Qualtrics Blog

We know that spell check is almost a necessity these days, so we provide this feature within Qualtrics. It is easy to use and very straightforward.

We can only imagine the embarrassment that could come if there was a simple spelling mistake on a survey. It could damage your credibility and distract respondents.

Our spell check tracker comes up as you design and create your survey. If you mistype a word, Qualtrics will immediately underline it in red. You can fix the mistake quickly and move on.

We also provide a comprehensive spell check function that will ensure your overall spelling is correct throughout your survey. This icon has a green check mark and is found in the Edit Surveys tab.

When you run spell check with Qualtrics, an image like this appears:

We give you suggestions, tell you where the word was found, and allow you to change each word quickly. Qualtrics works hard so you don't have to. What could be better?

Although Qualtrics really seems to do it all, we do suggest reading over your survey to catch those common misplaced words or other mistakes that might slip through the spell check system.

With Qualtrics, sometimes its best to go back to the basics. If some of you are having trouble getting started, this post is for you.

It is simple to create, delete or move questions with our tool. Here is a quick overview.

Add a question by clicking on the green Create New Question button at the bottom of each block. This adds a question at the end of a block. As a second option, you may click one of the add a question buttons at the top right or bottom right of a question. This adds a question directly before or after the question on which you selected the add button.

To delete a question click on the red delete question button located on the right side of a question when you hover over it with the mouse. This will move the question to the trash section from which you can move the question back into a question block if you change your mind. To delete questions permanently you can select the delete button while they are in the trash section.

To change the order of a question, hover over the question with your mouse. On the left side two arrows will appear pointing up and down. Click on one of the arrows and the question will move one space. If the question needs to go farther or to another block, select the question and then click on the move icon in the question menu to the right of the question. The question will be highlighted blue and will follow your mouse. Move your mouse to where you would like the question to be placed and click.

You can insert a video into your survey through the Edit Survey section. Click on the text of the question that you would like to insert the video in. After clicking on the question's text, you have the option of clicking on Rich Text Editor, which will be directly above the question's text.

When the Rich Text Editor is brought up, you can click on the filmstrip icon (it is on the top row, the third icon from the left). This is the "insert a video" option. you will then need to type in your video URL. You can also specify the media type and the video's width and height. You can also preview your video at this time.

The video will appear in your survey, looking something like this:

This is an effective research tool that is often used to hold attention of respondents, gather feedback in subsequent questions, or gather opinions about the content.

Every respondent learns differently. Some can digest information simply after reading it. Others are more visual and some learn after hearing it.

With Qualtrics, we try to give you the right tools to reach each respondent. Because of this, we have an audio feature.

You can insert audio into your survey through the Edit Survey section. Click on the text of the question that you would like to insert the audio in. After clicking on the question's text, you have the option of clicking on Rich Text Editor, which will be directly above the question's text.

When the Rich Text Editor is brought up, you can click on the filmstrip icon (it is on the top row, the third icon from the left). This is the "insert a video" option. Although it is the video icon, it allows you to insert audio as well. You will then need to type in the URL for the audio that you want to insert.

It's as easy as that. You can check to make sure the audio was inserted correctly, simply by previewing your survey.

Qualtrics has a couple of simple, little-known shortcuts that can be helpful when working with the Survey Flow in Qualtrics, especially when needing to copy branching or something similar.

When an item in the Survey Flow is selected (outlined blue), you can then Ctrl+click (or Shift+click) on any of the "Add a New Element Here" buttons and it will create an exact copy in that location of what was selected. This is very useful, powerful tool when needing to replicate a large branch of elements or logic where minor edits might be needed to then complete the setup.

Smaller, but still quite useful shortcuts are the up/down arrows on your keyboard. When an element in the flow is selected, if you press up or down on your keyboard, the item will move one space up or down. This means it will enter and exit branches and randomizers as well.

Wouldn’t it be nice if every time your survey was completed, or maybe every time a respondent answered a question in a specific way, you could get an email notification? For example, every time someone responded with a suggestion to your feedback link on your website, you would get an email telling you about their suggestion. In Qualtrics it is easy to set this up using email triggers.

To set up an email trigger, go to Advanced Options dropdown menu in the Edit Survey Tab, and select “Email Triggers.” Here you can specify which email you want the messages to be sent to, the subject of the messages, what text you want in the body of the email, and you can even set up filtering conditions. The filtering conditions will set up the trigger to only send when a condition you set is met. To set up a condition, click on “Add a Condition.” Here you can specify if you want your condition to be based off of a question in your survey, embedded data, or even a quota. Just choose one of these options, and specify the condition in the corresponding drop down boxes. You can even click on the plus sign to the right to add “and if” or “or if” criteria to your condition. To set up multiple triggers, you can click on “Add Another Trigger” at the bottom of the window, and follow the same process.  Email triggers are a great and easy way to receive automatic notifications from your survey.

You’ve done it!  Your feedback survey is created, there is a prominent link on your website, and now you are collecting data.  What next?  Why not use these results to automatically create a panel for future mailings?  There are two easy ways to do this in Qualtrics:

1.       Setting it up ahead of time: In the Advanced Options menu on the Edit Survey Page, you will see the Panel Triggers feature.  Simply select a panel, and select which answer represents their first name, last name, and email address.  Each time a respondent answers the questions and meets the conditions you specify, the will be added to the panel.

2.       Setting it up after the fact: Forgot to set up a panel trigger before distributing the survey?  You can still automatically add panel members.  In your Panel Members screen on the Panels page, select “Import/Update panel members” and follow the prompts.

Time to pat yourself on the back - with one simple step you’ve just built a large client database that you can call upon for later market research.  Happy Qualtrics-ing!

The rank order question provides more powerful data than a simple multiple choice question for selecting nominal or categorical items. Ordinal scales apply order to the data. Unlike rank order data, most multiple choice scales do not permit us to say that one item is greater than another.

The rank order question provides direction and relative position, but not absolute difference. That is, rank order data indicates order, but does not tell us how much one item is preferred over another. The rank order question is a powerful tool because respondents often misuse traditional rating scales, indicating ties and evaluating all choices within a narrow 1 or 2 point range.

Rank order data uses an answer format that requires the respondent to assign a rank position for the first, second… up to the nth item to be ordered. This format of assigning position numbers is very versatile. Respondents may be asked to rank a specified subset from the list (such as their first, second, and third choices from a list), or to rank all items in the list.

Typical questions might include identifying preference rankings, attribute association strength, first to last, oldest to youngest, or relative position (most, next most, and so forth, until either a set number of items is ordered or all items may be ordered).

There are several ways to format the rank order question type within Qualtrics.  The most interactive way is to use the Drag and Drop option.  This option allows respondents to drag and drop the answer choices into their preferred order.  It is a way to make your survey a little more interesting for respondents while still collecting the data that you need.

The purpose of designing surveys with Qualtrics is often to analyze the results. With the tool, there are many options for your results.

First, it is good to be aware of our public report feature. This is found by clicking on the “View Results” tab, and then on the “View Reports” icon.  By electing to turn the report on, you generate a link which you can distribute to others in order to present the results of your survey.  This link is updated in live time; new responses are included here as they are collected. You can also decide to install a password on the public report if you would like to.  Keep in mind that this report presents the total results of your survey.

We provide several opportunities to edit the content of your report.   Note that any graphs or tables which you add will be implemented in your public report.  You can also add a note to your report to explain a feature of your report.  For example, you can add descriptions under a graph for a colleague so when he or she views the report, the background or detailed findings would be clearer. To add descriptions or notes, select the “More” drop-down menu and then “Add Note.”  Another way to edit the content is to control what is shared in the public report. Perhaps there are certain elements of your survey that are private or compromising and shouldn’t be shared with others.  You can hide certain questions from your survey in the report by deselecting the question on the toolbar to the left of the page.  Any filters that you install on your report will also affect the public report.

Qualtrics enables you to:

• Embed data
• Create samples and compile the results of several surveys
• Associate respondents with their responses

Although panels may initially seem foreign to users, it is helpful to view a panel as an address book.  Panels are created in a spreadsheet and are then imported into Qualtrics.  They need to adhere to a specific format, which are shown when you go select “Import/Update Panel Members” from the “Panel Members” screen.  You can add additional columns other than a name and an email address which are relevant to your study, such as age, location or gender.

Embed Data: Within Qualtrics, we refer to these additional columns as embedded data.  Embedded data can be piped into email messages, survey questions and your results.  For more information about setting up a panel, I encourage you to check out our Help and Tutorials.  Our support team is also available by phone or email.

Create Samples: One helpful panel function is the ability to create samples.  Qualtrics offers the ability to randomly generate a group of individuals from a panel.  You can set up a condition which determines what type of individuals should be part of the panel.  For instance, perhaps you want to send a survey out to only those students who were part of a university’s humanities department.  If student information is stored in the panel as embedded data, you can set up a panel sample of humanities students.  You can also generate a sample based on those who haven’t taken a survey before, after, or on a certain date.  These options are available in the “Panel” tab and then the “Sample Management” icon.

Once you have created your sample you can distribute a survey to the sample in the “Distribute Survey” tab then the “Send Survey” icon.  Under the “Who to send to” section, select “Panel Sample” and then locate your sample within the appropriate library.

Manage Respondents and Responses:  Perhaps you want to create panel members who have already completed a survey.  Or you may want to update existing panel members with data they provided in a survey.  We offer the ability to import or update panel members from a survey.  Within the “Panel” tab, select the panel you are working with.  Notice on the subsequent page the blue text in the upper right corner: “Import/Update Panel Members.”  If you opt to “Import/Update from a survey” you are then directed to dictate which survey and answers to questions within that survey you’d like to capture.