Studies

What Are Studies?

Studies are the top-level entity in Cashew. Each study is a self-contained research project that brings together everything you need to run a survey: the survey itself, audience targeting, distribution configuration, and results. Think of a study as the container that holds your entire research workflow from design through analysis.

What a Study Contains

A single study typically includes:

• Survey — The questions respondents answer, organized into pages with logic and branching
• Audience targeting — Who you want to reach (demographics, quotas, panel or contact list)
• Distribution config — How the survey is sent and how responses are collected
• Results — Real-time data, analysis tools, and export options

By keeping these elements together, Cashew lets you manage a research project as one cohesive unit instead of juggling separate tools for each step.

Study Lifecycle

Studies move through distinct stages from creation to completion:

Draft

When you create a study, it starts in Draft. You can edit the survey, adjust targeting, and configure distribution without launching. Draft studies are not visible to respondents and do not collect data.

Active

Once you launch, the study becomes Active. Respondents can complete the survey, data flows in real time, and you can monitor progress. You can still make limited changes during this phase (for example, extending quotas or closing early), but major survey edits are restricted to avoid data inconsistency.

Complete

When you close the study (manually or by hitting completion criteria), it moves to Complete. Data collection stops, and the study is locked for editing. You can still view results, run analysis, and export data.

Archived

Archived studies are retained for historical reference but are no longer prominently displayed. Archiving helps keep your dashboard focused on current and recent work while preserving access to older studies.

Duplicating Studies as Templates

Studies can be duplicated to create new projects quickly. When you duplicate a study, Cashew copies the survey structure, question logic, and configuration. You can then adjust targeting, update questions, and launch as a new study. This is especially useful for recurring research (e.g., quarterly brand tracking) or when you want to reuse a proven survey design.