Note: This feature is currently part of an A/B test. If you don’t see it in your account, it hasn’t been enabled for you yet.

Screeners let you control who can participate in your study.

You can:

Require participants to meet all criteria
Allow participants to qualify in multiple ways
Combine both approaches

To do this, use AND, OR, and sometimes sub-conditions.

Start by understanding how AND and OR work.

AND vs OR

The screener builder uses two types of logic: AND and OR.

AND (default)

Use AND when participants must meet every condition.

Example:

Current country of residence is United Kingdom
AND Age is 18–45
AND Current job role is Secondary School Teacher

Only participants who meet all three conditions will qualify.

AND narrows your pool, use it for must-have requirements.

OR

Use OR when participants can qualify by meeting any one of several conditions.

Example:

Current country of residence is United Kingdom
OR Highest education level completed is Undergraduate degree

Participants in either country will qualify.

OR expands your eligible pool.

Important: OR applies automatically within a single screener

When you select multiple answers within one screener, OR logic applies automatically.

For example:

If you select:

English
French

for the "Fluent languages" screener, participants who speak English OR French will qualify. You don't need to create a sub-condition for this.

Sub-conditions are only needed when applying OR logic across different screeners.

When to use a sub-condition

Use a sub-condition when participants can qualify in more than one way across different screeners.

You'll likely need one if your requirement sounds like:

"Participants must be ___ AND (___ OR ___)."

Example:

You want participants who are:

Either a Fact-Checking AI Tasker OR a SQL Domain Expert
AND located in either the UK OR the USA

This looks like:

(Fact-Checking AI Tasker OR SQL Domain Expert)

AND

(UK OR USA)

The brackets represent sub-conditions, groups of criteria that are evaluated together.

You can include up to three OR conditions in a single study setup. If you reach this limit, simplify or adjust your grouping.

You don't need a sub-condition if all participants must meet every requirement.

How to build your logic

Go to + New study, and complete the details as normal
In Recruit participants, select Add screeners
Add your must-have criteria first (these use AND by default)
If participants can qualify in more than one way, select Add a sub-condition
Use the dropdown between conditions to switch between:
- AND (must meet both)
- OR (can meet either)

Build your logic step by step.

After each change, check the participant estimate at the top of the page:

If the number drops, you likely added an AND.
If the number increases, you likely added an OR.

This helps confirm your setup is working as intended.

Before you publish your study

Quick checklist:

✅ Must-have criteria use AND

✅ Flexible alternatives are grouped inside a sub-condition

✅ OR logic is intentional

✅ The eligible participant count matches your expectations

If something looks off, read your criteria aloud:

"Participants must be ___ AND (___ OR ___)."

If that doesn't match your intended targeting, adjust your grouping.

Troubleshooting your screener logic

The eligible participant count is too low

You may have added an AND condition, which requires participants to meet more criteria.

Each additional AND narrows your pool.

What to check:

Did you use AND when OR would be more appropriate?
Did you add a must-have requirement that excludes more participants than you intended?

If your eligible count dropped suddenly after adding a condition, that condition is likely narrowing your pool.

The eligible participant count is too high

You may have used OR logic, which allows more participants to qualify.

Each OR condition expands your pool.

What to check:

Is a condition grouped under OR unintentionally?
Did you place a requirement inside a sub-condition when it should stand alone?
Is a sub-condition allowing participants to qualify in more ways than you intended?

If your eligible count increased sharply after adding or grouping a condition, review its structure.

The number of eligible participants changed unexpectedly

Your logic grouping may not match your intended rule. Conditions may be evaluated separately instead of together.

Here's what to do:

Read your setup aloud: "Participants must be ___ AND (___ OR ___)."
Check whether your sub-conditions match that structure.
Confirm that required criteria sit outside OR groupings.

If you're unsure, build your logic one step at a time and check the estimate after each change. Watching the number shift shows you exactly which condition is affecting your pool.