IN THIS ISSUE:

Random Samples
SurveyWriter provides extensive tools to randomize the order in which answer labels, rows and columns, and questions are displayed to the respondent. This article provides a detailed look at each of these features including where to find them and when to use them. more

SurveyWriter Teams Up With TechTarget to Provide IT Sample
SurveyWriter has reached an agreement with TechTarget's IT Research Panel to offer IT sample to our client base. more

SurveyWriter.com vs SurveyWriter.net
Look for the latest and greatest version of SurveyWriter on www.SurveyWriter.net.  more

Support Shorts 
New Fetch file upload feature complete
Terminate Report now available
Prequestion Filter feature updated to allow multiple filters
How to recode a response list
SurveyWriter FAQ has been updated
Enhancement form now available more

Random Samples

An important SurveyWriter feature for researchers is the ability to randomize the order in which answer labels, rows and columns, and questions are displayed to the respondent. However, because so many different options exist,  you may find it a little daunting selecting the correct option for the methodology you would like to apply to your survey. The following article lists most of the available randomization tools in SurveyWriter and provides examples of how and when to use them.

Randomize Labels
Randomize Rows or Columns
Randomize Individual Questions
Randomize Groups of Questions Without Merge
Randomize Groups of Questions With Merge
Randomize Questions On A Merged Page
Random Value Formula Question
Random Answer Select Formula Question
Sort Formula Question

Randomize Labels

To randomize labels for a question, click Randomize Labels, from the Question Options screen. To access this screen, click Modify Options on the main Question screen.

Randomize Rows or Columns

To randomize rows or columns on a row grid question, click Randomize Grid Row or Randomize Grid Columns from the Question Options screen. To access this screen, click Modify Options on the main Question screen of a row question.

Randomize Individual Questions

Set up your individual questions in order, for example, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4.

On the Question Options screen in the first question to be randomized, enter 1 in the Random Set Number field. Next, select 1 as your Keep Together as a Group number. In the second question to be randomized, enter 1 in the Random Set Number field. Select 2 as your Keep Together as a Group number. Repeat these steps for the remaining two questions. Questions should be labeled as follows:

Randomize Groups of Questions Without Merge

The goal of this example is to randomize Q1 and Q2 and then randomize Q3 and Q4. Q1 and Q2 will always appear ahead of Q3 and Q4.

Set up your individual questions in order, for example, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4.

On the Question Options screen in the first question to be randomized, enter 1 in the Random Set Number field. Next, select 1 as your Keep Together as a Group number. In the second question to be randomized, enter 1 in the Random Set Number field. Select 2 as your Keep Together as a Group number. Repeat these steps for the remaining two questions except change their Random Set Number field to 2. Questions should be labeled as follows:

Randomize Groups of Questions With Merge 

In this example, we have three questions. Each question has three parts, for example, 4a,4b,4c,  5a,5b,5c,  6a,6b,6c. The goal is to present the questions to each respondent in a different order. For example, 4-5-6, 5-6-4, 6-4-5, etc. Within those rotating pages, the questions will maintain the order in which they are entered, for example, 4a, 4b, 4c, unless you check the Randomize Merged Question Order field as discussed in the next section.

To handle the randomization of groups of questions, do the following:

1. Create your questions for 4a,4b,4c, 5a,5b,5c, 6a,6b,6c.
2. Create a merge question for Q4a,Q4b,Q4c. Do the same for Q5 and Q6. Make sure the merge question follows the questions to merge.

Example: If you gave a Question ID to your merged questions of Q_Merge4, Q_Merge5 and Q_Merge6, your Questions list should look as follows:

Q4a
Q4b
Q4c
Q_Merge4
Q5a
Q5b
Q5c
Q_Merge5
Q6a
Q6b
Q6c
Q_Merge6

3. Click the Modify Option tab for your Merged Questions. Enter the number 1 into the Random Set Number field. Enter this same number for all your merged questions.
4. Enter 1 for the Keep together as a group field for the first merge question.

5. Enter 2 for the Keep together as a group field for the second merge question. Repeat procedure for merge questions 3 and 4. The merge questions should be labeled as follows:
   

   Question ID	Random Set Number	Keep Together as a Group
   Q_Merge4	1	1
   Q_Merge5	1	2
   Q_Merge6	1	3

The pages that the questions are merged to (the merged questions) should appear randomly to each respondent.

Randomize Questions On A Merged Page

To randomize questions on a merged page, check the Randomize Merged Question Order field on the Select Question screen. To access this screen, click Modify Options on the main Question screen of a merged question.

Random Value Formula Question: randomly display three different concepts to respondents 

A random value formula question is used to generate a random number. In this example, the random number range is between 1 and 3. Concepts are displayed in three follow-up questions. The three follow-up questions contain a pre-question filter that determines whether the question is shown. For example, if the formula question generates a 1,  the concept equal to 1 is shown to the respondent. In this example, the goal is to randomly display three different concepts to the respondents. 

1. Click Select a Question Type>Formula Question>Add a Formula Type Question>Random Value from the Question menu.
2. Enter 1 for the Random Number's Lower Bound. 
3. Enter 3 for the Random Number's Upper Bound.
4. Save the question.
5. Create a new question. The example below is an open-end text question that contains a concept and question asking for a text response.

6. For this question, enter a prequestion filter that screens a respondent based on the random number generated in the previous question. In the following example, the respondent will only see the question if the random number generated in the previous question is 1. To enter a prequestion filter, click Build Pre-Question Filter on the Options screen.
7. Use the Filter Wizard to complete the filter statement.

Select the previous formula question.
Enter = as your comparison operator.
Enter 1 as the value for the question.

8. Save the question.
9. Repeat steps 5 through 8 for the remaining two follow-up questions. The filters for the remaining follow-up questions are as follows:

{Q43a=2}
{Q43a=3}

Random Answer Select Formula Question

A Random Answer Select formula question enables you to take answers from another question and specify that one random answer be returned as the answer to this formula question. In this example, a parent question is created that allows respondents to select multiple response options. Next, a formula question is created to randomly select one of the answers from the previous question as the result for the formula question. Finally, the result of the formula question is then used in a follow-up question.

Create Parent Question

1. Click Select a Question Type>Standard Question>Multiple Selection Check boxes from the Question menu.
2. Save the Option screen.
3. Create your question text and answer options using Set Question Text and Set Answer Options. Click Add Codes Ascending to assign values to the response options.
4. Save this question.

Create Formula Question

1. Click Select a Question Type>Formula Question>Add a Formula Type Question>Random Answer Select from the Question menu.

2. Click iQ to select the ID of the question from which to draw a random answer, Q61, for example.
3. Save the formula question.

Create Follow-Up Question

This example uses an open-end text question to ask follow-up questions about the information randomly selected in the formula question. 

1. Click Select a Question Type>Standard Question>Open End Text from the Question menu.
2. Click iQ to select the Branch Parent from which to draw customer answers. In this example, the function question that returns a random answer is selected as the branch parent, F62, for example.
3. Enter 1 as the Number of Branches, because only one follow-up question will be asked.
4. Click Last Branch Question to indicate that no additional branching question will be asked.
5. Save the Option screen.
6. Create your question text using Set Question Text.
7. Save the question.

Sort Formula Question

A Sort formula allows you to take answers from other questions and put them into a list. This list can then be used to specify that a certain number of random answers are returned as the answer to this formula question. Because of space constraints, we have not provided an example of this question type here. We will present an example of a Sort formula question in the next issue. 

SurveyWriter Teams Up With TechTarget to Provide IT Sample

SurveyWriter has reached an agreement with TechTarget's IT Research Panel to offer IT sample to our client base. This new service enables market researchers to perform customized research against one of the largest and most targeted panel of enterprise IT decision-makers and executives in the industry with a guarantee on the number of survey completes. 

The IT Research Panel offers 117 market segments and is broken down by areas of technology interest, title, company size, and industry. Over 190,000 members are available, including 71,000 who have specifically opted in to participate in market research studies. To receive a quote for IT sample, please use the following form:

Survey Sample Request Form

SurveyWriter.com vs SurveyWriter.net

The latest and greatest version of SurveyWriter is available to all clients on www.SurveyWriter.net. We cannot fully upgrade the application on the SurveyWriter.com servers until the projects that were started before the upgrade have been completed. Any new features mentioned in this newsletter are only available on SurveyWriter.net. 

If you are still on SurveyWriter.com and want to be transferred to SurveyWriter.net to benefit from all the upgraded features, please contact us at info@surveywriter.com or 773-281-8490.

Fetch file upload feature complete

SurveyWriter now provides an feature to upload your Fetch files to your account. If you are unfamiliar with Fetch files, they are used to import data into SurveyWriter from an outside data source. They come in the form of an Excel spreadsheet or delimited ASCII file. To use this function, select Survey Options>Upload Fetch File from the main SurveyWriter menubar. 

If you already stored a Fetch file for a project, you will have the option to append the new file to the one already stored on the system or just replace the existing one. You can also download the template used to create the Fetch file or view instructions on how to create a new Fetch file.

Terminate Report now available

To run reports on data collected for terminated surveys, SurveyWriter now provides a Terminate Report. You can access this feature by clicking Results>Report Writer - Terminates from the main SurveyWriter menubar. This option provides all the same options as the regular Report Writer:

• Topline report. This report shows all of the closed end questions in table format with a "Total" banner only.

• Crosstab by Question. This report allows you to choose a question to use as your banner and then any rows you would like to see as your tables.

• Open-end reports. This report lists all of your open-end responses by either total or by subgroups. A subgroup can include any closed-end question (such as age, gender, a rating scale).

Prequestion Filter updated to allow multiple filters

To enter a Prequestion Filter, click Modify Options>Create Filters for this question>Build Prequestion Filter from the main Question screen. You will notice that you can now enter multiple prequestion filters for a question. Previously, a question was restricted to one prequestion filter.

How to recode a response list

Sometimes our users want to recode a response list for reporting purposes. The steps to do so are provided below.

1. Update the question you need to recode.
2. Access the Modify Options menu from the Main Question screen and click the Weight Responses check box at the bottom of the page.
3. Save the Modify Options window.
4. Access the Format Answer Options window either by clicking on the Set Answer Option>Format Answer Options menu or clicking on the answer options in the Question Preview area.
5. When the Format Answer Options window opens, you will see column labeled Weight.
6. Add your new codes into these fields. If you want a code to become a missing value then leave the field blank. In this case, each code is assigned a new weight::

7. Save the window and then save the question.
8. Repeat for all questions you would like to reweight.

SurveyWriter FAQ Has Been Updated

The SurveyWriter Frequently Asked Questions Guide has been updated. The guide has an extensive "How to" section and provides detailed information on many different topics. For anyone in your office who is new to SurveyWriter, it's an excellent way to become better acquainted with the program.

Click SurveyWriter FAQ and then save the guide to your desktop for future reference. When you click on the CHM file, it should automatically open in your browser.

Enhancement Form Available

SurveyWriter continues to improve our web survey application based on input and requests from users and trends we see in the industry. A new Enhancement Form is available to make the process of collecting these requests more streamlined.

Click Enhancement Form to enter your requests. 

You are receiving this newsletter because you either are a client of SurveyWriter or registered at the SurveyWriter.com, Web site.

Thank you for your continued support of SurveyWriter. If you have any topics that you would like see addressed in future editions, please email me.

Sincerely,


Vice President, Business Development
773-281-8490 / prv@surveywriter.com