Lists

Usually, the steps will take you from the source question to the dialog for list creation. However, you can also choose Questionnaire editor → Lists and then either select an existing list or click on one of the buttons labeled Create dynamic list.

Creating the Source Question

1. Create a question, enter question and item texts as usual, and then confirm by clicking on Save.

2. After that, click on the Assign to list button.

You will be taken to the lists editor.

Creating a Dynamic List

1. In the drop-down list, select the list into which you wish to insert the question items as list elements. In this case, however, as there is no existing list yet, you must select “New list” and confirm by clicking on Next.

2. Give the new list an internal name.

3. Specify a wildcard, in this example “TVchannel”. This wildcard will be used if the list is later inserted into the questionnaire or integrated in a loop. The name must be unique. It should contain only the the letters a-z and A-Z, numbers and “_”.

4. In the “Source questions” section you can specify from which questions and static lists the elements of the new list are to be drawn. In the example enter the question just created in the drop-down list. After saving you can also add further questions or lists however.

5. In the “Properties of items from source question” section, which is only available with dynamic lists, you can specify whether and which properties and contents of source question items should be included in the list.

6. In the “Output whole list in questionnaire” section you can decide how the list elements are to be strung together if they are output in the questionnaire using wildcards.

7. Confirm by clicking on Save.

8. The list will now be created, and the dialog in which you can specify inclusion conditions will appear.

Adopting item-specific properties from source questions

Optionally, various item properties from source questions can be automatically adopted in the list. They can then be displayed with target questions in the editor but cannot be edited. Automatic property and content adoption is enabled when creating a new list or manually on the General settings tab in the list editor.

The table provides an overview of available options.

Specifying properties of the list elements

After you have created a list and made the general settings, the Inclusion conditions tab will appear. It lists the following information and setting options for each list element:

• Variable name: The variable and label of the respective option in the source question.

• Editable text field: List element no.

• Fixed number: The sort number of the option in the source question.

• Source variable: The label used for the source variable in the source question.

• Type

• Inclusion conditions: The conditions under which the element concerned is displayed in a target question. The following chapters explain how to specify in advance inclusion conditions individually, for the entire list or for elements yet to be added.

• Output text: The text that will be output in the questionnaire. (If you are using the list in a loop, you can use wildcards to incorporate the list elements into the questionnaire. In this case, you can click on the links in the “Output text” column to open a dialog which allows you to create additional wildcards with alternate text versions.)

Specifying inclusion conditions for individual list elements

By making the appropriate settings in the drop-down lists in the “Inclusion condition” column, you can choose between the following options, separately for each element:

• if selected, always in list: If the respondent has chosen the list element from the source question, it will always be displayed from that point on.

• if not selected, always list element: If the respondent has not chosen the list element from the source question, it will always be displayed from that point on.

• always in list: The list element will always be displayed, even if the respondent has not chosen it from the source question.

• never in list: The element will never be displayed. This setting can be used for elements which are to appear only in the source question.

• in list if...: As soon as you set this inclusion condition, an Edit icon will appear, allowing you to open the condition editor and define a filter condition.

• always in random selection

• if selected, always in random selection

• if not selected, always in random selection

• in random selection if...: As soon as you set this inclusion condition, an Edit icon will appear, allowing you to open the condition editor and define a filter condition.

By default, the “if selected, always in list” option is preset.

Click on Save after you have completed your settings. Clicking on the Back to editor menu item will take you back to the question view of the source question.

Specifying global inclusion conditions

Alternatively, you can also define or change all inclusion conditions with a single click.

• To do so, click the Define global inclusion conditions button.

• Select the desired condition in the pop-up that opens.

• When you select a condition that requires detailed definition, the Edit icon is activated in the “Actions” column. Define the condition in the condition editor. You can use the #varname# and #code# wildcards to do so.

• Save the settings. All list inclusion conditions are now changed accordingly.

Defining the default setting for all new list elements

You can define in advance which inclusion conditions newly created list elements shall have by default in dynamic lists. To do so, select the desired preset from the “Advanced options” section in the Inclusion conditions tab and then Save. If you select a complex condition you can, as described above, open the condition editor and formulate the condition in generalized terms using the #varname# and #code# wildcards.

The inclusion conditions are used to set the conditions under which elements are generally added to the list. Before outputting the list as a concrete question you can set up further restrictions and carry out sorting rules. Click the Options icon to find the appropriate setting options in the question view of the list questions.

Selecting List Elements

The following selection possibilities are available to you:

• Select [n] elements at random from the list: You can set the number of elements that can be selected.

  • Please mind: This random selection is applied only to elements with inclusion conditions “if selected, always in random selection”, “in random selection if ...” and “always in random selection”.

  • Configure extended random selection: You can make the random selection dependent on the number of elements chosen by the participant.

• Select only the [n] elements with the highest / lowest code value: These options apply to the code which you assigned to the items of each question. This option is only suitable for single response questions or matrix questions. With a multiple response or a select box matrix the code can only take on the values of 0 (not selected) and 1 (selected), therefore the use of this question type is senseless.

Sorting the remaining list elements

The following sorting options are available to you, by default it is set to “unsorted”.

• Unsorted (default setting)

• Sorted numerically according to answers in the source question (ascending / descending): Sorting is done on the basis of entries made by respondents in source questions with text fields.

• Sorted alphabetically according to answers in the source question (ascending / descending): Sorting is done on the basis of entries made by respondents in source questions with text fields.

• Sorted alphabetically by list element label (ascending / descending): It will be sor- ted by list element label.

Extended Random Selection of List Element

You can make the random selection, which was introduced in the previous chapter, dependent on the number of elements chosen by the participant. 

Extended random selection

Extended random selection can only be used in combination with the following types of inclusion conditions:

• if selected, always in random selection

• in random selection if ...

• always in random selection

Configuring extended random selection

1. Click on the Options button in the page view of the desired questionnaire page.

2. Among the random selection options you already know, you will find the Configure extended random selection button. Clicking on the button will open the condition editor.

3. Enter the desired condition and confirm by clicking on Save.

4. If required, you can define additional conditions which will be processed in the order you define.

5. Return to the “Options” dialog by clicking on Back.

6. If you click on the Info icon, the condition will be displayed. This icon will also appear in the question view.

Incorporating dynamic lists into questions

The list function offers you the possibility to incorporate static and dynamic lists into your questionnaire by using questions.

Incorporating Dynamic Lists

1. Create a page titled in the Questionnaire Editor, and create a question of the “Multiple response list (vertical)” type (type 121).

2. All question types in which using lists is advisable contain the “Dynamic answers” section. Later, if a list has been integrated, this section can optionally be hidden.

3. Clicking on the (No list selected yet) link allows you to select a list.

4. Select the corresponding list and confirm by clicking on Save.

5. Click on the << icon to return to the question you are editing. Here you will find the elements of the selected list in the “Dynamic answers” area.

6. Depending on the target question type, item-specific functionalities such as randomization, grouping and DAC are available with dynamic list elements. If desired, you can set these separately for each target question. Alternatively, you can also adopt the settings from the source question.

7. You have the choice of

   • offering only list elements as answer options. In this case, you should tick the “Delete” checkbox for all other answer options and then click on Save.

   • offering list elements as well as standard answer options. In this case, you can change the positions of the elements by changing their numbering. Then click on Save.

Outputting lists in the questionnaire

You can output entire lists in the questionnaire, e.g. to issue a confirmation to respondents of what they have selected. If you use this feature, the output will be subject to the inclusion conditions defined for the list, i.e. if you have specified, for example, a dynamic list and the inclusion condition “if selected, always in list”, the selected elements will be output via wildcard.

• The list-ID (#1_xxx#) serves as a wildcard.

• You can specify which general separator to use and the separator between the last two elements of the list.

• You can define alternative labeling for the list elements.

• It is not possible to use this wildcard to output list elements, which come from the multimedia question types 511 and 521: Instead of images, the related alternative texts will be output. However, if you use HTML to incorporate images directly into the items of a list source question, these images will be output.

Viewing the list ID and inserting it into questionnaires

You will find the list ID in the overview of the Lists menu. Using the form “#l_xxx#”, insert this list ID into the desired position in the questionnaire text, where it will serve as a wildcard.

Specifying separators

1. Open the menu Lists, select the desired list, and then open the General settings tab.

2. Enter the usual separator into the “Separator between list elements” field. If necessary, enter blank spaces before and after the separator as well. See figure 7.23, S. 309.

3. If you wish to use a special separator before the last element in the listing (e.g. the word “and” or <br>), enter this separator into the field entitled “Separator right before the last list element”.

4. After that, confirm by clicking on Save.

Changing list element labels

You can change the labels of the list elements displayed.

• Define the required sets of text elements on the Wildcard tab as will be familiar from loops.

• These alternative sets are imported via wildcards with the format #listID_x#. That is, the second set of text elements in the first list of the project (list ID 1) is output via #1_1_2#.

You can click on Questionnaire editor → Lists and then either select an existing list or click on the buttons labeled Create static list to create a new list.

Creating a static lists

A static list is not composed using the items of source questions or source lists, but the list elements are directly entered.

Open the Questionnaire editor → Lists menu and click on the Create static list button.

• Give the new list an internal name, in this example “Subjects”.

• Enter a wildcard.

• Confirm by clicking on Save.

• The List elements tab will be opened automatically.

  • To create a new list element, enter its name in the “New element” row.

  • Then, confirm each entry by clicking on Save.

Specifying properties of the list elements

In the case of static lists, you also specify the inclusion conditions for the list elements on the List elements tab, in the “Inclusion conditions” column.

• always in list

• never in list

• in list if...

• always in random selection

• in random selection if...

By default, the “always in list” option is preset. Alternatively, you can also define or change all inclusion conditions at once, using the Define global inclusion conditions function, as described above. If the static list is to be used in a loop at a later time, you can use the Wildcards tab to set up several wildcards with alternate texts.

Editing and exporting list elements

List elements that have already been created will be output in the input field and can then be edited. If you wish to delete an element, simply remove it from the list.

External editing is also possible:

• Copy the content of the input field into Excel.

• Should Excel copy the data into a cell instead of formatting it correctly, select Data → Text to Columns. Choose the data type “Delimited”, and confirm by clicking on Next.

• Choose the separator, and confirm by clicking on Next again.

• Check the display, and then confirm by clicking on Finish.

Importing static list elements

You can import the elements of static lists or copy out elements that have already been created in a special format, edit them externally and then reimport them.

Formatting import data

The following format should be used:

• List element ID

• list element number

• wildcard 1

• wildcard 2

• wildcard 3

• wildcard 4

• wildcard 5

• inclusion condition

The inclusion conditions must be encoded as follows:

• 1: always in list

• 2: never in list

• 3: in list if...

• 4: always in random selection

• 6.: in random selection if...

You can create lists with an appropriate format, e.g. in MS Excel.

Performing the import

Navigate to the Projects → {Selected project} → Questionnaire editor → Lists menu, and create a new static list. Open the List elements tab. Instead of creating elements manually, you can click on the Import list elements button.

• Select the desired separator, and enter the elements in the correct format. If you have created an Excel table, transfer the content, but not the column labels, using copy & paste.

• Confirm by clicking on Import.

• Click on the List elements tab to switch to the overview of the list elements that have been created.

Incorporating Static Lists into the questionnaire

The list function offers you the possibility to incorporate static and dynamic lists into your questionnaire by using questions.

1. Create a page titled in the Questionnaire Editor, and create a question of the “Multiple response list (vertical)” type (type 121).

2. All question types in which using lists is advisable contain the “Dynamic answers” section. Later, if a list has been integrated, this section can optionally be hidden.

3. Clicking on the (No list selected yet) link allows you to select a list.

4. Select the corresponding list and confirm by clicking on Save.

5. Click on the << icon to return to the question you are editing. Here you will find the elements of the selected list in the “Dynamic answers” area.

6. Depending on the target question type, item-specific functionalities such as randomization, grouping and DAC are available with dynamic list elements. If desired, you can set these separately for each target question. Alternatively, you can also adopt the settings from the source question.

7. You have the choice of

   • offering only list elements as answer options. In this case, you should tick the “Delete” checkbox for all other answer options and then click on Save.

   • offering list elements as well as standard answer options. In this case, you can change the positions of the elements by changing their numbering. Then click on Save.