WCA Module 05 - Effective Survey Form Design

Intro

Congratulations, the first form building module is done! You have one more form-building module that will go into conditional logic and other methods for organizing survey questions. As you work through the module notice the advantages that a digital form might have over paper forms.

Key Goals

• Pick the Best Question Type for Efficient Data Entry
• Use a Number Prefix to Force the Sort Order of Lists
• Hide and Show Questions to Speed Data Entry
• Re-order Questions
• Group Questions with Sections
• Utilize Repeaters for Recurring Data
• Speed up Data Entry with Default Answers
• Understand the implications of required questions
• Take advantage of Bulk Edit Functions
• Balance the Survey Design between Efficient Data Entry and Final Output Goals

Exercises

All of the information you will need to complete the following exercises can be found in the reference material at the bottom of this article.

Question Types

1. * Name two places you can find definitions for the Question Types.
2. * Describe the differences between the following fields: text, number, counter. Include examples of a good use case for each.

Organizing Questions on My Sample Form

For the following questions, please use your “My Sample Form” survey.

Question Details

1. Add a single-choice selection question for “Plant Health”.  Set the answer choices to vibrant, healthy, struggling, and dead. Make sure the answers appear in the order listed above when the data collector is entering data into the survey.
2. Add a photo question type and name it “Plant Image(s)”. Set the new question to be hidden if the answer to the “Surrounding Plant Life” question is “struggling” or “dead.”
3. Set Default answers for the questions: Observer's Name, Observer’s ID, City, and State.
4. Set the Observer’s Name and ID to be “Required” questions.
5. * What are the benefits and drawbacks of required questions?

Grouping Questions with Sections and Repeaters

1. Create a section called “Surrounding Plant Life”. Position it before the species Repeater. Move the two questions for plant health and plant images to be included in the new section.
2. Create another section called “Observer Information.” Move it to the top of the survey form and include the questions for Observer's Name, Observer’s ID, City, and State under the new section.
3. * What question on the “My Sample Form” survey is a repeater?
4. * Describe the benefits of grouping questions in sections and repeaters.
5. * Submit a photo of the “Go to:” menu on your mobile device for your “My Sample Form” survey.

Bulk Edit Functions

1. Clone the questions for  Observer's Name and  Observer’s ID. Rename them to Assistant's Name and  Assistant’s ID. 
2. * What did you notice about the default answers for the new questions?
3. Move the questions so that they appear in the order of Observer's Name, Observer’s ID, Assistant's Name, Assistant’s ID.
4. * What other operations can you perform in bulk?

Design

1. * Describe the considerations you should weigh when designing a digital form from an existing paper form. Include an example of a project that requires a high-speed data entry with an observer and a recorder. Include another example of a compliance project that has many fields that will be required only if certain conditions are met.

Verify

1. * Signature
2. * Date