Updating Participant Profile Card Data with Personalized Survey Links

Surveys are a powerful way to update participant profile card data, such as adding contact details, collecting eligibility information, or tracking updates as your study progresses. To ensure that survey submissions are correctly matched to a participant's existing profile (rather than creating a new profile), personalized survey links should be used.

Matching a Survey Submission to an Existing Participant

When a survey is submitted, Ripple uses specific identifiers to determine whether the data should be matched to an existing participant profile or if a new participant profile card should be created. This process ensures data integrity and prevents duplicate profiles.

Identifiers Used to Match Survey Submissions

Ripple checks the following identifiers to find an existing participant:

1. First Name, Last Name, and Birthday

   • If all three match, the survey submission will be associated with the existing participant.

2. First Name, Last Name, and Global ID

   • If these three match, the submission will be linked to the corresponding profile.

3. Global ID Only

   • A match on the Global ID alone is sufficient to link the survey submission to an existing participant.

 

 

Best Practices

• Use consistent naming and formatting when collecting participant information to minimize mismatches.
• Where possible, rely on the Global ID as it is the most precise matching criterion.

By ensuring identifiers are accurate and consistent, you can streamline the survey submission process and maintain organized, up-to-date participant profiles.

 

How to Personalize a Survey Link for a Participant

You can use UTM codes pre-fill a survey with a participant’s Global ID or first name, last name, and Global ID to make sure the survey goes back to the participant. 

Important Warning

It is not possible to pre-fill a participant's survey if their First Name, Last Name, or Global ID contains the following characters:

• Spaces
• Apostrophes (')
• Quotes (")
• Commas (,)
• Periods (.)
• Question marks (?)
• Pluses (+)

 

Step-by-Step Guide to Personalize a Survey Link

Step 1: Add Participant Variables to Your Survey

1. Access the Survey Creator:

   • Must have Site Admin or Study Admin permissions
   • Navigate to Study Settings > Survey Creator.

2. Set Up Your Survey:

   • Create your survey questions and ensure the First Name and Last Name fields remain exactly as Ripple created them.
   • Go to the question’s properties (red) and verify:
     • First Name has the name: firstName.
     • Last Name has the name: lastName.
     • These names are case-sensitive.

3.  Add a Global ID Field:

• • Add a Single Input question type.
  • In the Properties (green) section:
    • Name the field: globalId (case-sensitive) (purple).
    • Toggle “Is Visible?” off so participants cannot see this field(blue).

4.   Link the Global ID to the Survey Variable:

• • In the Survey Variable section, enter “Global Id” (red) for this question.

5.  Save and Copy the Survey Link:

• • Save your survey and copy the survey URL.

 

Step 2: Create an Email Template

1. Access the Email Creator:

   • Go to Study Settings > Email and Text.

2. Design the Template:

   • Create a new email template.
   • Add the button, header, text, or image element that participants will click to activate the survey.

Step 3: Add the Personalized Survey Link

1. Insert the Survey Link:

   • Highlight the text, header, button, or image where you want the link.
   • Click the Link Icon in the editor.

2. Add the Survey URL with UTM Codes:

   • Paste the survey URL into the URL Field in the pop-up.
   • Append the following UTM parameters to the end of the URL(red):

     ?globalId=&firstName=&lastName=
     

   • Example:
     https://your-survey-url.com?globalId=&firstName=&lastName=

3. Set the Target Field:

   • Choose whether the link opens in the same tab or a new tab(green).

4. Save Your Email Template:

   • Save (purple) the email and close the template editor.

Step 4: Test the Personalized Link

1. Access a Participant’s Profile:

   • Open a participant's profile card and go to the Email Log.

2. Send a Test Email:

   • Click Add Email and select the email template you just created.
   • Open the email and click on the link.

3. Verify the Link Data:

   • Check if the participant’s Global ID, First Name, and Last Name are correctly pre-filled in the survey.