InfoGuides: Software for Data & Digital Scholarship: Qualtrics

Qualtrics is an online survey tool that is very popular with researchers because of the combination of power and ease of use. It has many tools for branching and randomization and can output data as a fully-labeled SPSS file (in addition to standard Excel and csv). If you do not know what software to use, you can contact Data & Digital Scholarship Services at datahelp@gmu.edu to discuss the various options.

George Mason University has a university-wide license for Qualtrics. All students, faculty, and staff are allowed an account, but access is managed locally (either school, department, center, or other unit). DDSS does not control or administer Qualtrics accounts or licenses.

To get an account, find the contact person for your unit at Qualtrics Administrators (ITS).

Pros:

Very easy to get started and use
Surveys look nice, lots of customization (including CSS)
Can add special features with Javascript within questions
Follows best practices by default
Easy to implement advanced features including randomization, carry forward choices, and loop and merge

Cons:

Does not natively support data entry or longitudinal studies, though data can be entered
Not available to everybody, some features have an extra cost
Data is stored on Qualtrics' server,

See this page in two guides:

Learn Qualtrics

Best Bets

XM Basecamp from Qualtrics - Must be logged in to Qualtrics
- Platform Basics - See tab for suggested videos
Qualtrics Basics from DoIT @ Stony Brook U (~5 min) - Overview/Sections, Edit Multiple, Test Responses
- See the whole 7-video playlist: Qualtrics Basics

Analysis Software

Many people can do what they need within Qualtrics without having to use another software. Consider this!
Avoid using Excel to analyze your data. If you need a free, easy-to-use statistical software, try Jamovi.

Tips from DDSS

Using Qualtrics Effectively

Experience Basecamp

Platform Basics - Contains the videos below
Webinars: Designing a Survey, Launching, Analyzing Data, Reporting (each is ~1hr)
See also Best Practices (2 hrs Total) - Collection with great tips on designing and implementing a survey.

You will need to sign-in to your Qualtrics account in order to view the videos.

The Basics
Qualtrics Basics (DoIT @ Stony Brook U)	~5 min	Overview/Sections, Edit Multiple, Test Responses
Adding and Styling Questions	~5 min	Text and Matrix Questions. Embedding Videos
Using Anonymous Distributions	~3 min	Publish, Activate/Deactivate, get a Link, Options

Important Features
Displaying and Hiding Questions and Answers	~4 min	Blocks, Skip Logic, Display Logic, Preview
Controlling Questions and Answer Choices	~4 min	Force Response, Validation, Messages, Randomization
Locating and Editing Responses	~8 min	Responses in Progress, Retake surveys, and more
Managing Results Pages	~5 min	Results, Filters, Widgets, Exporting
Visualizing Data	~2 min	Widgets, Chart Types, Customizing Visualizations

Useful to Know About
Handling Longer Surveys	~4 min	Carry Forward, Loop & Merge
Using the Survey Flow to Navigate Participants	~4 min	Blocks: Logic and Randomization
Adding Global Styles	~3 min	Themes, Progress bars, Fonts
Setting Text and Answer Choices	~4 min	Piped Text, Page Break, Default Choices
Recoding Values	~2 min	("variable names" become value labels for SPSS files)
Sending Invites via Email	~4 min	see also Creating and Managing Contacts

Transferring Data to Statistical Software

Step 1: Define your variable names and values within Qualtrics

Qualtrics Recoding Variable Names and Value Label Coding ~5 min (Dr E Research Videos)
- Note: If you have moved or deleted response choices, they may not be 1,2,3,4, etc.
- You can do this even after collecting data. BUT, only use the tools shown in the video, do NOT remove answer choices or change the answer choice labels themselves.

Step 2: Download your data in SPSS format and import into your software

How to Export Response Data
- If your data is not appearing in a way that is easy to use, check out the explanation of various Export Options you may wish to use.
Use File -> Import to open your data in non-SPSS software.
- Importing Data in RStudio
- Old versions of Stata may require using the user-contributed command: usespss
If you must use Excel, then download in either Excel or CSV format, but avoid this.

Step 3: Clean your Data

Qualtrics automatically includes additional respondent variables with useful information.
How to Download Qualtrics data and Begin Cleaning Data in SPSS ~20 min (Lannin Lab)
- Shows how to use the automatic variables and syntax to remove observations you do not want.
- if you are planning ahead, use Requirements and Validation to reduce cleanup needs.

Step 4: Deal with Special Situations

Meg Huntoon has several videos on solving issues using recoding, such as if you did an experiment and used randomization. These are old videos, so the Qualtrics interface has changed. But, the steps in SPSS are the same.

Help from Qualtrics

Documentation (Search)

Textbook: Product Experience (PX) Research
See also: Community Message Boards, Events & Webinars, and the Vimeo Channel

Special Features

Learn to use CSS and Javascript to customize elements
Slideshow: Little Known Features of Qualtrics Research Suite That Will Make Your Life Easier

YouTube Qualtrics XM Community

2 minute Tips - Newer videos have annoying background music

Basics
- Adding Instructions to a Survey - Text/Graphic, Multiple Choice, and Text Entry Questions
- Question Numbers (which will become Variable Names)
- Display Logic & Skip Logic
- Response Requirements - Validation, especially for multiple response and text entry questions.
- Survey Preview - Allows you to skip validation
Versioning & Publishing
- Survey Versions
- Publish Your Survey
- Undoing Mistakes
- Importing & Exporting Surveys (to PDF, Word, or QSF files, not for Data)
- Compose & Distribute Emails via Qualtrics
- Sharing a Qualtrics Survey
Special Features
- Survey Translation
- Accessible Survey Design - Question types, Alt Text, ExpertReviw
- Add Free Response Options ("Other")
- Calendar Picker Question
Survey Flow & Customized Wording
- Carry Forward Choices
- Loop & Merge - Repeat a block of questions
- Piped Text
- Query Strings
Data & Analysis Tab Tutorials - 5 video playlist (~13 min)

Software for Data & Digital Scholarship