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Field Types (EX)

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Qtip: This page describes functionality available to dashboards in Engagement, Lifecycle, and Ad Hoc Employee Research projects. For more details on each, see Types of Employee Experience Projects.

About Field Types

In your Dashboard Data, each field (question or metadata) needs to be assigned to one of seven field types. These field types define the data format of the field (eg., numeric or text) and consequently determine which widgets will be available for that field.

Whenever you create a new dashboard, the most recently updated fields have field types already set. While Qualtrics will try to choose the best field type based on the question’s format or data collected, you may need to change some of your fields so you can use different widgets.

Example: Employee Experience questions are often phrased as scales. “How much do you agree with this statement: I am given the tools I need to succeed in my role” may be followed by a series of seven answers, from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.” There are times when you want this data to be in Text-Set, such as when you’re presenting a bar chart with the number of employees who chose each answer. Text Set allows us to see the answer labels, “Agree,” “Somewhat Agree,” etc., which are more readable than if it were just numbers. However, there are also times when this data would work better in a Number Set format, such as when you’re loading the item into a question list, which calculates the distribution of responses and a mean score.

An image that displays the bar chart and the question list described

Qtip: Be aware that changing field types can break widgets using those fields! If the same question needs to be in different data formats, we recommend mapping that same field a second time rather than editing the existing field type. Remember that no two fields can have the exact same name, so add the field type in parentheses at the end of the field’s name to differentiate them. For example, “I am given the tools I need to succeed in my role (Number Set)” vs. “I am given the tools I need to succeed in my role (Text Set).”

List of Field Types

Number

Numeric Value: A number field that has a very large or infinite set of values (e.g., any number between 0 and infinity).
Number Set: Used to be called Number Range. A number field that has a finite set of values (e.g., the set of numbers from 0 to 5).
Date: A date and time field (e.g., the date somebody completed their survey).

Text

Text Set: Used to be called Single-Answer Text Set. A one-to-two-word text field that has a finite set of values (e.g., Dissatisfied to Satisfied).
Multi-Answer Text Set: Can store multiple one-to-two-word text values in the same field (e.g., questions that ask respondents to “Select all that apply”).
Text Value: Used to be called Short Text Entry. A one-to-two word open text field (e.g., customer name).
Open Text: Used to be called Long Text Entry. A text entry field for long open blocks of text (e.g., comments).

Widget & Field Type Compatibility

The fields in certain widgets are only compatible with certain field types. See the table below.

Qtip: Metadata may not behave according to field type.

Qtip: The items indicated by asterisks ( * ) are metrics that can be used in the following widgets: simple chart widget, gauge chart widget, number chart widget, pie chart widget, and simple table widget.

	Numeric Value	Number Set	Date	Text Value	Text Set	Multi-Answer Text Set	Open Text
Filters on Metrics*	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Average*	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Minimum/Maximum*	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Sum*	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Net Promoter Score*	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Correlation*	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Top/Bottom Box*	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Simple Chart (X-Axis Dimension)	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Simple Chart (Data Series)	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Simple Table (Row Dimension)	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Simple Table (Columns)	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
	Numeric Value	Number Set	Date	Text Value	Text Set	Multi-Answer Text Set	Open Text
Pie Chart (Dimension)	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Record Grid (Columns)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Key Drivers (Outcome Metric)	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Key Drivers (Potential Drivers)	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Word Cloud (Fields)	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Bubble Chart (Source 1 & Source 2)	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
Demographic Breakout Table (Items)	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Demographic Breakout Table (Breakouts)	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Heat Map (Items)	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Heat Map (Breakouts)	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
	Numeric Value	Number Set	Date	Text Value	Text Set	Multi-Answer Text Set	Open Text
Question List (Items)	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Comparison Widget (Items)	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Comparison Widget (Breakouts)	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Response Rates (Fields)	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Engagement Summary (Items)	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Response Ticker (Content)	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Response Ticker (Primary Label)	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Response Ticker (Secondary Label)	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Response Ticker (Ticker Value)	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Focus Areas (Outcome Metric)	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Focus Areas (Key Drivers)	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No

Widgets with No Fields

The following widgets are not compatible with any field types because they do not require fields.

Scorecard widget (which uses categories instead of fields)
Image widget
Rich text editor widget
Action planning editor widget
Action item summary widget
Participation summary widget

About Field Types

List of Field Types

Widget & Field Type Compatibility

Widgets with No Fields

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