Auto-pause Tests
Overview
Automatic pause removes a test from the panelist website as soon as it has collected a set number of complete responses. Use it when you need to stop collecting data at an exact number of results, for example when your samples are limited, or when someone else runs the sessions and cannot tell you when enough results have come in.
How Automatic Pause Works
You choose a number of complete responses. When a panelist finishes a sample set and the test reaches that number, Compusense sets the test to Paused, exactly as if you had clicked Pause test yourself.
This is useful when you need to set the number of sample sets in the test higher than the number of results you actually require, because you expect some panelists to leave a sample set unfinished. For example, a test with 30 sample sets can pause itself after 25 complete responses.
⚠ Warning: Panelists who are still part-way through a sample set when the test pauses can no longer continue. The next time they click Next, they see that the test is no longer available. Their results stay partial and they remain assigned to the test. This is the same behavior as pausing a test manually.
What Counts as a Complete Response
A complete response is one panelist finishing one sample set.
- Partial and in-progress sittings never count.
- Completed preview sittings count if you chose to keep the results of the preview. A preview that you close part-way does not count even if you chose to keep results.
- If you delete the results of the test, the count goes down accordingly.
Turn On Automatic Pause
You can change this setting while the test is In design or Paused. The setting is disabled while the test is Running. For an overview of the tab, see Run test.
- Open your test and go to the Run test tab.
- Find the Automatically pause test toggle and turn it on.
- In the sentence after [number] complete responses, enter the number of complete responses at which the test should pause. The number must be a whole number greater than 0 and no larger than the number of sample sets in the test.
- Check the Summary table on the right side of the page. While automatic pause is on, a warning explains that the test will pause itself and that panelists still in the test will be taken to the test list page after they click “Next”. If the number is invalid, an error appears and you cannot start the test until you correct it.
- Click Start test.
To stop using the setting, pause the test, turn the Automatically pause test toggle off, and start the test again. The number field disappears and the warning is removed from the Summary table.
ℹ Info: The toggle is disabled until the test has at least one sample set. Add sample sets first, and then turn the setting on.
What Happens When the Test Pauses
- The test status on the Run test tab automatically changes to Paused.
- The panelist whose response reaches the number sees the normal Thank you page and keeps their complete response.
- Panelists who are still in the test see that the test is no longer available the next time they click Next.
- New panelists can still start the test while the number has not been reached, even if enough sample sets are already in progress to reach it. The first panelists to finish decide when the test pauses.
- Automatic pause does not send a scheduled report. Pausing a test never triggers a scheduled report.
Restart a Test That Paused Automatically
Once a test has reached its number, the Summary table will not let you start it again until you change something. The error tells you the number you set and the number of complete responses the test already has.
- On the Run test tab of the paused test, choose how to continue.
- Raise the number in after [number] complete responses to collect more results.
- Turn the Automatically pause test toggle off to collect results with no limit.
- Delete a subset or all completed results in the test to lower the count.
- Check that the error in the Summary table is gone.
- Click Start test.
Special Cases
| Situation | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Assessor testing | Each evaluation by each assessor counts separately, not finished sample sets. With 30 sample sets and 4 assessors, the number can be up to 120, and a number of 100 pauses the test on the 100th evaluation. |
| Survey test with a limit on sample sets | The limit you set counts as the number of sample sets, so the number can be up to that limit. A number higher than the limit is refused in the Summary table. |
| Cloning a test | The clone keeps the same setting and number as the original test. |
Troubleshooting
I cannot start the test
Open the Run test tab and read the error in the Summary table. The setting is invalid when the number is blank, is larger than the number of sample sets, is not a whole number greater than 0, or has already been reached by the results in the test.
Panelists could not finish their sample set
This happens when the test pauses while panelists are still part-way through a sample set. Their results stay partial. To avoid this, set the number so that you are comfortable with panelists in progress being removed, or turn the setting off and pause the test yourself.
I cannot change the setting
The setting is read-only while the test is Running. Click Pause test, change the setting, and then click Start test again.