Open Ended Question

Open Ended

Overview

Open Ended Questions are used for allowing an open ended text input as an answer from the respondent, for example:
"What is your name?"

Question's Node

Under the Survey Tree, this is how the Question Node looks like:

The Tab's

Each question has a set of tabs; each tab is used for different configurations – let's go over the tab's.

The View Tab

In the view tab you can configure the basic components of a question, such as its body text and its answers.

Question Type & General Settings

In the main panel, you can set the questions type, its textual color and formatting.

In the bottom panel, you can Clear the questions content, add a new question of the same type right after the current one and quickly navigate between questions:

The 'Question' Tab

Under the question's tab, within the View tab, you can define the Questions Body Text and the surveyors instructions if any.

Defining The Questions Text

The text written in the question's tab box is the body text that will be displayed to the surveyor.

The surveyor instruction box, allows you to configure textual instructions for the surveyor that will be formatted differently than the body text.

For Example:

Here I configured my body text to be:

"What is your name?"

And the Surveyor Instruction Text to be:

"SURVEYOR: VERIFY NAME WITH RESPONDENT ID"

The 'Answers' Tab

The answer's tab allows you to define the questions answers, set their visual rendering, edit and configure them.

• 'Limit Text Size To' – allows you to set the maximum text input length.
• 'TextBox mode' – allows you to change the text box type, for example (Single Line, Multi Line, Numeric, Password, etc' )
• 'Show scan button' – Set's this question to behave as a QR scanner, scanning QR codes as the answer of this question.
• 'Show as signature' – Set's this question to be a sketch for writing a signature and saving it as an image file.
• 'Show as Sketch' – Set's this question to be a sketch for drawing and save's it as an image file.
• 'Let User Choose From List' – For configuring this question to correspond with a given Subject Store or List source.
  (please see: How to use excel files as data lists
  Subject Stores & List Sources demo survey)

The 'Special Codes' Tab

This tab allows you to add a set of answers in addition to the open ended text field – you can select one answer from these answers, that will be exclusive and disable the text field input.

The Rules Tab

In the rules tab you can define Entrance Rules, Validation Rules and Branching rules.

For more detail please see the following tutorials and refer to the scripting guide:

Survey Logic Video Series

How to create Entrance Rules

How to create Validation Rules

How to create Branching Rules

The Scripts Tab

In the Script's tab you can define your questions Start Script, End Script and enter the advanced scripts for defining more complex functions.

For more detail about Start, End and Advanced scripts, please see the following tutorials and refer to the scripting guide:

How to create Start\End Scripts

How To use functions across a script using the Advanced Scripts section

The Variables Tab

The Variables Tab is used for configuring variable related properties of a question.

• Variable Name: is the name of the column representing this question when exporting.
• Missing Value: is the value that this question will get if it was not answered or skipped.
• Short ID: Is a short name that is used for ease of readability and is viewable in the Survey Tree next to the Question Index – Short ID's can also be used as a basis for variable names, please see: How to work with QRef's & Short ID's

Variable names can be referenced instead of Indexes by using the correct functions. (Basic Introduction to using VRef and VarName)

The Advanced Tab

The advanced tab allows you to set & configure more advanced properties of a question.

Common usages of the advanced tab:

• Hiding a question from the surveyor.
  
• Allowing\Disallowing 'No Answer':
  
• Configuration of Answer Properties, Attachments and Image Properties:

  

Variables and Exporting Definitions

• In 1^st interview the 1^st special code was answered, in the 2^nd interview the name was given.
  

Common Functions used to retrieve the value
These are some common functions used with this type of question:

Answer(QuestionIndex)

AnswerIter(QuestionIndex, IterationIndex)

Common Functions used to set the value

SetAnswer(QuestionIndex, AnswerText)

Related Links

For more functions please see the scripting guide and function library: Function Documentation