Stop people from submitting a Google Form to a greater extent than than once

This article explains how to halt to a greater extent than than i someone providing a response to a questionnaire that yous lead maintain made using Google Forms.


use Google Forms to lay a survey or questionnaire into your blog.

Sometimes when yous lay a shape into a blog-post, it is OK for people to respond to a greater extent than than i time - together with Forms fifty-fifty has an selection to submit roughly other entry immediately.

But sometimes it's not.

For example, if yous are researching a detail topic, yous in all likelihood desire each person's watch to count once, rather than having an enthusiastic someone (effectively a human bot) piece of occupation into their responses many times together with so bias your results.

Google Forms has at nowadays a characteristic which lets you require everyone who wants to submit results to your survey to move logged in to a Google account, and together with so alone lets each Google Account submit the shape once.



How to halt people submitting a Google Form to a greater extent than than once

Follow these steps to halt the same user entering a shape multiple times:
  1. Edit the form.
  2. Click the Settings bar
  3. Turn on the "Allow alone i response per user" option.




Job done!   You volition at nowadays alone larn i response from each person.   Read i to discovery out to a greater extent than effects of doing this, together with roughly to a greater extent than issues that yous need to consider.


The lawsuit of the one-response-per-user checkbox

When this selection is turned in, each response is guaranteed to come upward from a unique Google-account.

People who desire to respond to your shape must log-in using a Google trouble organisation human relationship earlier they tin run across the form.

The person's e-mail address isn't recorded inward the results canvass but Forms won't convey roughly other entry from the same Google Account.

If someone tries to consummate your Google Form again, a alert is shown, proverb "You've already responded. You tin alone create total out this shape once. Try contacting the possessor of the shape if yous intend this is a mistake."


Is the Google trouble organisation human relationship cite available to the form-owner?

No. Google Forms checks the currently-logged-in trouble organisation human relationship against the listing of accounts that lead maintain submitted a response, but it does non display the account-names anywhere inward the shape results page.

Disadvantages of this approach

  • People who exercise non lead maintain Google Account cannot purpose your form.
  • People who are skeptical well-nigh linking their e-mail address amongst their shape entry may move unwilling to respond  - no thing how yous attempt to re-assure them that yous don't run across it.
  • Other's may intend that yous lead maintain their e-mail address, together with so larn annoyed if yous enquire for it on your form.
  • People who lead maintain multiple Google Accounts tin yet respond multiple times: a unmarried someone tin command many dissimilar Google accounts, together with could (if they were sufficiently evil / motivated) sign out together with inward i time again using each i to submit multiple results.


Are people who responded earlier the selection was turned on counted?

No:   Google alone tracks users who consummate your shape after the "Allow alone i response per user" selection is get down turned on.   If yous plough it on for an existing form, people volition yet lead maintain one more adventure to respond.

However if yous plough the selection off together with and so on again, it does recall which Google accounts lead maintain responded during the fourth dimension that the selection was off, together with stops them from responding again.


Some other things to consider

Is it actually necessary

Some people may plough this selection on because it seems similar the correct thing to do, fifty-fifty if it actually doesn't non thing if someone entered to a greater extent than than i response. This could annoy roughly visitors - for example, someone who completes your questionnaire today, together with and so remembers afterwards on that in that place is something else they would similar to say.

My recommendation is that yous should only purpose the Allow alone i response per user selection if it really makes sense for your shape to move similar this.   Otherwise, piece of occupation out it turned off.


Don't permit it halt YOU from testing your form

If your shape is fifty-fifty slightly complicated, it is a skilful thought to seek out it (perhaps from a individual seek out blog) earlier yous get down using it.

However if "Allow alone i response per user" is turned on, together with so yous volition alone move able to piece of occupation into i response yourself.

The solution to this is to:
  • Leave the selection off acre yous are testing your form
  • Only plough it on i time again precisely earlier yous install the shape it into your blog.

Other ways to guarantee unique responses

If yous create upward one's heed that allowing alone i response per Google trouble organisation human relationship is non a skilful approach for your form, together with so yous may desire to consider other ways of ensuring that each someone alone participates once. For example:
  • Ask each someone to piece of occupation into their e-mail address on the form, together with alone convey results from unique addresses. (But exercise recall that yous cannot move sure enough that the addresses are associated amongst the people who provided them.)
  • Make completing the shape "inviation only" together with e-mail respondents a unique code that they lead maintain to input, together with so don't convey trouble organisation human relationship of whatever responses that don't lead maintain a valid code: yous may need to enlist aid from a neutral third political party to aid amongst this, if yous desire respondents to believe that their input inward anonymous.
  • If your shape is made amongst a Google Apps user-account, rather than a measure Google account, together with so yous lead maintain an selection to confine a Google Form to alone convey responses from users who are inward your domain - together with if yous exercise this, the responses-sheet records the person's username equally well.

    So inward this case, yous could precisely kind yesteryear user-name, together with piece of occupation out our responses where the i user-name responded to a greater extent than than once.



Related Articles:

How to demo a survey / questionnaire / shape inward blogger

Understanding Google accounts

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