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Surveys: Creating Online Surveys in Qualtrics, Finding Existing Surveys/Scales, and Survey Design Methodology

Start a Qualtrics Project

  • Log in to Qualtrics with your CampusID and password. That should take you to a home page where you can view all of your "projects" or surveys. 
  • To create a new survey, select the blue "Create New Project" button.

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  • From the following page, look under "Create Your Own" and select "Survey".

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  • If you're starting from scratch, select "Blank Project". The option may be in a dropdown menu on a narrow screen, or in a tab on a wider screen.
    • If you've made surveys in Qualtrics before, you can also copy old projects and edit them by choosing "From a Copy" instead.
  • Select the blue "Get Started" button when you're happy with the settings.

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Adding Content to a Survey

  • Once you've created a project, you can start adding questions and content to your survey. This page contains instructions for some basic question types:
    • Multiple Choice
    • Text Entry
    • Matrix Tables/Likert Scales
  • For other question types or further help, please consult the Survey Basic Overview from Qualtrics Support.

General Info on Adding Content

  • All survey content is created and edited in "blocks". The default is usually to put all your questions in one block, but multiple blocks can be useful for organization or if your survey requires more advanced techniques like branch logic.
  • Click the green "Create a New Question" button at the bottom of a block to add more questions to a block.
  • You can easily move your question by hovering over the question and using the gray arrows on the left side.
  • On the right-hand sidebar, look for "Change Question Type" and pick the kind of survey question you want:

Multiple Choice (includes Single Likert Item)

  • Under "Change Question Type", select "Multiple Choice". 

  • Click on the filler text in the question and answers to edit them.

  • Question Options (in right side bar)
    • Choices
      • Use the + and - icons to pick how many answers the question has
      • Check "Automatic Choices" for common options such as gender, time intervals, and Likert scales.
    • Answers
      • Pick a response style: single answer, multiple answer, dropdown, etc.
    • Position
      • Pick an orientation for the answer options
    • Validation Options 
      • Is this answer required to proceed in the survey?
    • Validation Type
      • Any other answer requirements to proceed
      • ex. In a multiple answer question, at least two answers must be selected.

Text Entry

  • Under "Change Question Type", select "Text Entry". This option allows survey respondents to type their own answers.

  • Click on the question's filler text to edit it. You can also click and drag the answer box to expand it.

  • Question Options (in right side bar)
    • Text Type 
      • Control the amount of text respondents can enter: single line, multi line, essay, etc.
    • Validation Options
      • Is this answer required to proceed in the survey?
    • Validation Type 
      • Set minimum and maximum character ranges for responses.

Matrix Tables (includes Multi-Item Likert Scales)

  • Under "Change Question Type", select "Matrix Table". You can create a table-style Likert scale with this option.

  • Click on the filler text in the table to edit it.

  • Question Options (in right side bar)
    • Statements 
      • Use the + and - icons to pick how many questions/items you want to ask (rows)
    • Scale Points
      • Use the + and - icons to pick how many scale points/possible answers there are (columns)
    • Labels
      • You can leave this at 0, or add labels to the top of the table
    • Answers
      • ​​​​​​​Pick a response style: single answer, multiple answer, dropdown, etc.
      • Keep in mind that not all styles will make sense. For example, if you're doing a regular Likert scale, you may not want to choose "multiple answer" because someone could choose both "agree" and "disagree".
    • Options
      • Mobile friendly - make the table adaptable for phones and tablets
      • Transpose Table - switches columns and rows
      • Position text above - merges rows into the table
      • Repeat Headers - useful if your table is long (but consider breaking it up into smaller chunks)
      • Add White Space - more spacing between questions
    • Validation Options 
      • Is this answer required to proceed in the survey?
    • Validation Type
      • Any other answer requirements to proceed

Skip Logic

  • Skip logic allows you to redirect survey respondents depending on their answers to questions.
  • For example, if a question asked, "Have you ever broken a bone?" and the answer was "no", it would make sense to omit the question that asks "Which bones have you broken?".

What's the Difference Between Skip, Display, and Branch Logic?

  • All the types of logic can achieve similar results, however:
    • Skip logic is straightforward way to show or skip questions, but it can only be used to send respondents forward in the survey, and only within the same block.
    • Display logic is a more flexible way to show and hide questions, but the options can be overwhelming for new users.
    • Branch logic allows you to send users down different paths, like a "choose your own adventure" novel.

Adding Skip Logic

  • To add Skip logic to a question, click on the gear icon on the left side of the question, and select "Add Skip Logic" from the pop-up menu.
    • Or you can also click the question and pick "Add Skip Logic" from the right menu under "Actions"
  • This will add a gray box with several drop-down options just below your question.
  • There will be a Condition to fulfill, and a Skip To location if the condition is met. Click on the box to edit the options.

  • The dropdown menu will let you select:
    • Condition - which answer (ex. "more than 30 minutes")
    • Condition - what state that answer is in (ex. "is not selected")
    • Skip To - what should happen (ex. "skip to end of block")
  • So for the example above:
    • anyone who waited more than 30 minutes gets the additional question asking why they waited
    • anyone who waited 30 minutes or less moves on to the next question