is the best way to link participant responses over time?
  • Is using contact lists/panels the recommended approach?
  • Are there common pitfalls or better workflows for minimizing attrition and managing follow-up invitations?

Any guidance or examples of how others have handled longitudinal studies in Qualtrics would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

3 replies

MatthewM
Level 6 ●●●●●●
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  • MatthewM
  • Level 6 ●●●●●●
  • May 29, 2026

Hi. Based on my experience, with Qualtrics, this is what I recommend.

  • Survey 1 would be a standalone survey, but you can (and should) use the same survey for 2-4. In the event you do have to remove any questions between waves 2 and 4, however, do not delete the questions or else you’ll lose your data. Use question or block display logic to hide the questions instead.
  • You can have Qualtrics assign an ID number in Survey 1 (see the first Step 9 in this use case scenario), or you can assign it yourself in the Contact List. Either way, make sure the ID numbers exist as a field in the Contact List in your Directory, and have a matching field in the Embedded Data for surveys 2-4.
  • Using Contact Lists is the recommended approach to do everything inside of Qualtrics.
  • My advice would be to communicate the distribution plan at the outset and repeat it each time you contact them. And, unless there are circumstances that warrant doing otherwise, send two reminders at most for each wave.

Good luck, hope this helps!

Matt

    A
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    • Annastrk
    • Author
    • June 1, 2026

    Thank you, ​@MatthewM . This is incredibly helpful.

    Do you have any recommendations for ensuring that the ID assigned to a participant in Survey 1 is consistently associated with that same participant in Surveys 2–4? I want to make sure responses can be accurately linked across all survey waves.

    Thanks again for your help.

    MatthewM
    Level 6 ●●●●●●
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    • MatthewM
    • Level 6 ●●●●●●
    • June 2, 2026

    Thank you, ​@MatthewM . This is incredibly helpful.

    Do you have any recommendations for ensuring that the ID assigned to a participant in Survey 1 is consistently associated with that same participant in Surveys 2–4? I want to make sure responses can be accurately linked across all survey waves.

    Thanks again for your help.

    Yes, see the second bullet point. As long as that ID number exists as Embedded data in the Survey Flow in all four surveys and the contact list, and you use the same contact list in surveys 2-4, you’ll be able to link the responses between them. I would recommend testing out this process on a couple surveys with your own email address(es) to make sure it’s working as expected before you go ahead with your live surveys.

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