Pivot and status quo experiments
Using respondent reference data in experiments with pivot and status quo choice designs.
A step-by-step interactive tutorial on pivot and status quo experiments in SurveyEngine. Preview the live tutorial, then download and upload it to your account to examine the construction.
Ben White, 08.07.2026
What this tutorial covers
Using respondent reference data in experiments with pivot and status quo choice designs.
Each page of the tutorial demonstrates a specific technique. Work through it as a respondent first, then open the editor to see how it was built.
What you will learn
After completing this tutorial you will be able to implement pivot and status quo experiments in your own SurveyEngine surveys.
Download the tutorial ZIP and upload it to your account to use it as a starting point or template for your own work.
TLDR Quick links
Step-by-step walkthrough
Step 1: Collect the respondent's reference trip or current situation. Before the choice experiment, capture the respondent's revealed preference data.
Step 2: Configure pivot offsets. Define attribute levels as percentage or absolute offsets from the respondent's reference values.
Step 3: Set up the status quo alternative. Add a fixed alternative representing the current situation that appears in every choice set.
Step 4: Preview with different reference values. Test the pivot design with several different reference values to confirm levels display correctly.
Step 5: Export combined RP/SP data. SurveyEngine exports reference data and choice responses together for joint RP/SP model estimation.
Try the live tutorial
The live tutorial is a working SurveyEngine survey. Click through it as a respondent to see the finished result.
Then download the tutorial ZIP file and upload it to your SurveyEngine account to examine how it was built. Open any page in the editor to see the configuration.
Preview the live tutorial or download the ZIP file to load it into your account.
References
Ready to try it? Open a free SurveyEngine account, download the tutorial ZIP and upload it to your account.
Or Contact us at support@surveyengine.com — we're glad to help.