# Activity Sessions **URL:** \ **Category:** Reference\ **Created:** [June 16, 2025, 9:18am UTC](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/activity-sessions/1235 "2025-06-16T09:18:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![mojtaba](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@mojtaba](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/u/mojtaba)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 9:18am UTC](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/activity-sessions/1235/1 "2025-06-16T09:18:44Z")
When an activity is prompted to a participant, Avicenna creates a **[Session](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/terminology/1288#p-2915-session-38)** for it. This session stores information about the prompted activity, any responses provided by the participant or the researchers, and other related metadata. ## View and Manage Activity Sessions To view an overview of the sessions in your study, follow these steps: 1. Open the **Activity Sessions** page in the Researcher Dashboard. 2. Go to the **Participants** tab from the right-side panel and select the participants whose sessions you want to check. Currently, you can choose a maximum of five participants. 3. Then go to the **Activities** tab and select your desired activities. 4. Press **Apply Filters**. ![Activity Sessions page](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/uploads/default/original/1X/ff3235df624f3694819b2d166525df611054e5b9.png) After applying your filters, you can view all activity sessions and their status for the selected participants. ### Filter Activity Sessions You can view activity sessions starting from when a participant joins your study. To do this, select a participant ID under the **Participants** tab and click the **Go to Join Time** button. This feature is useful for verifying that all study sessions are created correctly for each participant. In the top-left corner, you can specify the period that you want the sessions to be displayed in. You can select a **Daily** , **Weekly** , **Monthly** , or **Yearly** view. Also, below the session statuses, you can find a progress bar. Hovering over it displays a tooltip showing the number and percentage of sessions for each status. For example, the image below shows that we have 245 `Unanswered` sessions for the selected participants, accounting for more than 82% of all sessions. You can also filter sessions by [status](#p-2862-session-statuses-3) by clicking the status badges above the calendar. By default, the `False Criteria` status is unselected. ![The progress bar on the Activity Sessions page](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/uploads/default/original/1X/25c8905d8bcd1dffff0c74956f2ca6cb73816ba1.png) ## Session Statuses Each session has a status, which can be one of the following: - **Unanswered/Unknown (ID 0):** No response has been registered or uploaded for this session yet. This does not necessarily mean the session has not been initiated; it may have been prompted, but the response has not been recorded. - **Completed (ID 1):** The participant completed and submitted the session. - **Canceled (ID 2):** The participant chose not to complete the session and explicitly canceled it. - **Expired (ID 3):** The participant did not respond in time, so Avicenna automatically marked it as expired. - **Blocked (ID 4):** The session could not be prompted because it was blocked by another active session from the same activity. See [Blocked Sessions](#p-2862-blocked-sessions-7). - **False Criteria (ID 5):** The session was not prompted because the criteria for either the triggering logic or the activity itself evaluated as `False`. - **In Progress (ID 6):** The participant started the session, but it has not yet been completed, canceled, or expired. ### Concluded Sessions In Avicenna, we consider an activity session “ **concluded** ” when its status is one of the following: - **Completed** - **Expired** - **Canceled** - **Blocked** > [!note] > The status updates might not appear immediately. The Avicenna server waits for the participant apps to explicitly send the status updates as part of the updates on the corresponding sessions. As a result, you might see some sessions that should be marked as, for example, `Expired` (because their expiry time has passed), but are not updated yet. > [!info] > Once a session is canceled, expired, blocked, or completed, the corresponding upcoming [Session Release Notifications](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/notifications/1277#p-2904-notification-templates-1) will not be sent. ### Expired Sessions and Expiry Time Each Activity can have an **[Expiry Time](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/terminology/1288#p-2915-expiry-duration-20)**, which specifies how long after the scheduled time Avicenna should wait for the participant to complete the activity and submit it. If a participant fails to submit their response within the set timeframe, the session will automatically close and be labeled as `Expired`. > [!note] > For `Expired` sessions, any data collected up to the time of expiration will be uploaded to the Avicenna servers. #### Why setting an Expiry Time is critical: Setting an Expiry Time acts as an automatic cleanup mechanism for your activity timeline. Its primary purpose is to cleanly close an ignored or incomplete session so that it does not remain active indefinitely. If you leave the Expiry Time set to **Never** on a recurring or daily schedule, old uncompleted sessions will stay active on the participant’s device indefinitely. This will directly cause any subsequent scheduled sessions to be labeled as **Blocked** , which will cause participants to miss future activities entirely. Read more about blocked sessions below. > [!example] Used in Research > > - [Prolonged Grief](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/1394), University of Groningen: gave participants 60 minutes to respond to each prompt. > - [WARN-D](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/2198), Leiden University: closed each of its four daily surveys 20 minutes after the prompt. ### Blocked Sessions Each activity can only have one session running at a time; sessions cannot overlap. If a new session is triggered while another session for the same activity is still active, the new session will immediately be closed and labeled as `Blocked`, and no response will be available for these sessions. > [!example] Example 1: Daily Repeating Schedules with No Expiry > Suppose an activity is scheduled with a [Time Trigger Logic](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/triggering-logics/1238#p-2865-time-tl-5) to repeat **daily at 9:00 AM** , but the Expiry Time is left set to **Never**. > > - **Monday at 9:00 AM:** Monday’s session triggers and sits on the participant’s device. The participant forgets to take it. > - **Tuesday at 9:00 AM:** Tuesday’s session tries to trigger. Because Monday’s session has no expiry time, it remains active indefinitely on the device. Since two sessions cannot overlap, Tuesday’s session is immediately **Blocked** and skipped entirely. This blocking loop will continue every subsequent day (Wednesday, Thursday, etc.) until Monday’s session is either manually submitted or canceled by the participant. > [!example] Example 2: Hourly Overlap > Suppose an activity is scheduled with a [Time Trigger Logic](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/triggering-logics/1238#p-2865-time-tl-5) for 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM, with an expiry time of 2 hours. > > - At 8:00 AM, Avicenna prompts the participant, starting a new session. > - By 9:00 AM, if the participant hasn’t responded or cancelled the 8:00 AM session, the 9:00 AM session cannot start. Avicenna will mark the 9:00 AM session as `Blocked`. **Best Practice:** To prevent older sessions from blocking newer ones, always [set an expiry time for your activity](#p-2862-expired-sessions-and-expiry-time-5) that is shorter than the interval between your scheduled sessions (e.g., for a daily survey, set an expiry time of 23 hours or less so the old session clears out before the next day’s session arrives). ## Sessions Metadata Each session on the calendar shows three key pieces of information (metadata): - **Activity ID** - **Scheduled time** (time only, without the date) - **Response time** (time only, without the date) Clicking on a session provides additional metadata, including: - **Activity:** Name of the activity. - **Participant:** Participant associated with the session. - **Scheduled Time:** The date and time the activity was scheduled. For sessions that are prompted via Triggering Logics types other than Time TL, this is set to the time the Avicenna app starts the session. - **Response Time:** The date and time when the session was concluded and queued for upload to the Avicenna server. - **UUID:** Universal Unique Identifier, which uniquely identifies the session in Avicenna. > [!info] N/A Values > Sometimes, `Response Time` values are shown as “N/A”. For `False Criteria` sessions, this is expected. However, it can also indicate that the session has not yet concluded from the server’s perspective. This is because Avicenna mobile apps can work offline, too. Even when a session has an expiration time known to the server, the server cannot be certain whether the session has expired, completed, canceled, or blocked until the participant app sends the status update. > [!info] > Whether you are using Avicenna as a researcher or a participant, all time values are automatically converted to your local time zone. Sessions are displayed based on the user’s local time. For more details on how Avicenna handles time, see [Participation Period](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/participation-period/1279/1). ![Session metadata](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/uploads/default/original/1X/2e3d45207af6b378680040d4c9e3c55bcee6f384.png) > [!example] > **Viewing Sessions for a Participant** > Suppose you want to view all sessions that were or will be prompted for a participant in your study ( **Participant ID: 59982** ) during **March 2023** : > > 1. In the right-side panel, select the **Participant** and **Activities** you want to include. > 2. Click **Apply Filters**. > 3. Set the view to **Month** and select **March 2023** as the date range. > > The calendar will now display all sessions scheduled for this participant in March 2023 along with their statuses. > > **Note:** If there are more than two sessions in a cell, you will see a `More` button, which, if clicked on, will show you the list of all sessions in that particular time slot cell. ![Viewing the sessions on the Activity Sessions page](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/uploads/default/original/1X/03270275abc24cf897eeec4a0535517509ade54a.png) ## Actions on the Activity Sessions On the **Activity Sessions** page, you can manage sessions in several ways, including creating, editing, and deleting sessions, as well as editing participant responses (as a researcher). ### Create a Session Avicenna offers two ways to create a session: #### 1. Using a CSV File 1. Click the **Create New Sessions** button above the calendar and select **Create via CSV File**. 2. Optionally, download the sample CSV file provided in the dialog. 3. Upload a CSV file containing **Participant ID** , **Activity ID** , **Scheduled Time** , and optionally **Expiry Time**. Example: #### 2. Using the Calendar 1. Click on any empty cell in the calendar for upcoming days. 2. In the **Create Session** dialog, specify **Activity** , **Participant** , **Scheduled Time** , and **Expiry Time**. > [!info] > When creating a session using the **Create Session** dialog, only the participants selected from the right-side panel will appear in the Participant field, and you can create sessions for one participant at a time. > In contrast, the **CSV upload** option allows you to create multiple sessions for multiple participants and activities at once. > [!note] > Session that you create this way or using a CSV file will be a [Researcher-Defined Session](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/terminology/1288#p-2915-researcher-defined-session-37). ### Release an Activity Sometimes you may want to prompt an activity immediately for one or more participants. Avicenna allows you to manually trigger an activity at any time. For more details, see [Manually Triggering an Activity](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/triggering-logics/1238#p-2865-manually-triggering-an-activity-38). ### Delete a Session You can delete a session in two ways: #### 1. Using the Delete Sessions Tool Click the **Delete Sessions** button above the calendar and enter the UUID of the sessions you want to delete. - Only **researcher-defined sessions** can be deleted using this method. - Only **future sessions** are eligible for deletion. #### 2. Deleting from the Calendar Click on any session, whether in the future or the past, and tap the **Delete** icon. A confirmation dialog will appear; confirm to delete the session. - This method allows you to delete **all session types** , including time TL and researcher-defined sessions. - Avicenna will automatically reload the corresponding participant devices after deletion. ### Edit a Session You can edit sessions, only future sessions, directly from the Activity Sessions page. To edit a session: - Click on an upcoming session in the calendar. - Then tap the **Edit** icon. - You can change the **Scheduled Time** and **Expiry Time** in the opened dialog. - By default, the participant’s device will reload to ensure the changes are applied. For researcher-defined sessions, like deleting a session, the **Reload participant’s device** option is not shown, as Avicenna automatically updates these sessions. > [!note] > The `Edit Session` option is disabled for [researcher-responded sessions](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/triggering-logics/1238#p-2865-researcher-responded-tl-29). Because these sessions are scheduled to occur immediately (“now”), their scheduled time is considered to have already passed as soon as they are created. As a result, they cannot be edited once started. ### Edit Responses > Available for surveys only, excluding [Eligibility](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/eligibility-screening/1273#p-2900-eligibility-survey-1) and [Dropout](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/study-dropout/1283#p-2910-dropout-survey-3) surveys As a researcher, you may need to edit the responses of the participants. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Go to the **Activity Sessions** page. 2. Click on the session you want to edit. 3. Click **Edit Response** to open the response editor. Some types of questions allow you to clear the current answer by clicking on the **Clear** button rather than doing it manually. These include: - [Single Answer](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-single-answer-24) - [Visual Analog Scale (VAS)](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-visual-analog-scale-vas-53) - [Calendar](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-calendar-63) - [Audio](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-audio-72) - [Video](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-video-70) - [Image](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-image-68) - [Audio/Text](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-audiotext-74) You can also: - View the response history for each of the questions by clicking on the 3-dots menu and clicking on `View Response History`. For more details, see [Viewing Survey Response History](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/view-responses/1287#p-2914-viewing-survey-response-history-35). - View the comments on any response or add your own. To do this, click on the 3-dots menu and then click on `View Response Comments`. For more details, see [Commenting on Survey Responses](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/view-responses/1287#p-2914-commenting-on-survey-responses-37). > [!info] > Editing the sessions other than the [researcher-responded sessions](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/triggering-logics/1238#p-2865-researcher-responded-tl-29) will reload participants’ devices. > However, if editing a researcher-responded session changes the criteria or survey question content placeholders of another session, the participants’ devices will be reloaded. > [!note] > When you’re editing the responses as a researcher, the session won’t expire even if the survey has an [expiry time](#p-2862-expired-sessions-and-expiry-time-5). #### Save a Session After modifying the answers, you can click **Save** or **Submit** at the top-right corner of the page. - **Save:** Stores your changes and sets the session status to `In Progress`. - If the response to a question is invalid based on the question properties (e.g., format, min, max), you won’t be able to save your response, and an alert message will notify you. #### Submit a Session - **Submit:** Saves the session and sets its status to `Completed`. - The **Response Time** is recorded only the first time the session is submitted. - Similar to saving, submission will be blocked if any responses are invalid according to the question properties. ## Download Sessions On the Activity Sessions page, you can download all sessions defined in your study as a CSV file. To do this, click the **Download as CSV** button above the calendar. The downloaded file includes key session information such as Participant ID, Activity ID, Scheduled Time, Record Time, Status, and more. ## Troubleshooting ### One or More Sessions Are Missing If you notice that some sessions are missing from the `Activity Sessions` page or the downloaded CSV file, you can follow these steps to diagnose and fix the issue: 1. Check [the general steps to diagnose participation issues](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/participation/1280#p-2907-general-steps-to-diagnose-participation-issues-17). 2. Check [the corresponding triggering logic](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/triggering-logics/1238) of the activity to see if it’s there and if yes, its configurations are as you expect. Also, see [Change a Triggering Logic During a Running Study](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/triggering-logics/1238#p-2865-change-a-triggering-logic-during-a-running-study-2). 3. Check if the expected scheduled time is within [the participation period](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/participation/1280#p-2907-participation-tab-1) of the corresponding participant. 4. Check if the corresponding activity’s or triggering logic’s [criteria](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/criteria/1236/1), if any, was False for the corresponding participant at the time the session was supposed to be scheduled for. You can check this on the Activity Sessions page by enabling the `False Criteria` status. 5. Check whether the session was manually deleted by a researcher or the system. Look for the relevant audit log for the participant: - [TUD Session Rescheduled or Deleted](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/audit-trail/1269#p-2896-h-124-tud-session-rescheduled-or-deleted-125) - [TUD Session Deleted](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/audit-trail/1269#p-2896-h-125-tud-session-deleted-126) - [Time Session Rescheduled or Deleted](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/audit-trail/1269#p-2896-h-126-time-session-rescheduled-or-deleted-127) 6. If the session was supposed to be created by the participant (e.g., based on a User triggering logic), check if the participant was online and synced their sessions and responses with the server since then. You can do this by finding [any audit log for the corresponding participant](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/audit-trail/1269#p-2896-user-id-6). 7. If sessions stop at a particular date and there are no sessions after it, the participant’s device may not have reloaded the study. Use **Reload Devices** on the Participation page. See [Reload Devices](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/participation/1280#p-2907-reload-devices-8). ### A Session Disappeared After the Participant Was Notified When a participant reports that an activity arrived and then disappeared before they could answer it, the session usually still exists. Its status has changed rather than the session being deleted. Open the participant on the **Activity Sessions** page, enable all status badges, including **False Criteria** , and find the session at its scheduled time. The status tells you what happened. | Status on the page | What happened | | --- | --- | | `Blocked` | An earlier session of the same activity was still open, so this session closed immediately without becoming answerable. See [Blocked Sessions](#p-2862-blocked-sessions-7). | | `Expired` | The expiry time passed before the participant opened the session. This can happen when a notification is delayed on the device and the expiry window is short. | | `False Criteria` | The activity’s or triggering logic’s criteria evaluated to false, so the session was created but could not be answered. | | Still `Unanswered` | The session is intact. The participant is most likely viewing a stale screen. Ask them to reload the study in the app. | | Not present at all | The session was deleted server-side. See [One or more sessions are missing](#p-2862-one-or-more-sessions-are-missing-23). | `Blocked` is the most common cause and the one worth acting on. If an activity’s expiry time is set to `Never`, a session can remain open on the participant’s device indefinitely. Every later session of the same activity is then blocked when it arrives. Set an expiry time for the activity to prevent an unanswered session from blocking subsequent sessions. > [!note] The Status Can Lag > Avicenna’s mobile apps can work offline, so the server may not know a session’s final status until the participant’s device syncs. A session that appears as `Unanswered` on the **Activity Sessions** page may already have expired or been blocked on the device. Check again after the participant’s next sync before drawing conclusions. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/activity-sessions/1235)._