Understand respondent identities in form exports

Use the form export with verified identity sources to understand which respondent and source record belong to each response. Each row carries at most one external identity, with separate columns showing additional matches and differences between sources.

​

Identify the response and the respondent

These three columns serve different purposes: Use column names rather than spreadsheet letters, which can differ between files. Two rows with the same email address can be different responses. Compare form_response_id, the form, delivery details, and timestamps before deciding whether a response is a duplicate.

​

Understand the selected identity source

respondent_origin names the source used for the external identity. HireData selects the first available origin in this order: All respondent_external_* values come from this one origin. HireData does not combine a name from one source with an email address from another. If the selected source did not provide a name or phone number, that external field stays empty. The columns respondent_name, respondent_email, and respondent_phone_number describe the linked person in HireData. They are separate from the selected external identity and can differ from it.

​

Choose the correct CRM ID

Check these columns together:

• respondent_external_app: the integration, such as salesforce or google.
• respondent_external_type: the record type, such as Contact.
• respondent_external_connection: the connected account.
• respondent_external_id: the record ID in that source.

A Salesforce Contact ID can identify a contact in the corresponding Salesforce connection. A Google Sheet row ID is not a Salesforce Contact ID. If the automation started from a sheet, the external_data_… columns contain the original sheet values. If you supplied a Salesforce ID in that sheet, use the corresponding column after confirming which CRM record and connection it refers to. It does not automatically turn the sheet’s own row ID into a Salesforce ID. For example, if respondent_origin is external_record and respondent_external_app is google, interpret respondent_external_id as the sheet’s source ID. Locate the separately supplied CRM ID in the original sheet data.

​

Interpret additional matches

respondent_source_match_count shows how many synced records matched the person’s contact details:

• 1: one matching record.
• 2 or more: multiple matching records to investigate.
• 0: no matching records.
• Empty: there was nothing to match against.

respondent_source_match_external_ids lists those records. Multiple matches can reflect duplicates or separate contacts sharing an email address or phone number. They do not prove that all the records represent the same person. For example, two contacts can share a company phone number. Finding both IDs makes that overlap visible; it is not an instruction to merge them or attach the response to both.

​

Read the consistency checks

For each check, 1 means the compared values agree, 0 means they differ, and an empty value means there is not enough comparable information. A 0 makes a difference visible. It does not by itself establish which value is correct. Check the selected source, the receiver_* delivery details, and the original record when investigating.

​

Import historical responses

Incomplete responses are included with an empty completed_at. Question columns contain the answers, including hidden fields. Choice questions also have a …_label column for the option label. This export explains the origin of respondent data. It does not automatically correct historical answers or merge duplicate source records. Before importing:

1. Use form_response_id to recognise each response and avoid importing it twice.
2. Confirm the source and CRM ID used to link each response.
3. Keep cases with unresolved identity differences separate for investigation.
4. After importing, check that the responses and answer values are attached to the intended CRM records.

If you need help with a particular row, share its form_response_id, the form name, and the difference you found with the HireData team. Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands.