Surveys often require that variables be populated in order for the survey to flow properly, for results to read intuitively, or for researchers to analyze survey data. The IntelliSurvey system supports a variety of functions to help populate such variables.
Note: By using techniques contained on the pages linked below, it is possible to do things that don't make sense to the system, e.g., to give a question a value that does not have a text label in the reports. Here are two examples of invalid data manipulation:
- The field the user is referencing is a closed-end variable but the value being set doesn't match any of the options' IDs.
- The value is numeric, but the field the user is referencing, while open ended, has a datatype or range rule to prevent respondents from entering this number.
Survey programmers (SPs) must be vigilant when using these tools to ensure their instructions will produce the correct results.
Methods for data population
| Method | Description |
| set value | set value populates a given survey field with a particular value. It is most commonly used for coding of skipped fields or populated derived fields, and can be defined as a standalone variable or element decorator. |
| dynamic value | The dynamic value function sets a question's value based on another question or variable. The questions or variables controlling the value that is applied, as well as the target question itself, can be any question type. All question references can be located on the same survey page, different survey pages, or a combination of both. Because of this flexibility, dynamic value can be used for simple auto-coding of closed end values, respondent-facing math calculations, and so on. |
| fetch_cell and fetch_row | Spreadsheets are a convenient way to store large lists with arbitrary data. To quickly and easily reference this data, IntelliSurvey has two specialized functions: fetch_cell and fetch_row. Each allow you to reference certain parts of a spreadsheet, with function-specific syntax. |
| cvalue | The cvalue (calculated value) tag is used on a question or variable to calculate and set a value. The value is set when the parent page is submitted. |
| selectby | The selectby tag can be added to a closed-end question to instruct the software to automatically assign a value to the question where the tag is placed. Questions with a selectby tag are hidden from respondents and are punched by the system upon submission of the form where they are located. This is useful when creating quotas or other hidden variables such as coded variables. When combined with the exclusive tag, specified options cannot be chosen at the same time. |
| dvalue | The dvalue tag sets a value to a question or variable. It populates on page load. |
| ifblank | The ifblank tag is used to return a numeric value for questions that are left blank. This tag works on open-ended text questions within a table where there are multiple questions. Values are auto-populated and stored in the database when a response is not entered. The value is set in the data once the question is successfully validated. |
| if not set | Like ifblank, if not set is a tag used to set a value to open-ended fields that are left unfilled. However, where ifblank only acts on fields that are seen by the respondent, if not set acts on all possible fields, regardless of whether or not they are seen. The input to if not set can be any positive integer or 0, and is most commonly 0. The input value is set in the data once the parent question is successfully validated. |
| matchto and derivefrom |
The These tags work as a pair. The |
| URL parameters | Data will sometimes be stored in a survey entry URL which needs to be used to populate variables within the survey. |
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