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decline to answer (dta) tag

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Decline to answer (DTA) options are single checkboxes that allow respondents to skip a question or an entire table. Use the declinetoanswer tag (alias dta) on any question type to create an opt-out option.

Details

  • To define a DTA option, use the declinetoanswer tag, and include an option number, followed by a period and the option text (e.g., declinetoanswer: 99. Don't remember.
  • Alternatively, you can use the shorter declinetoanswer: y. declinetoanswer: y is the equivalent to declinetoanswer: 99. Decline to answer.
  • You can include multiple declinetoanswer tags as long as different IDs are used.
  • DTA options can include condition decorators to specify when (or whether) to display the option.
  • Adding a declinetoanswer tag to a question creates a separate field in the data set, labeled with the parent question's ID plus '_DTA' (e.g., 'Q10_DTA'). This default can be modified using the qid tag.

Tags and decorators

The following tags may be used along with the declinetoanswer tag. You can also apply the tags after the DTA option as element decorators.

Tag Description
before Displays the DTA option(s) above the question or table instead of below it. Accepts 'y' as the input.
inline Displays the DTA option(s) alongside the question's options instead of below them. Accepts 'y' as the input.
message Specifies a custom message for respondents, accepting a text string as input. It also accepts 'y' to display a standard system message.
chapter Specifies a chapter in which the DTA field will be found.
qid Allows users to assign a custom ID to the DTA option for reporting, instead of the parent ID.

Note: If the before, qid, or message decorators are used on a question with multiple DTA options, apply them to the first DTA option's definition.

Additional examples

Creating multiple DTAs

Questions can have multiple DTA options, each defined with its own declinetoanswer tag using a unique ID.

Using 'inline' for DTA options in rating scales

The hscale tag is used for scalar, single-select (radio) questions to display them in a horizontal format with headings. A pipe '|' is often used to add a separate heading, such as "N/A," at the end of the scale.

In the example below, options 0 through 10 align under the headings "Terrible" and "Great." Then, the inline decorator displays the DTA option "N/A" alongside the scale options 0 - 10, directly beneath the "N/A" heading, rather than below the question.

Opting out of a table

When DTA options are added to a table, they act as an opt-out for the entire table as shown below.

Tip! To create a set of DTA options for a row or column in a text or numeric input table, use the dta row and dta col tags.

Adding a validation

In the example below, validation ensures the respondent either selects the DTA option for Table 5 or completes the first row of the text table. If neither is done, a warning message appears. Note that the message decorator is applied to the validation tag, not the DTA option.

Additionally, the required tag allows respondents to proceed without answering all possible rows, and the reveal rows tag creates a smooth user experience, only displaying one row at a time.

Specifying a chapter

To adjust the default location of the DTAs, the chapter can be specified as shown below. 

define chapters
DTAS.   Decline to answer

1. How stronly do you agree that your current service provider is doing a good job?
type: radio
hscale: y
declinetoanswer: 99. Don't Know / Not Applicable {chapter: DTAS}
1. Strongly Agree
2. Agree
3. Neither Agree nor Disagree
4. Disagree
5. Strongly Disagree

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