Setting Up Sentry with Unique Survey Links

When fielding a study with multiple unique survey links, it’s common for those links to differ only by one or more URL variables. In situations where deduplication across those links is required, you can use a single Sentry project setup rather than creating multiple configurations.

This guide explains how to configure Sentry to support multiple unique links within one project when deduplication protection across all traffic is needed.

Key Concept

Sentry automatically passes URL parameters from the provider (entry) link to both:

the client survey link, and
the quality termination link.

Because of this, the recommended approach is to:

Remove the unique variable(s) from the Survey Link inside Sentry
Append the variable(s) to the Sentry Provider (entry) link instead

When to Use This Approach

Use a single Sentry project for multiple unique links only when deduplication across those links is required, such as:

Multiple suppliers or providers pointing to the same survey
Participant-specific or panel-specific links that should share deduplication logic
Any scenario where respondents must be screened collectively across all incoming traffic

If deduplication across links is not required, it is generally simpler to create separate Sentry projects per link. Setup is often faster—especially when using Clone (via the ellipsis menu)—and provides separate Sentry Results pages for each link.

Example: Supplier-Based Unique Links

Original Client Links

Each link uses a unique value for the segment parameter:

Segment 1:
https://survey.com/example_0036/index.aspx?segment=1
Segment 2:
https://survey.com/example_0036/index.aspx?segment=2

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Configure the Client Link in Sentry

Remove the unique variable from the Client Link entered in the Sentry project.

Client Link inside Sentry:

https://survey.com/example_0036/index.aspx

Do not include segment=# (or any other unique variable) in the Client Link.

Step 2: Append the Variable to the Sentry Provider Link

Add the unique variable to the Sentry entry link (both test and live) that you send to each sample provider.

Example Provider Links

Provider 1:

https://sentry.cloudresearch.com/entry/project_id?providerId=Provider_ID_1&segment=1&rid=XXXXX

https://sentry.cloudresearch.com/entry/project_id?providerId=Provider_ID_1&segment=2&rid=XXXXX

Provider 2:

https://sentry.cloudresearch.com/entry/project_id?providerId=Provider_ID_2&segment=1&aid=XXXXX

https://sentry.cloudresearch.com/entry/project_id?providerId=Provider_ID_2&segment=2&aid=XXXXX

Sentry will automatically append the segment value (along with any other URL parameters) to:

The client survey link
The quality termination link

URL Formatting Reminder

When adding parameters to a URL:

Use “?” before the first parameter
Use “&” before each additional parameter

Example: http://example.com/survey?segment=1&list=1&rid=XXXXX

Key Reminder

All URL parameters passed into Sentry on provider entry links will be automatically passed out of Sentry to the survey and termination links.

Advanced Use Case: The “Unique Value” Is Embedded in the Path

In some cases, the “unique” portion of a link is not a standard query parameter (e.g., &segment=1) but is instead embedded directly in the URL path.

Using the ${variable} syntax tells Sentry to capture that variable from the provider URL and insert it at the specified location in the survey link.

Only variables explicitly referenced using ${variable} will be forwarded in this way.

Example Survey Links

Supplier 1:
https://survey.com/example_0036/index.aspx/segment=1

Supplier 2:
https://survey.com/example_0036/index.aspx/segment=2

Client Link inside Sentry:

https://survey.com/example_0036/index.aspx/${segment}

Then, pass the variable into Sentry on the provider link exactly as before.