Fieldwork time calculator

Plan how many days it takes to collect your sample. Account for daily reach, response rate, completion rate and a buffer for slow days.

Fieldwork — the period in which you invite respondents and collect valid responses.

Calculation FAQ

Collection plan

Valid responses needed

The target sample after cleaning

Daily reach / invitations

How many people you can invite or show the survey to per day

Response rate, %

Share of people who start or answer

Completion rate, %

Share of starters who finish

Buffer, %

Slack for weekends, quotas and data cleaning

Estimated time

—

Result

days

Interpretation

Change the inputs to recalculate.

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Data is not stored — calculation runs in your browser.

How fieldwork time is calculated

Formula

Responses per day = daily reach × response rate × completion rate. Days = target responses / responses per day.

Daily pace

The key number: how many valid responses actually come in each day.

Buffer

Protects against a slowing channel, hard quotas and rejected responses.

Quotas

The last few percent of a quota usually fill slower than the average pace.

Calculation examples

1 Customer base survey

600 responses

2,500 invitations a day

RR 18%

CR 72%

Fieldwork takes a couple of days plus a buffer for reminders.

2 Hard-to-reach B2B audience

150 responses

300 contacts a day

RR 6%

CR 65%

Even a small sample can take two weeks because of the low response rate.

What to avoid

Assuming a linear pace The response rate often falls after the first waves, and hard quotas close more slowly.
Ignoring weekends In B2B and HR surveys, activity differs a lot by day of the week.
Forgetting cleaning If some responses will be removed, plan the collection with a buffer.

Frequently asked questions

Why can fieldwork take longer than calculated?

Hard quotas, a low response rate, weekends, reminder waves and removing low-quality responses all add time.

How big should the buffer be?

10–15% for a simple customer base, 15–30% for panels and quota studies.

What if the estimate is too long?

Increase daily reach, add a channel, shorten the survey, simplify quotas or revisit the precision you need.

Can I combine several channels?

Yes. Calculate the daily valid responses per channel and add the paces together.

Should I account for reminders?

Yes. Reminders usually raise the final response rate but add calendar days between waves.

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