Defining a Questionnaire

Learn how to define questionnaire.

To create a questionnaire:

  1. Select Info > Questionnaire/Portfolio from the menu.
  2. Click (New).
  3. Enter the name of the questionnaire in the Questionnaire field and press Enter.
  4. Click on (New) in the Catalog Questionnaire/Portfolio dialog box.
  5. Enter a short description of the survey in the text field. This description is displayed before the first question when working through the questionnaire.
  6. Enable the Questions individually check box to determine that questions can only be answered in the defined order (the current question must be answered before proceeding to the next question).
  7. Save the record.
  8. Select Questions from the context menu. The Question info area is displayed.

  9. Define the questions and answers, see Defining Questions and Answers. For details on branching questionnaires, see Questionnaires with Branches.

The maximum amount of points that can be allocated (sum total of the maximum points attainable for all questions) is automatically entered in the Max. Points field.

Select Print from the context menu to print the questionnaire. This option is only available if you have been assigned access to the Question and Answer info areas.

Defining Questions and Answers

To define a question for the questionnaire:

  1. In the Question info area click (New).
  2. Enter a number into the Question No. field. This number determines the order of the questions in the survey.
    Note: The highest number available is "255". Aurea recommends that you number the questions "10, 20, 30, .." instead of "1, 2, 3, .." so that you can easily insert new questions later.
  3. Enter the question in the Question field.
  4. You can enter a percentage in the Weighting field (for example "200" to double the number of points awarded) for replies to this question.
  5. Use the options on the Answer tab to define the answers:
    • To select a single answer from a list of predefined options (radio buttons), ensure that the Multiple Answers and Edit Answer options are disabled.
    • To select several answers from a list of predefined options (check boxes), enable the Multiple Answers check box.
    • To enter the answer manually, enable the Edit Answer check box.
    • To select a catalog value, enable the Edit Answer check box and select the desired info area (Info Area Code field) and catalog field (Field Number field).
    • To edit the contents of a company/person field: Enable the Edit Answer and Read Answer check boxes and select the target field and info area. Enable the Save Answer check box to save any changes to the default answer to the database.
    Note: Values in the database are only updated for answers for which an answer is entered. Default answers or empty answers from unanswered questions do not overwrite existing data.
    • To add a new company-dependent or person-dependent record based on data collected from answers: For each question, enable the Edit Answer check box and select the target field and info area. Switch to the Add new tab and enable the Add Record option.

      You can add two records in the same info area from within the same questionnaire (e.g. two activity records). To do so, enable the Add Further Record check box for the questions concerning the second record.

      Note: Records are only added the first time the survey is carried out.
  6. Save the question.
  7. You need to define the possible answers for those questions that have predefined answers (the first two options under point 5). To do so, select Answer from the context menu. The Answer info area is displayed. You can define any number of possible answers. The number of the answers determines the order they are displayed in the questionnaire. Enter a value in the Points field to award points to answers.
  8. Return to the Questions info area. The Max. Points field displays the maximum number of points that can be achieved for the question.

For further information on questions and answers, refer to the online field help.

Questionnaires with Branches

You can define follow-up questions that are only asked if a specific answer is given to the previous question, allowing you to define branches in the questionnaire:

  • Select the next question in the Follow-up Question field.
  • If you have entered a follow-up question for an answer, that question is only asked next if the corresponding answer is selected.
  • If no follow-up question is defined for the answer, the question's follow-up question or the question with the next question number is displayed.
  • The Follow-up Question field in the Answer info area is ignored if more than one answer is possible to a question (i.e. the Multiple Answers check box isenabled for the question).
  • Questions are always processed in ascending order.

Branching questions in the questionnaire are indicated visually.

You can add multiple levels of branching. The branches do not need to have a common final question.

Note: If a questionnaire contains branches, ensure that a follow-up question is defined for each question or answer, and that the Last Question check box is enabled for the last question. If no follow-up question is defined and the Last Question check box is not enabled, the question with the next highest number is automatically used as the next question.