Export Researcher emails to Excel

By the Mail → Excel team · Updated 2026-10-20

Four steps, one command, and a completeness check at the end — for literature and interview correspondence.

Step 1 — connect read-only

Use an app password, never the main password. The script opens the folder in read-only mode, so nothing is marked as read or deleted.

python mail_to_excel.py --host imap.example.com --user you@example.com --days 31 --fields participant,topic,consent,date,source --out researcher.xlsx

Step 2 — filter to one period

A month or a quarter, not «everything». Consent and correspondence are part of the research record. An index protects both the study and the participants.

Step 3 — keep only the columns that matter

Column	Why it matters
`participant`	Pseudonymised participant id, never the real name.
`topic`	The subject of the commitment or conversation.
`consent`	Consent status (yes / no / withdrawn) — never inferred.
`date`	Message date in ISO 8601; sortable and unambiguous across time zones.
`source`	Where the application came from (job board, referral, inbound).

Step 4 — verify completeness

Run the same search in your mail client and note the message count.
Compare it with the row count in the spreadsheet.
If the numbers differ, the filter or the folder is wrong — fix it before using the file.

Example output

participant	topic	consent	date	source
P-014	onboarding	signed	2026-10-11	interview

Pitfalls

Participant identities leak into the dataset — Store pseudonyms in the export and keep the mapping in a separate, access-controlled file.
Consent status is unclear — Add a consent column with yes/no/withdrawn and never infer it.

Provider notes

University Exchange often blocks app passwords; use the institution’s approved export path.

Ready-made: the $3 script implements these steps and writes the Excel file with the columns above. Get the script.

FAQ

Does this comply with GDPR?

Only if you minimise data and document purpose. The export itself is neutral; your handling decides.

Can I keep email bodies?

Only with consent and a retention rule; metadata is usually enough for an index.

How many messages can it handle?

Thousands per run with a date filter; very large mailboxes are better exported month by month.

Will it change anything in the mailbox?

No. Read-only access is the default and should stay enabled.

Related guides

Researcher: columns and pitfallsThe compact overview for this role.
Universal IMAP guideApp passwords, decoding and Excel output.