Hi @four77 ,

The effect may vary a little depending on how the option was deleted.

1) If you remove the last option, the effect is the current existing survey result with the last option become a 5.

For example, ABCDE will become ABCD5.

2) If you remove the option in the beginning or in between, the effect is the current existing survey result will be flush forward.

For example, ABCDE will become BCDE5 or ABDE5.

When you add a new option after the above scenarios, the 5 will be replace with the new option.

For example,

1) ABCD5 will become ABCDF.

2) BCDE5 will become BCDEF, ABDE5 will become ABDEF.

I am unsure how the number 21 appears when you have 5 options. Was it carried over from other survey questions?

Hello @four77, 

When a category or answer choice is deleted from a question in Qualtrics, the associated data for that category is also removed from your dataset. If the question or choice is still in the trash, restoring it will also restore the associated data. However, if the question or choice has been permanently deleted, the associated data cannot be retrieved and will not appear in the dataset.

If you're seeing a "21" in your dataset, it could be due to a few reasons:

1. If the deleted category was manually recoded to "21" before it was deleted, and the data was exported before the category was deleted, the "21" would appear in the dataset.
2. If the deleted category was not manually recoded, but was the 21st choice in the question, it would have a default recode value of "21". If the data was exported before the category was deleted, the "21" would appear in the dataset.
3. If the "21" is appearing in the dataset after the category was deleted, it could be a system or processing error.

It's important to note that once a category is deleted, it should not appear in the dataset, either as a valid or null value. If you're seeing unexpected values in your dataset, it's recommended to contact Qualtrics Support for further assistance.

Let me know if this helps.