Versions Compared

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.
Warning

This page is still under construction.

Info
titleKey Considerations
  • Questions connect the question text with the response domain(s) and interviewer instructions.
  • Questions are of two types: items or grids.

...

When to use a Question Item

Question Items items are the default choice when entering a question most of the time. They must always include at least one response domain and question literal that should be able to stand alone contextually. Sometimes nearby text has to be concatentated on to inadequate question text, to display complete context. See Question Items for more on concatenation.

...

In general, individual questions are preferable to question grids when documenting metadata. Question grids become the tool of choice when we are faced with a series of repeating questions such as a food list. A question grid is advantageous to use when:

 

  • There are 3 or more questions, and the length of the question plus the longest sub-question is more than 15 words.
  • There are 2 questions, and the length of the question plus the longest sub-question is more than 25 words.

...

Note that if the sub-questions have varying response domains (for example the code list is not the same across the sub-questions, or they cannot be entered as a grid) it is often best practice to use ) then multiple question items must be used. This is regardless of how many sub-questions/statements there are or how long the question items will be. The exception to this is 'breaking off' questions with a mixed response (usually code list plus a text answer) from a group of sub-questions. The sub-questions without a mixed response can be input as a question grid. The mixed response sub-questions are added as separate questions below the grid. See break-off questions for more details.

...

Example 1 Questionnaire: My Teenage Son 2004 (ALSPAC) question A4. d

This example shows a set of related questions displayed as separate question items. Question A4. (d) appears at first glance to be one question, but is actually three sub-questions. The overarching text 'How often did you see him while he was in hospital?' is common to all three of these questions, and so is concatenated on to each mention of 'admission'. This particular example also shows a situation that the inputter enterer may assume is to be recorded using a Question Grid question grid at first, due to the layout. However, it would only be appropriate to use a grid if there was more lengthly question text - 15 words or more.

Questionnaire layout:

 

Archivist view (alspac_04_mtsd):

 

Example 2 Questionnaire: My Teenage Son 2004 (ALSPAC) question H17. a-dThis example shows a set of related questions displayed entered as a question grid.

Example 2 Questionnaire: My Teenage Son 2004 (ALSPAC)
Questionnaire layout:

Archivist view (alspac_04_mtsd):

...