Counting the number of choices made in a multi select question

Yes, there is. In the survey flow, after the block that contains the question add this:
Set Embedded Data: numSelected = ${q://QIDxx/SelectedChoicesCount}
Replace QIDxx with the actual QID.
Unfortunately, it is one of those cases where Qualtrics doesn't make it available in the Pipe Text Menu (Please vote for Product Idea Include All Possible Piped Field In Piped Text Menus).

Hi Tom
Thanks for the solution, will this work post interview completion? It's a question my client has asked now that the fieldwork has almost finished!
Arthur

https://community.qualtrics.com/XMcommunity/discussion/comment/51032#Comment_51032No, unfortunately not.

@TomG I have followed your selectedchoicescount posts and have tried to use it in my survey as well, but am getting no data from a martices. See the attached embedded data block that follows the question block in the survey flow. Any guidance would be appreciated. As a side note, the matrices has 5 scale points, not sure where the error is located or if I would be better off to figure out the JS solution.

My previous answer was for a multiple choice question.  For counts of matrix scale points use:

${q://QIDxx/SelectedAnswerCount/1}

​@TomG - I just tried this and it does not seem to be saving the embedded data. I have a couple of questions with multiple choice (allowing multiple answers) and I simply need a count of the number of options selected. I tried your approach but when downloading the file, there is no data in the embedded fields and the report I created shows no data. Can you help?

UPDATE: It worked the moment I realized the QID was NOT the question number. Qualtrics doesn’t make it easy to find the QID on the survey.

BUT, I have a new problem: when I put this embedded data in a report, it only allows a results table. I need a live report that gives the AVERAGE of choices selected by participants. Any idea how to do this ​@TomG ?

The easiest way to get the correct QID is to use the drop down menu to select another piped field from same question, then modify the last part to SelectedChoicesCount.

 Use the Set Embedded Data block Options to set the field types to Number.

​@TomG - you are brilliant and extraordinarily helpful. Thank you so much for helping with these arcane items.

Since I have you on tap, I find I had long ago created a variable called “SCORE” which simply gives each item 1 point and adds it up. I find that this still works, but I have completely forgotten how I did it or where to find the programming for that creation. It is not in the javascript for that question and I cannot find any setting where this variable is being created. Any ideas?

I’m guessing you used the Qualtrics Scoring feature (Survey Options → Scoring).

As usual you are correct. That’s where it was. Is there a reason one way of calculating the number of options selected (scoring) is better or worse than the other (${q://QIDxx/SelectedChoicesCount}) of getting the same end result?

Thank you again for your incredible support of this community ​@TomG. I hope Qualtrics takes good care of you for this service.

For your purposes, using the the piped count is easier. If you wanted to do anything more complicated like giving different choices different scores or counting across questions, then Scoring would be better.