IntelliSurvey quick start guide

This guide is intended to illustrate a general workflow of a market research project in the IntelliSurvey platform. For more detailed information on a given feature, you can review our in-app documentation by clicking on the ? icon in the upper right corner of the screen. The documentation is context aware and will automatically navigate to the appropriate article based on where you are within the platform/interface. Additional assistance can be found by emailing your questions to help@intellisurvey.com. Please include your survey link and all relevant information when emailing. Average response time is within an hour during the hours of 9am to 5pm Pacific Time (GMT-7).

Upon logging in, you'll be taken to the Server Dashboard where you will see a list of all surveys for which you'll have access. From here, you can navigate to any current surveys to which you have access, or create a new one. You'll also have access to server-level menus on the left-hand side. In the upper-right, there are controls that allow you to open a specific survey, access the documentation, navigate to other parts of the application, edit personal preferences, or toggle visualization mode.

Quick start video 1

The first video in this article provides a brief overview of building and testing surveys. To skip ahead to the next video, click here.

Creating a new survey

On the left-hand menu click on New to create a new survey.

• A survey ID will be automatically generated. Replace this with your preferred survey ID. This ID will show in the distributed links so be sure to obfuscate any client or survey specific information.
• Add in a Survey Description. This is the description that will be seen at the top of the Survey Dashboard.
• Theme, Country, and Language are all preset. Change them as needed.
• Choose your Editor mode.
  • IntelliBuilder: Our menu-based survey creation tool, which guides you through the survey setup without requiring any "coding." This is particularly useful for the collaborative creation and editing of surveys. IntelliBuilder (IB) allows users to build surveys from scratch, or by copy/pasting survey content from questionnaires, without having to know our survey programming language (SPL). You can build out a survey in IB, then shift editing mode to Survey Source, which is a great way to learn the SPL as you go.
    
    To start:
    • Click ADD to add a new item.
    • Choose your item type.
    • Fill out the required fields and click SAVE.
    • When you're ready to see your survey in action, click ACTIONS > Store New Version, and the survey will compile (process and build).
    • Click TEST.
      

• • Survey Source: If you're programming from a questionnaire and are familiar with our survey programming language (SPL), this is generally the faster option.
    
    Our best-practice approach for creating base SPL code is to:
    • Copy and modify the Word document directly so you have a backup. 
    • Remove all unnecessary instructions or spacing, anything that won't be used in the final survey. This includes rich text formatting in programming instructions. If you do plan on using rich text formatting, such as bolding words, leave them in, and see below.
    • Use the Clean Word utility to add HTML around rich text elements, e.g., bold, underlined, etc., and to adjust lists with lettered options to use numbered options instead. Lists with numbers will be easier to reference later on. 
    • Copy the processed questionnaire document from the Clean Word utility and paste it directly into the editor.
    • Replace question descriptors (instructions) like 'single select', '[SC]', etc. with the appropriate SPL tags, e.g., types, groups, instructions, etc. Click Ctrl/control + space to access the snippets library to conveniently find these tags.

• • • For items that are more complicated or that will be worked on later, use comments. Single lines are commented with a '#' at the line start; block comments start with '/*' before the first line and end with '*/'.

 

• • • Once you believe the code is correct, submit it.
    • Review any errors, cautions, and warnings. Navigate back (button at bottom of screen) to correct the issues and try again.
    • When the survey passes all the processing checks, test and/or publish the survey. For more information on publishing your survey, read Development and published versions below.

Quick start video 2

The second video in this article covers how to add users, publish your survey, creating and managing quotas, and adding panels to your survey. To skip ahead to the final video in this article, click here.

Adding users

We have two levels of user permissions at IntelliSurvey: system and survey levels.

• System permissions determine the global access level a user has (access to change system-wide themes and resources, default level of survey visibility/access, ability to add other users, etc.).
• Survey permissions determine a user's access level on a specific survey. These include the ability to edit surveys, manage files and other resources, and access data.

For more detailed information on the roles available at the system and survey level, navigate to the HOME (server) dashboard, and in the System Navigation menu (left), select Administration > Roles.

Adding users to the system

To add users to the system, navigate to the HOME screen/System Dashboard. Select Administration from the left-hand menu and then select Users applet.

To add a new user in the system Users applet:

• Click Actions in the upper right corner and select Add.
• Enter the user's email address (this will be their username).
• Select the user's system role (the overall permissions level).
• Click Create. The user will receive an email with an activation link.

Adding users to a survey

To add users to a specific survey, navigate to the Survey Dashboard. Select Survey > Users from the left-hand menu.

To add a new user to your survey in the survey Users applet:

• Click Add in the upper right corner.
• Select the appropriate survey role (the local permissions level) and any add-on permissions you want to grant the users you're adding.
• Enter the users' email addresses one per line. To add a user group, type "@" to get a small modal that will show you a list of previously added user groups.

Editing your survey

After your initial build/compile, you will most certainly want to add to or edit your survey content. You can access the editor by clicking on Edit in the left-hand menu on the Survey Dashboard.

The editor mode you selected when creating the survey will be the mode you return to unless you switch modes. For straightforward collaborative edits, IntelliBuilder is your best option. In this mode, users see each other's work in real time. When editing in Survey Source mode, users need to coordinate their updates.

IntelliBuilder editing use cases:

• Refine the survey in collaboration with client or researcher actors
• Have multiple users work on separate survey sections simultaneously
• Wordsmith/proofread the survey while the team is adding content downstream.

Survey Source editing use cases:

• Quickly establish base survey content
• Apply advanced respondent exercises, e.g., conjoints, self test, complex pathing, etc.
• Manage translations.

Testing your survey

Running through your survey as a respondent is a vital part of confirming that the survey performs to specification. There are several ways to access test links for your survey, as well as several test modes available.

Access

Users may access testing links through the following ways in the user interface (UI):

• IntelliBuilder: the TEST button in the upper right corner
• Survey Source editor: when a survey has finished compiling, 4 testing links appear
• Survey menu: Run | Test options
• Survey menu > Info option: lightning bolt icons or actual links shown.

Modes

There are four testing modes available to users. Each varies in how it is presented and how the tester can interact with the questions.

• Live (Survey Source editor, Info page): no question numbers shown, no login required, data stored as live respondent data
• Test 1 (Survey Source editor, Dev/Run, Pub/Run, Info page): no question numbers shown, no login required, data stored as test data
• Test 1.1 (Survey Source editor, Info page): question numbers shown, no login required, data stored as test data
• Test 2 (Survey Source editor, Dev/Test, Pub/Test, Info page): Testmode interface available, question numbers shown, login required, data stored as test data.

Development and published versions

Each time a survey is compiled or has a new version stored, a new development version is created. When all parties are satisfied that the survey is ready to be seen by an audience (client or live respondents), the development version is published. These two states allow for programmers to apply and test edits in a new development version while the audience is viewing the published version.

To publish a survey:

• Survey Source editor: After a survey compiles with no errors, a Publish button will be displayed.
  
• Survey Dashboard: Click on the Publish pencil icon in the upper right corner (available once the survey has been published at least once).
  
• Construction worker icon: Click on the "construction worker" icon anywhere you see it throughout the platform. 

Setting quotas

Quotas allow for tracking and capping the number of respondents in particular categories. Quotas are set up in IB or the Survey Source editor and managed via the Quotas applet in the Survey Navigation menu.

How to create quotas

Quotas can be created in multiple ways via IntelliBuilder or the Survey Source editor.

• IntelliBuilder:
  • Add a new quota variable by clicking Add and selecting Quota under STRUCTURAL.
  • When creating a new simple question type, select Quota in the Add properties field.
• Survey Source:
  • Use the quotas: y tag on a radio, checkbox, or pulldown question.
  • Use the type: quotas tag on a question with conditioned options.
  • Quotas like gender by age are created as follows. The system will automatically generate the requisite logic.

    • Create a new crossed list calling the questions:
      

      setlist: GENAGE
      crosslists: QGENDER, QAGE

    • Call that list at the optsfrom of a quota question:
      

      GENDERAGE. Gender by age
      type: quotas
      optsfrom: GENAGE

    • In the Quota applet, you'll have a grid with QGENDER rows and QAGE columns. 
      

• Set quota targets/caps to prevent any overages. Surveys are generally "soft launched" with reduced quota targets to collect enough live data to perform QA.
  • Your survey must have a published version containing quota variables to see the Quotas applet.
  • From the Survey Navigation menu, click Survey > Quotas. This option can also be found in the Field Management submenu.
  • Each of your quotas will be a separate tile with a "Quota" column. Click in a specific cell of these columns to set a quota target. Press Enter to save, and a checkmark will appear to confirm the save.

Integrating panel vendors

The IntelliSurvey software enables you to set up a database of commonly used panel vendors, their entry link formats, and various exit link formats (redirects). The database can also be created on an individual survey basis.

• To access the database and integrate vendors to your survey:
  • In the Survey Navigation menu, click Field Management > Panel.
  • Select a panel from the pulldown list.
  • Review the entry link format, edit redirects, etc.
  • Note: An IntelliSurvey Support Agent can assist you with setting up the database for your organization or individual survey.
• Vendors will generally test a complete and a termination and send along respondent IDs for verification of receipt and status.

Additionally, users from the panel will need to be added to the survey via the Users applet so they can review reports, quotas, etc.

Setting to Live stage

To ease the transition from testing to live fielding, we provide the ability to change your survey's stage from the default QA to Live.

• Navigate to the Survey Dashboard.
• Click on the Stage icon in the upper right.
• Set the stage to Live and adjust the Capacity as needed.
• Click Submit Now to save your changes.
• This shift does not affect live respondents in any way; it simply hides test cases from the reporting portal.

Quick start video 3

The final video in this article discusses the "soft launch" testing process, performing data checks, creating reports, and closing your survey.

Soft launch

Vendors will use their entry links to begin fielding to your soft launch goal. Once the quota targets are achieved, additional respondents will be routed to the "Over Quota" end links provided by your vendors.

Our platform also offers a data generation applet called Dummy Data, which can be found in the survey's Data submenu. This tool provides a number of options for generating automated, fabricated data for initial review. You can even click the button Avoid simple terms that allows the Dummy Data tool to bypass "simple" termination points. While we've tailored the tool to work with a number of scenarios, it does not replace the utility of actual respondent data.

Data checking

Your survey's data is the final deliverable; ensuring it matches specifications is of utmost importance. You can use a number of Report menu options to accomplish this review process.

• Deliverables provides options to export the data in a variety of formats.
• Topline and Frequency reports will give you an overview of response counts by question and option, which are useful for verifying skip logic.
• Response reports are useful for getting a detailed view of respondent data.
• Crosstab reports are a robust tabulation utility for reviewing data.
• Base Counts reports are a quick way to determine if question logic is working as expected.
• Page reports provide detailed information about each form of the survey, such as the percent of respondents who saw that form, number of abandoned records, time to load, etc.
• Lastly, the Survey Dashboard's Activity tile contains any notices or warnings generated by respondents taking the survey.

Full launch

Once you have verified your survey's performance and data, you're ready to gather your full N (number of completes). Adjust your quota targets in the Quotas applet, give your vendors the OK to proceed, and monitor your progress using the Quotas and reporting applets.

Close survey

When your survey is completed, we have two stages to accommodate closure of the survey:

• Soft shutdown: If you have a few active respondents finishing up the survey, choose this option. In progress respondents will be allowed to complete, while new respondents will be turned away.
• Hard shutdown: All respondents are turned away immediately.
  
  

Conclusion

We hope you have found this guide informative. The IntelliSurvey language and platform are packed with features too extensive to annotate in a single document. As noted earlier, if you find yourself in need of guidance along your journey, reach out to support@intellisurvey.com.