Network Programming in .NET

Qualtrics is excellent at capturing what respondents tell you. But what if you could automatically fill in what you already know — or can discover — the moment they enter their email address?

AvatarAPI resolves an email address into rich profile data in real time: a profile photo, full name, city, country, and the social network behind it. By embedding this lookup directly into your Qualtrics survey flow, you collect more information about each respondent without asking a single extra question.

What Data Does AvatarAPI Return?

When you pass an email address to the API, it returns the following fields — all of which can be mapped into Qualtrics Embedded Data and used anywhere in your survey:

Watch the Video Walkthrough

Before diving into the written steps, watch this complete tutorial — from configuring the Web Service element to rendering the avatar photo on a results page:

Step-by-Step Integration Guide

You can either follow these steps from scratch, or import the ready-made AvatarAPI.qsf template file directly into Qualtrics (see Step 8).

Step 1 — Get Your AvatarAPI Credentials

Sign up at avatarapi.com to obtain a username and password. A free demo account is available for evaluation — use the credentials demo / demo to test before going live.

The API endpoint you will call is:

https://avatarapi.com/v2/api.aspx

Step 2 — Create an Email Capture Question

In your Qualtrics survey, add a Text Entry question with a Single Line selector. This is where respondents will enter their email address.

Note the Question ID assigned to this question (e.g. QID3) — you will reference it when configuring the Web Service. You can find the QID by opening the question’s advanced options.

Tip: Add email format validation via Add Validation → Content Validation → Email to ensure the value passed to the API is always well-formed.

Step 3 — Add a Web Service Element to Your Survey Flow

Navigate to Survey Flow (the flow icon in the left sidebar). Click Add a New Element Here and choose Web Service. Position this element after the block containing your email question and before your results block.

Configure it as follows:

• URL: https://avatarapi.com/v2/api.aspx
• Method: POST
• Content-Type: application/json

Step 4 — Set the Request Body Parameters

Under Set Request Parameters, switch to Specify Body Params and add these three key-value pairs:

{
  "username": "your_username",
  "password": "your_password",
  "email": "${q://QID3/ChoiceTextEntryValue}"
}

The Qualtrics piped text expression ${q://QID3/ChoiceTextEntryValue} dynamically inserts whatever email the respondent typed. Replace QID3 with the actual QID of your email question if it differs.

Step 5 — Map the API Response to Embedded Data Fields

Scroll down to Map Fields from Response. Add one row for each field you want to capture. The From Response column is the JSON key returned by AvatarAPI; the To Field column is the Embedded Data variable name.

Note: Qualtrics stores these variables automatically — you don’t need to pre-declare them as Embedded Data elsewhere in the flow, though doing so in the survey flow header keeps things organised.

Step 6 — Display the Avatar Photo on a Results Page

Add a Descriptive Text / Graphic question in a block placed after the Web Service call in your flow.

In the rich-text editor, switch to the HTML source view and paste this snippet:

<img
  src="${e://Field/Image}"
  alt="Profile Picture"
  style="width:100px; height:100px; border-radius:50%;"
/>

The expression ${e://Field/Image} inserts the profile photo URL at runtime. The border-radius: 50% gives it a circular crop for a polished appearance.

You can display other fields using the same pattern:

Name:    ${e://Field/Name}
City:    ${e://Field/City}
Country: ${e://Field/Country}
Source:  ${e://Field/Source.Name}

Step 7 — Test with the Demo Account

Before going live, test the integration using the demo credentials. Enter a well-known email address (such as a Gmail address you know has a Google profile photo) to verify the image and data return correctly.

After a test submission, check the Survey Data tab — all mapped fields (Image, Name, City, Country, etc.) should appear as columns alongside your standard question responses.

Rate limits & production use: The demo credentials are shared and rate-limited. Swap in your own account credentials before publishing a live survey to ensure reliable performance.

Step 8 — Import the Ready-Made QSF Template

Rather than building from scratch, you can import the AvatarAPI.qsf file directly into Qualtrics. This gives you a pre-configured survey with the email question, Web Service flow, and image display block already set up.

To import: go to Create a new project → Survey → Import a QSF file and upload AvatarAPI.qsf. Then update the Web Service credentials to your own username and password, and you’re ready to publish.

How the Survey Flow Works

Once configured, your survey flow has this simple three-part structure:

1. Block — Respondent enters their email address
2. Web Service — Silent POST to avatarapi.com/v2/api.aspx; response fields mapped to Embedded Data
3. Block — Results page displays the avatar photo and enriched profile data

The respondent experiences a seamless survey: they enter their email on page one, the API call fires silently between pages, and they see a personalised result — including their own profile photo — on page two.

Practical Use Cases

Lead enrichment surveys — Capture a prospect’s email and automatically resolve their name, city, and country without asking. Append this data to your CRM export from Qualtrics.

Event registration flows — Display the registrant’s photo back to them as a confirmation step, increasing engagement and reducing drop-off.

Email validation checkpoints — Use the Valid flag in a branch logic condition to route respondents with unresolvable addresses to a correction screen or alternative path.

Research panels — Enrich responses with geographic signals without asking respondents to self-report location, reducing survey length and improving data quality.

Get Started

• API documentation & sign-up: avatarapi.com
• API endpoint: https://avatarapi.com/v2/api.aspx
• Demo credentials: username demo / password demo
• Video tutorial: Watch on YouTube