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How to create a better documentation of a survey than printing it to PDF
Currently, if I want to create a documentary record of a survey, I print the survey to PDF (Import/Export >> Print Survey). Unfortunately, the result doesn't show lots of information about the questions, including skip patterns, validation options, and recoding. Worst of all, it doesn't show survey flow. There must be a better way.
I recognize you can export the survey to .qsf format (Import/Export >> Export), but that creates a JSON file that isn't exactly easy to interpret by inspection. Even when the .qsf is put into a JSON editor, just try to interpret a complex survey flow from the JSON! Very difficult.
Printing the browser screen while editing the survey won't do the trick because all those question options (e.g., recoding and validation) won't be shown for each question.
I guess I could edit each question and expose each setting to do a screen grab of each one. And I could do another set of screen grabs for the survey flow. Yikes, that's incredibly tedious.
Does anyone have a way to create a human-readable documentation of all the nitty-gritty details of a survey?
I'm hoping you'll tell me that some clever genius has developed a tool that reads a Qualtrics .qsf and creates an output that is a full-detail documentation of the survey that a human can understand.
Best answer by TomG
What you are asking for would be really nice, but I’m not aware that it exists and would be a huge effort to create.
Since this is posted under best practices, I think pretty much everyone goes in the opposite direction - they create a survey document with all that information first then program the Qualtrics survey to match. Besides having a readable document, it also gives you something to test the survey against.
Speaking for ourselves, we use an MS Word template with styles set up for all the different survey elements. It provides a consistent format for surveys docs and can easily be converted to a Qualtrics advanced format text input file that can be imported to speed up survey programming.
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+27What you are asking for would be really nice, but I’m not aware that it exists and would be a huge effort to create.
Since this is posted under best practices, I think pretty much everyone goes in the opposite direction - they create a survey document with all that information first then program the Qualtrics survey to match. Besides having a readable document, it also gives you something to test the survey against.
Speaking for ourselves, we use an MS Word template with styles set up for all the different survey elements. It provides a consistent format for surveys docs and can easily be converted to a Qualtrics advanced format text input file that can be imported to speed up survey programming.
+7Hi @Emily, I have several blocks and I just wanted to make sure I have the same question randomization within each. It is time-consuming and error-prone (particularly as when you open up block options it doesn't say which block it is) just to re-check each block multiple times and doesn't allow for documenting this (other than saving the qsf). Is there a way to add the block options to the list that is in the useful link you provided? Much thanks, Dan Wright
+7Hi @DBrooks - That sounds like a great feature request! I recommend posting this in our Product Ideas category, as it is a feature not already developed by our team. Be sure to review the How to Write a Good Product Idea template and our Ideation Guidelines before you post your idea!
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