SoSciSurvey - en:create

Access Restrictions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-07-29T09:20:48+00:00

Access Restrictions For each questionnaire in your survey project you can specify who gets access to it. There are five options to do so (see below for details). * anyone who knows the link, may fill out the questionnaire (standard setting) * participants from a specific IP range only can access (eg. academic or corporate network).

Display Text Sections Dynamically (Accordion)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-07-28T20:00:34+00:00

Display Text Sections Dynamically (Accordion) Extensive information, such as subscriber information or a privacy policy (see also Obtaining the Participant's Consent), often has two major problems. On the one hand, they act as a deterrent, and on the other hand, respondents often scroll over them quickly.

Overview: Explanations in the questionnaire

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-07-30T20:05:53+00:00

Overview: Explanations in the questionnaire Here you will find an overview of various functions for placing explanatory texts in questionnaires. Placing Instructions Directly in a Question Within each question there is an input field for instructions

Introduction to Arrays

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-11-18T16:30:10+00:00

Introduction to Arrays Arrays are an extremely useful tool in PHP. They are predominately used when filters, rotation, or analysis cannot be carried out by using standard functions. You can find concrete examples of the PHP code used in their respective chapters, e.g.

Audio Files in the Questionnaire

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-09-26T07:24:57+00:00

Audio Files in the Questionnaire Important: Read the advice in Media Files in Questionnaires (Audio, Video, Documents) before this manual. There are several file formats that are suitable for use online. Usually, mp3 is used because this is the format compatible with the most browsers (Mozilla: Browser Support). Note: The solutions below will play the audio file on one specific questionnaire page. When clicking to the next page, it stops. If you need to bypass this restriction, please read

Surveys for Visually Impaired Participants

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-11-18T16:31:46+00:00

Surveys for Visually Impaired Participants This chapter outlines the barriers that blind and visually impaired people encounter on the internet. In particular, it explains how these barriers affect designing an online questionnaire. Questionnaires created using SoSci Survey are fundamentally barrier-free. People using a screen reader can change into an accessibility mode during the questionnaire. Some types of questions are different in this mode in order to support the screen reader reading t…

An Online Questionnaire in 5 Minutes

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-26T13:29:38+00:00

An Online Questionnaire in 5 Minutes This introduction explains the general functionality of SoSciSurvey on the basis of a small questionnaire. The tutorial takes approximately 5 minutes and illustrates step by step how to create questions and how to arrange them in a questionnaire.

Best-Worst (MaxDiff)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-05-11T07:40:32+00:00

Best-Worst (MaxDiff) The question format Best-Worst or MaxDiff (Maximum Difference Scaling) is about deciding from different statements which is “most important” and which is “least important” for a participant. So it is about a maximum difference between two items.

Restrict Print Function

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-08T10:20:15+00:00

Restrict Print Function When a questionnaire is displayed in the browser, respondents can at least save the individual pages locally (directly in the browser or e.g. with the Firefox plug-in „Save Page WE“) or print them out. In principle, this is always possible and is related to the function of the Word Wide Web or

Record browser tab switch

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2018-01-22T09:23:30+00:00

Record browser tab switch This page describes how you can record if the participant leaves the questionnaire’s browser tab – for example, if he opens a new tab to google the answer to a knowledge question. Important: This function records every leaving of the browser tab –– not only the change of a tab but also a switch to a chat program, to the email-client etc.

Individual Response Check

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-05-13T17:14:32+00:00

Individual Response Check Formal requirements for an answer -- for example, that all items of a scale have been answered or that an open text input follows a certain pattern -- can be defined with a few clicks in the question (Check Responses). More complex checks can be done with a little

Check Responses

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-11-23T14:35:36+00:00

Check Responses SoSci Survey provides features that allow you to check a participant's responses. If the automatic check is insufficient then individual checks can be added in addition to these. Advice: A general check to verify the formal correctness of responses can be problematic under certain circumstances. There are always participants who

Combined Questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-19T14:36:23+00:00

Combined Questions You might want to ask different options about one item. For example the rating of a characteristic and its importance. This is how to implement this. Note: Please be sure to also read the notes on mobile devices below. Example 1

Advanced display options

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-01-27T13:45:38+00:00

Advanced display options The available question types cannot display all possible types of questions. This is why you can combine several elements. This chapter shows how to realize more complex question types. Important: It is not always reasonable to design a questionnaire online as if it was printed. On the one hand side, a screen provides much less space than a sheet of paper. On the other hand you can use

Concatenating Questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2015-03-29T12:42:23+00:00

Concatenating Questions Sometimes SoSci Survey provides the input fields you need -- unfortunately in different question types, though you need them in one question. In some cases it is sufficient to ask two questions with no space between them. The first example shows a question of the type

Obtaining the Participant's Consent

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-11-26T19:50:09+00:00

Obtaining the Participant's Consent There are a number of cases in which the participant's consent must be obtained, for example for informed, voluntary participation in an experiment (i.e. the principle of „informed consent“) or if you wish to store and process the participant's personal data.

Coding for content analysis

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-11-06T11:58:42+00:00

Coding for content analysis In a quantitative content analysis, coders have to classify several different units (e.g. newspaper articles or social media posts) using the same categories. This can be done classically in an Excel spreadsheet ... but you can also use SoSci Survey as a form tool for coding. SoSci Survey has some practical advantages:

Database for Contents

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-28T13:56:02+00:00

Database for Contents A Database for Contents can be found in the Special Features. This is an internal project miniature database (non-relational), stored in the data for use in the questionnaire, or can even be changed during the questionnaire. This leads to a number of different possibilities, e.g.

Solving Questionnaire Problems

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-04T19:31:21+00:00

Solving Questionnaire Problems Getting started using PHP-Code and JavaScript is not always trivial -- especially when you have a more complex task ahead of you, things do not always work out as expected. To efficiently locate and fix bugs (debugging) even experienced programmers need software support. First of all, SoSci Survey (PHP-Code) or the internet browser (JavaScript) need to provide information

Optimize Display of Questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-04-18T20:03:50+00:00

Optimize Display of Questions Although creating questions and their items/options is straightforward, the end result does not always look so pleasing straightaway. As a rule, this can be made better by optimizing the options found in the question.

Immediately Show Questions when a Certain Option is Selected

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-12-07T19:51:42+00:00

Immediately Show Questions when a Certain Option is Selected Filters allow content or questions to be shown depending on previous answers -- however, sometimes an additional question should appear directly on the same questionnaire page. This is known as dynamic content because the display changes without a new

Entering Questionnaires Efficiently

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-01-20T21:22:57+00:00

Entering Questionnaires Efficiently If you are entering a questionnaire into SoSci Survey, you should know some practical handles. General procedures such as copying questions and sections are described in this manual: Manage Questions and use as Templates Split-Screen You transfer the questionnaire from a Word document to SoSci Survey and work on a large screen? Then drag the browser window to the left side of the screen and Word to the right side. Then you will be able to copy contents muc…

Direct Feedback for Respondents

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-05-03T08:43:48+00:00

Direct Feedback for Respondents This chapter describes different application cases if respondents should get a direct feedback wether their answer is right or wrong after clicking on the next button. This instruction describes different use cases if respondents should receive feedback directly after clicking on

Individual Feedback for Participants

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-12-07T06:01:39+00:00

Individual Feedback for Participants Using the functions value(), valueMean(), the participant's answers can already be evaluated during the Questionnaire session (also see Score Responses). Some questions, like for instance Implicit association test (IAT), deliver an evaluation directly. Additionally, with the help of

Linking Multiple Conditions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-12-07T11:31:05+00:00

Linking Multiple Conditions It may be necessary to link multiple conditions for a filter (Filters and Conditional Questions). Some examples of these links: * Did the respondent select the option „fairly unimportant“ (2) or „fairly important“ (3), but not „completely unimportant (1) or

Conditions with More Than 2 Options

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2014-11-28T11:59:35+00:00

Conditions with More Than 2 Options How the questionnaire continues after a filter is often not just limited to two options; in fact there are several possibilities as to how it progresses. For example, people with an analog internet connection or ISDN should be asked about the tariff they use; DSL users about the speed and connection provider. People who have a different connection will get questions about the type of cable between the computer and the wall.

At Least One Item Selected

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2015-01-20T17:44:07+00:00

At Least One Item Selected Sometimes, it is not sufficient for a filter to check individual answers; but rather all the items in a question have to be looked at. Whether it be to look up corresponding items in another question (Use Selected Items in Another Question) or just to check whether at least one item fulfils a particular condition. An exception to this is the calculation of scale indices within the survey (

Use Selected Items in Another Question

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-05-19T19:17:00+00:00

Use Selected Items in Another Question Occasionally, a question should not show all items, but only those previously selected in one of the other questions. Plus, as may be the case, the number of items should be restricted as well. This chapter explains how to use items in another question. Usually, 2-3 lines of PHP code are enough to do this. If you have not used PHP code yet, please read

Problem Solution for Filters

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-11-27T20:08:40+00:00

Problem Solution for Filters Filters or filter questions traditionally are a challenge for project leaders without programming experiences. Of course it is helpful to read the instructions on filters first: Filters and Conditional Question. It is especially frustrating if filters don't work and you don't know what to do. This chapter describes how to find out mistakes in a fast way.

Filter by Text Input

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2015-01-15T19:23:25+00:00

Filter by Text Input Whether a specific value was selected in a selection or a scale is normally checked. In principle, the process is exactly the same if you want to check to see if a participant wrote something specific in a text input field. The difference here being that text is compared, rather than figures.

Filters and Conditional Questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-11-27T20:10:12+00:00

Filters and Conditional Questions A filter question is always required if the course of the questionnaire is to be adapted individually. In the simplest case, a question is hidden because you know from a previous answer that the question is irrelevant.

Play music along several pages

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-26T20:03:00+00:00

Play music along several pages SoSci Survey offers the possibility to display music or a video over an entire questionnaire using a frameset. One challenge is that modern browsers do not simply play music automatically -- so a little JavaScript is required, and the music may also start earliest when the first page is submitted.

PHP-Functions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-02-04T13:56:48+00:00

PHP-Functions This chapter shows you the main functions of PHP-Code Elements which can be used. The Introduction in PHP-Code will help you to integrate all PHP functions for your questionnaire. At the very end of this page will be a helpful information how the documentation of the PHP-functions can be read:

Record Clicks to an External Website

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-11-27T20:40:36+00:00

Record Clicks to an External Website An external website is easily linked using HTML. HTML code can be used practically everywhere in SoSci Survey (i.e. questionnaire, items, text elements with formatting „HTML Code“). SoSci Survey Homepage

Images in the Questionnaire

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-26T20:15:24+00:00

Images in the Questionnaire There are a number of reasons to use images in the questionnaire: as the stimulus in the survey, the university or company logo on each page, a logo, or the scanned signature welcoming the participant to the questionnaire.

Customize Logo and Footer

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-03-19T08:34:03+00:00

Customize Logo and Footer Most layouts display a logo at the top to the left, and a footer with contact information the bottom of the questionnaire. By default, the server's logo and contact information from the user account are used. Both of these can be customized with a few clicks in the menu item

(Un)standardized Selection Fields

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-05-26T06:56:42+00:00

(Un)standardized Selection Fields Single choice questions and multiple choice questions are different in terms of logic and operation. Therefore, most operating systems use a different representation. In Windows, for example, these are circles (radio button) and boxes (checkbox).

Use Custom Form Elements

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-03-17T19:46:21+00:00

Use Custom Form Elements SoSci Survey offers a wide selection of question types -- however, sometimes these are insufficient to achieve the desired appearance required for a particular question. If this is the case, SoSci Survey is able to read custom (HTML) form elements as well. JavaScript or Flash based questions can easily be integrated in this way as well.

Placing input fields freely

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-25T17:39:00+00:00

Placing input fields freely You may wish to add a free text input field or a dropdown selection to a question. Important: The question types “selection” and “multiple choice” provide this function by simply checking a box. See Free text inputs within a selection how to do this.

JavaScript in the Questionnaire

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-06-12T12:00:21+00:00

JavaScript in the Questionnaire PHP code (e.g. for filters) will only be executed when the participant submits a page in the questionnaire to the server after clicking on the Next button, which creates a new page. JavaScript is required if the questionnaire should respond immediately when the participant clicks on a button or to user input (

The Last Page

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-05-25T07:00:00+00:00

The Last Page Whenever a participant clicks on the “Next” button in the questionnaire, the answers are transferred from the browser to the server, processed there, and the server sends the next questionnaire page to the browser. But at any point the questionnaire is over and there is no next page. After the last click the

Custom Input Buttons

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-03-19T08:43:26+00:00

Custom Input Buttons There are already a number of different display options in the General Settings tab in Questionnaire Layout that can be selected as the input button in Input button style. Selecting the option “custom input buttons” allows you to use your own image.

Questionnaire Layout

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-07-27T20:00:36+00:00

Questionnaire Layout The final appearance of your survey depends on the chosen layout (graphic design). In the section layout you can adjust color, font, font size, available width etc.. You can adjust the layout in the menu item Questionnaire Layout

Problems with the Registration/Login

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-05-26T06:49:41+00:00

Problems with the Registration/Login * You have registered a user account but are not able to log in (anymore)? * You can log in to SoSci Survey but not to Online Support? We have gathered all the information here to help you with these questions.

Media Files in Questionnaires (Audio, Video, Documents)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-09-26T07:33:23+00:00

Media Files in Questionnaires (Audio, Video, Documents) Online questionnaires distinguish themselves from printed questionnaires, according to the methodological literature, because, among other things, they can incorporate audiovisual material. Few research projects currently make the effort to produce media content, but if you would like to include a document (such as a PDF), an audio file or a video in your questionnaire, this chapter will help you do so.

Forms with Different Input Formats

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-10-16T17:57:58+00:00

Forms with Different Input Formats Sometimes different information is to be collected in the style of a form. Open and closed questions can be combined in one table. [form with different input formats] Creation of Forms The basis for such a form is a question “FM01” of the following type

Partially hide a text

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-08-22T08:10:28+00:00

Partially hide a text Sometimes you need longer explanations in an online questionnaire. Especially on mobile devices with a narrow screen, texts take up a lot of space (Questionnaire for Smartphones). You can display only the first few lines of a text and hide the rest. [Partially hidden text] Note:

Multilingual Surveys

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-02-09T12:17:41+00:00

Multilingual Surveys In a multilingual survey, you can easily deposit one or more translations for all visible texts (e.g. questions, text modules, scale labels, error messages). The link to the questionnaire may either specify the language to show or, if not, the respondent will see a selection of all available questionnaire languages.

Multi-Level Structure

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-02-10T09:01:10+00:00

Multi-Level Structure A Multi-Level Structure exists when the same questions should be answered more than once within a questionnaire for different persons or objects. Examples are: * Network-based questionnaire (name generator), where the participant should enter several names and answer a series of questions for each person

Navigation in the Questionnaire

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-16T17:42:25+00:00

Navigation in the Questionnaire Participants usually start on the first page and then fill out the questionnaire sequentially. The sequence can be changed with setPageOrder() or goToPage(), but the participants still follow the sequence given by the project manager. This tutorial describes how to add a menu or navigation to the questionnaire so that participants can jump between pages and/or sections. This is especially useful when using a form in SoSci Survey to get specific information of yo…

Observational Study Counter

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-05-27T12:51:07+00:00

Observational Study Counter SoSci Survey can also be used -- on a tablet, for example -- to assist observers in observational studies or coders in content analyses of video footage. The following instructions explain how to program a questionnaire page on which several buttons are offered. If one of the buttons is clicked, the counter for the corresponding event is increased by 1.

Page IDs

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-06-23T12:20:54+00:00

Page IDs In Compose Questionnaire, an ID can be assigned to individual pages (not to be confused with the Comment, which is only there to help you orient yourself). [Assign a Page ID] This ID is used in order to jump directly to a page using setNextPage(), to insert the page into the page order using

Request of a Personal Code

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-02-09T12:35:01+00:00

Request of a Personal Code The use of a “personal code” for printed questionnaires (pen 'n paper) has proven to be effective in multi-wave surveys. In the first questionnaire, the participant create a code from the fragments of personal information. This could look like the following:

Filter Questions (PHP Filters)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-02-08T21:26:26+00:00

Filter Questions (PHP Filters) If the participant's answer to a question is to have an effect on the further course of the interview, it is a filter question. You can define filters either directly in the question (question filter, simple variant) or in the questionnaire

Introduction to PHP

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2020-04-15T18:28:46+00:00

Introduction to PHP The element PHP-Code in the questionnaire (create questionnaire) allows for very flexible functions in the questionnaire. Filters and Conditional Questions, Placeholders, combined questions and questions only showing items that have been checked before (Use Selected Items), can be realized using PHP. The small drawback to this: you need a little programming.

Placeholders

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-07-27T13:45:23+00:00

Placeholders SoSci Survey enables the user to make content (e.g. questions or items) variable. In order to do so, placeholders are integrated in the form %placeholder%. Something will then be inserted in the questionnaire as the placeholder -- for example, the participant's response to a previous question, randomly selected content/stimulus or the result of a live analysis.

Score Responses

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-03-30T13:28:23+00:00

Score Responses In most socio-scientific surveys, we are interested in the participant's opinion. This is not the case if you want to provide feedback on a knowledge test. These have correct and incorrect answers, and a score can be determined. In live analyses (e.g. Thurstone or Likert scales), sometimes a score can also be kept. An analysis of the personality test at the end of the questionnaire can create an incentive.

Click to Show Information

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-16T17:39:26+00:00

Click to Show Information Sometimes it is helpful if the participant can fade in additional information if needed. Depanding on the application there are differnt solutions: * Individual words are most easily explained with a tooltip (see below)

Manage Questions and use as Templates

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-16T17:37:59+00:00

Manage Questions and use as Templates Note: This page is still in the making. We hurry to be finished soon. This instruction will show you how you can work efficiently with questions. In particular, how to * create, postpone and delete questions,

Compose the Questionnaire

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-04-10T17:42:14+00:00

Compose the Questionnaire To be able to see the questions in the online questionnaire, you have to create a questionnaire. Therefore the building blocks will spread on several sites of the online questionnaire and if required you can also use filters.

Question Types

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-08-17T12:13:45+00:00

Question Types This page explains what question types SoSciSurvey offers and what to take care of when using them. Most question types offer several options for further settings. Thus, many question types can look quite different from what is shown here.

Type of Questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-09-07T19:06:24+00:00

Type of Questions A questionnaire, whether in analog or digital form, is composed of various questions. On this page, all question types are listed in different categories. Choice Questions The question types that belong to the selection questions build on the basic question format that the respondent can select one or more from different selection options. The following chapters describe the partly different implementations of these question types.

Random Selection for Questionnaires

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-26T14:05:13+00:00

Random Selection for Questionnaires In a survey project you can create several questionnaires (Assemble Questionnaire) -> Create new Questionnaire or Manage Questionnaires). If the participant opens the link to to questionnaire, they can be randomly assigned to one of the questionnaires.

Randomization Using Urns

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-06-04T19:25:29+00:00

Randomization Using Urns A random draw can be carried out without replacement by using the urn function -- this ensures, for example, that experimental groups remain even. The chapter describes step by step how to create an urn and how to draw a ballot (e.g. a random number) out of the urn. The chapter

Single Factorial Experimental Design

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-25T17:37:26+00:00

Single Factorial Experimental Design This guide explains how to implement a simple, unifactorial questionnaire experiment (Split Ballot) with SoSci Survey without PHP code. In addition, the basics of randomization are explained here. Please read this guide first, even if you want to use an experimental design. In further instructions, more complex implementations are then explained (

Randomize Media Files

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-05-27T05:38:01+00:00

Randomize Media Files Images, videos and audio files can be randomized using PHP code. Therefore the files get included with HTML texts. The files must already be stored in images and media files (see also Images in the Questionnaire and media files in questionnaire). Note: Since the inclusion of the stimuli is already the 2nd step of a randomization, be sure to read the

Multifactorial Experimental Design

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-06-28T17:54:30+00:00

Multifactorial Experimental Design While in the Single Factorial Experimental Design only one property of the stimulus is varied (e.g., whether a product carries an „organic“ seal or not), in the multi-factorial design multiple properties are manipulated (e.g., organic seal and price). The combinations of the individual characteristics are also referred to as

Joint Randomization of Different Stimuli

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-08-12T17:33:55+00:00

Joint Randomization of Different Stimuli Sometimes experimetalgroups get more than one stimulus. For exmple the group A gets the text A and the image A while the group B gets a text B and an image B presented. This Chapter explains in an example how different stimuli can be randomized together per

Randomization: Pages

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-09-30T09:27:40+00:00

Randomization: Pages In case you want to randomize full pages this can be realised with PHP-Code. This guide describes how to send the respondent through the questionnaire in one of three possible ways, depending on a random draw. Tip: Start with the instruction

Randomization per Block

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-02-14T11:59:14+00:00

Randomization per Block Typically, all participants are randomly assigned to all experimental conditions (Single Factorial Experimental Design). Random assignment to experimental conditions provides the best chance that experimental groups are comparable in terms of both known and unknown predispositions within the scope of statistical selection bias.

Randomization with PHP-Code

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-08-22T07:44:37+00:00

Randomization with PHP-Code For more complex randomizations, such as the combination of questions and stimuli, or even for more complex HTML coding of the stimuli, it makes sense to integrate the randomization into the questionnaire using a PHP code. How it works will be explained with some examples on this page.

Randomization: Questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-02-13T17:52:04+00:00

Randomization: Questions In some cases you need to randomize full questions. Therefore you have to use PHP-code. The integration of the PHP-code is the second step, so please read the chapter Randomization with PHP-Code first. The creation of the Random Generator and where to place it with the PHP-code in the questionaire is explainede in this chapter.

Randomization: Texts

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-02-14T19:37:45+00:00

Randomization: Texts Note: This page explains how to randomize texts with a Random Generator and some PHP code. Since this is already the 2nd step of the procedure, please read the Randomization with PHP-Code page first. If your stimulus is a text, the function text() must be used when including it via PHP code. This function embeds the

Randomization: within-subject (Measurement Repetition)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-03-03T19:04:42+00:00

Randomization: within-subject (Measurement Repetition) Measurement repetitions are used in quite different designs. Here you will find an overview and the appropriate technical solution in each case: Classic Measurement Repetition In a within-subject design, in the simplest case, all respondents receive the same questionnaire. With such a design, all you need to do is duplicate the

Randomization

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-04-20T18:33:55+00:00

Randomization Note: This page is beeing worked on. Please understand that some links are still not working. We are working on it and hurry that it will be fully available again soon. There are different types of randomization, the technical implementation of which differs in some cases considerably:

User account and setup of survey

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-29T19:34:51+00:00

User account and setup of survey Before launching a survey with SoSci Survey you need to register a user account to set up a survey project. Tip: You only have to register once. Further projects can be set up with your existing user account. Setting up a Survey Project

Registration Form for an Event

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-10-22T13:04:42+00:00

Registration Form for an Event A common use case is sending an invitation to an event by email and asking the recipients to reply whether they will attend or not. This guide describes step by step how to set up the invitation and the reply in SoSci Survey.

Complex Rotations

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-06-29T13:05:42+00:00

Complex Rotations This topic is about designs in which rotations should follow specific rules. In these cases there is no way to avoid a little programming, in which the rules are cast into program code. And yes, admittedly, it's not always trivial. But here are some tips to get you started.

Mix Items from Different Questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-25T17:34:33+00:00

Mix Items from Different Questions This guide explains how to mix items from various questions (Rotation) and display them together on one or more pages. Simple Solution In most cases, it is significantly (!) simpler to create all items in a single question. First, input the items for the first construct, followed by the items for the second construct, and so forth. This approach is feasible when the total number of items to be rotated is less than 100.

Rotation: Items

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-04-23T14:58:59+00:00

Rotation: Items This chapter describes how to present the individual items in a question in a random order and how the several ways to implemt this work. Rotation in a Question Randomization or rotation of items in a question is enabled as follows:

Rotate Pages

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-16T17:44:04+00:00

Rotate Pages This chapter describes how to use setPageOrder() to present the pages of the questionnaire in a random order. This is often easier than randomly distributing content across pages. Important: You have to give the pages which are included in the rotation a manual

Rotate Questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-05-27T05:36:58+00:00

Rotate Questions In the following it is explained how you can rotate the order of full questions. Therefore you need PHP code. So if you never worked with PHP codes it might be helpful to read the instruction Introduction to PHP. Tip: If you want to always display certain questions together, follow the instructions

Rotation

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-08-12T17:28:25+00:00

Rotation Rotation is when the items or options of a question are presented to each participant in a different (usually random) order -- or even when the order of questions is varied randomly. A rotation is often used to counter row effects. Very well known are the primacy and recency effect as well as contrast and consistency effects: Rotation is therefore used specifically when the order of questions or items is likely to significantly distort the response behavior in the overall sample. The …

Continue by Pressing a Key

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-01-24T16:42:00+00:00

Continue by Pressing a Key Sometimes, the keyboard should be used: for instance, in laboratory studies for navigating the questionnaire or to exclude participants from a study for methodological reasons if they do not have a keyboard. JavaScript can directly react to inputs in the questionnaire and also to a keypress via the

Free text inputs within a selection

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-08-12T17:28:07+00:00

Free text inputs within a selection You may need a open text input field below a multiple choice question. [Multiple choice question with free text input field] Note: The option for an added input field is only available for the question types Selection (visible or dropdown) and Multiple Choice. It is

Selective Exposure

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-04-23T15:01:11+00:00

Selective Exposure In research on the selection of (online) content, the dependent variable is often that the participant selects one (or more) of several media contents offered for reading/viewing/listening. The implementation of corresponding designs with SoSci Survey is not quite trivial because the selection and navigation between contents cannot be directly mapped with the linear page sequence of a questionnaire. But also selective exposure studies can be implemented with SoSci Survey. Th…

Filter questions (question filter)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-11-08T23:12:50+00:00

Filter questions (question filter) If the participant's answer to a question is to have an effect on the further course of the interview, it is a filter question. You can define filters either directly in the question (question filter, simple variant) or under

Questionnaire for Smartphones

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-19T06:27:31+00:00

Questionnaire for Smartphones The proportion of participants filling out a questionnaire on a mobile phone varies significantly depending on the study. However, in most studies, it is essential to assume that a significant portion of respondents will complete the questionnaire on a small display. In practice, the following scenarios arise:

Free Use

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-06-04T10:40:14+00:00

Free Use * You would like to use SoSci Survey free of charge for non-commercial research, but don't know how to identify yourself as a student of a university? * You do not know whether you are entitled to use SoSci Survey free of charge? SoSci Survey GmbH supports non-commercial academic research and the work of charitable organizations by providing the survey server

JavaScript Library SoSciTools

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-19T06:13:18+00:00

JavaScript Library SoSciTools SoSci Survey automatically includes a JavaScript library in the questionnaire . This can be used SoSciTools in JavaScripts within the questionnaire. SoSciTools The following static methods are available through SoSciTools: Questionnaire Elements

Creating and Designing the Questionnaire

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-02-13T17:55:22+00:00

Creating and Designing the Questionnaire This chapter explains, how to develop an online questionnaire with SoSciSurvey. The first three tutorials give a quick and practical introduction to SoSciSurvey. The other tutorials present the advanced functions of SoSciSurvey:

Instructions for Common Jobs

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-02-13T17:58:38+00:00

Instructions for Common Jobs Most questionnaires are easily implemented, using SoSci Survey. Yet, there are helpful tricks and cheats for some questions. This chapter introduces some typical situations. A simple registration form will serve as an example:

Subheadings between Items

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-05-28T20:09:55+00:00

Subheadings between Items It is possible to place subheadings between the items of a question. To enter these subheadings, open the detail view for the item over which the subheading should appear. [open detail view for the items][open detail view for the items] Then click on the small “+ heading” above the item text in the detail view.

Place Dropdowns Side by Side

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-18T19:35:48+00:00

Place Dropdowns Side by Side This chapter describes how to place dropdown selection fields side by side, in order to query a date range (month/year to month/year). In addition, the question should allow a “to date” option. A HTML table is used to place the dropdown input fields (

Placing Elements Side by Side

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-09-18T19:32:16+00:00

Placing Elements Side by Side This chapter describes how to place different elements side by side in a questionnaire, such as an image next to a question or two questions next to each other. Important: If you want to place two questions with the same items side by side (e.g., for a Fishbein scale), please first read

Text Elements

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-02-13T18:00:54+00:00

Text Elements Texts are -- besides questions -- the most important component of questionnaires. You need them for greetings, longer explanations and often as stimuli (e.g. articles). Texts are created likely questions in a section. Select the desired section and click

Timer: Countdown across multiple pages

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-07-21T13:49:32+00:00

Timer: Countdown across multiple pages If your participants should complete a task within a given time, you can use a countdown. This chapter helps you create one. Advice: If your countdown neither needs to be displayed nor does it count the time across multiple pages, you might rather look at this page:

Timer: Show the 'Next' Button After a Certain Period of Time

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-08-12T17:26:09+00:00

Timer: Show the 'Next' Button After a Certain Period of Time This chapter describes how the Next and Back buttons on a questionnaire page can be manipulated so that they do not appear until after a given amount of time. In principle, any content can be displayed after a certain period of time by using this solution.

Timer: Go Onto Next Page Automatically

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-04-12T19:39:11+00:00

Timer: Go Onto Next Page Automatically This chapter describes how to limit the dwell time on a page -- or how to define exactly when the “next” button should be hidden in parallel to this. After the given amount of time has expired, the participant will be forwarded automatically onto the next page.

Tips for the Survey Design

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-08-12T17:30:24+00:00

Tips for the Survey Design This page collates a couple of tips to avoid problems regarding the measuring instrument. The list is not complete and there are exceptions to every rule - generally though, the following tips avoid effort, hassle and resentment during the data analysis.

Show Answers in a Follow-up Question

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-02-13T18:03:09+00:00

Show Answers in a Follow-up Question Placeholders allow you to use participants‘ text inputs elsewhere in the questionnaire. This chapter provides you with a number of examples (also known as “piping”). Example: At the beginning of the questionnaire, the participant selects which online network he personally uses most often. In later questions, the name of the network (e.g.,

Using an answer in later questions

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-02-13T18:03:41+00:00

Using an answer in later questions One of the main advantages of an electronic questionnaire is that it can react dynamically to participants responses. This chapter provides a brief overview. Filter questions Filter question -- that means in the simplest case that questions/items are displayed or blended depending on the participant's answer (

Variables in SoSci Survey

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2021-04-29T18:58:50+00:00

Variables in SoSci Survey There is frequent mention of “variables” in this manual. This chapter explains how the different variables can be used. Variables are used normally in social sciences for statistical analysis. A variable is identified here as a characteristic of the survey unit (e.g. age, gender). The variable

Videos in the Questionnaire

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-12-16T22:07:19+00:00

Videos in the Questionnaire Important: Read the advice in Media Files in Questionnaires (Audio, Video, Documents) before this manual. Important: Those who have not looked into copyright laws often think public and free-access videos (such as those on YouTube) may be used in questionnaires without further consideration. This is

Display Individual Codes or Coucher Codes

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-05-27T05:36:07+00:00

Display Individual Codes or Coucher Codes This chapter describes different ways of displaying an individual code to the participants (e.g. at the end of the questionnaire). Possible applications for this are: * an anonymous reference to the questionnaire/the participant's answers

Multi-Wave Survey

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-05-27T05:34:10+00:00

Multi-Wave Survey If you want to survey one and the same respondent over different periods of time, you are usually dealing with a multi-wave survey, a longitudinal study or a diary study which all three face two challenges: * How to ensure that your respondents complete the questionnaire at the right time?