Question pool for surveys

Introduction - Question pool

Question pools, surveys, and questions - introduction

You can conduct surveys with ILIAS: Evaluate courses, survey groups of people anonymously, and conduct publicly available surveys on the Internet.

How do surveys, questions, and question pools interact?

• Surveys correspond to conventional paper questionnaires. But they contain more than just the questions: for example, in a survey, instructors specify, among other things, the group of participants to be surveyed and who may view the results.
• The questions themselves, once created, can be reused in different surveys. This saves work. This is where the question pool comes into play.
• Question pools are not used to survey directly but to reuse questions. They allow large quantities of questions to be created, edited, and managed. Once created, the questions can then be reused in different surveys.

Note: Questions from tests and question pools for tests cannot be used in surveys.

Does it matter where a question is created?

• You can create questions in a question pool and use them in one or more surveys. This is a labor-saving approach if you want to use the questions in different surveys.
• When you create surveys from the pools, this copies the questions from the pool to the survey. If you change the questions in the survey afterward, ILIAS will ask you if you want to apply these changes to the question in the pool.
• You can also create questions directly in a survey - these are initially only available in the edited survey. However, you can copy any question from a survey - no matter where it was created - into a question pool.
• You can also copy any question from a question pool - no matter where it was created - into a survey. Changes you make to the question in the question pool can optionally be copied to surveys - but only if you have the necessary rights to the survey and no participant records exist.

Create, edit, or import questions.

Creating a new question

You want to create a new question in the question pool.

1. Open the Questions tab in a question pool.
2. Select the desired question type from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner. The following question types are available for selection:
   Single-choice question
   Multiple-choice question
   Metric question
   Matrix question
   Text question
3. Click on Create.
4. ILIAS opens a new page.

Import existing question pool.

You want to import a question pool or a single question.

Prerequisite: You need a ZIP file generated by ILIAS that contains the question pool.

1. Click on the Import button on the right.
2. ILIAS opens the dialog "Import question(s)".
3. Click the Browse button next to Select File.
4. ILIAS opens the upload dialog of your browser.    
   Note: This dialog may vary depending on your browser and operating system.
5. Select the desired file in the upload dialog of your browser.
6. Click on the Upload button.
7. ILIAS imports the question pool.

Open the editing mode of a question.

The edit mode of a question refers to the screen display where you can create new questions or edit them later. The editing mode looks different depending on the question type and is therefore described separately in the following instructions.

However, the way to this editing mode is always the same: Either you create a new question (see the "Creating a new question" tutorial) or you open an existing question in edit mode:

1. In the Questions tab, click on the Edit link to the right of the title of the desired question.
2. ILIAS opens the question in edit mode.
3. To edit the question, follow the activation instructions of the corresponding question type.

Creating/editing the individual question types

Create/edit a single-choice question.

You want to create or edit a single-choice question.
Note: Instead of creating several single-choice questions with similar answer options, you can also create a matrix question and thus save some work.

Prerequisite: You are already in edit mode for the question.

1. Enter a title for your question. If needed, also enter a label and description for your question. The author’s information will be inserted automatically.
2. Enter your question. It is also helpful to indicate that only one answer can be selected.
3. Activate the checkbox Mandatory to make the answer to this question mandatory for all survey participants.
4. Activate the radio button (vertical, horizontal, or combo box) for the desired orientation of the answers in the survey display. A combo box displays the answer options in a drop-down menu.
5. Enter the first desired answer choice in the text input field under Answers.

• Use the option to have answers automatically inserted by adding phrases.
• Activate the checkbox Free text to let the respondent formulate a free answer. In this case, the Answer field must still be filled in by you (e.g., "Other (please fill in)").

6. Click on the (+) icon to add more answers.

• Click on the black arrows to change the order of the answers.
• Enter your desired scale values in the text input fields under Scale to simplify the analysis of the survey results in external statistical software.
• Enter a text such as "Don't know" or similar under Text for a neutral column. Neutral answers are not included in calculating values such as median or mean.

7. Click on the Save button to accept your entries.
8. ILIAS accepts your entries and reports: "Changes saved."

Create/edit a multiple-choice question.

You want to create or edit a multiple-choice question.
Note: Instead of creating multiple-choice questions with similar answer options, you can create a matrix question and save some work.

Prerequisite: You are already in edit mode for the question.

1. Enter a title for your question. If needed, also enter a label and description for your question. The author will be inserted automatically.
2. Enter your question. It is also helpful to indicate that multiple answers can be selected.
3. Activate the checkbox Mandatory to make answering this question mandatory for all survey participants.
4. Activate the radio button (vertical or horizontal) for the desired orientation of the answers in the survey display.
5. Activate the Number of answers checkbox and enter the desired minimum and a maximum number of answers selected by the respondent.
6. Enter the first desired answer choice in the text entry field under Answers.

• Optional: Use the option to have answers automatically inserted by adding phrases.
• Optional: Select the Free text checkbox to let the respondent formulate a free response. In this case, the Answer field must still be filled in by you (e.g., "Other (please fill in)").

7. Click on the (+) icon to add more answers.

• Click on the black arrows to change the order of the answers.
• Enter your desired scale values in the text input fields under Scale to simplify evaluating the survey results in external statistical software.
• Under Text for a neutral column, enter the name of a neutral response. Neutral responses are not included in calculating values such as median or mean.

8. Click on the Save button to accept your entries.
9. ILIAS will accept your entries and report "Changes saved."

Create/edit a metric question.

You want to create or edit a metric question.

Prerequisite: You are already in the edit mode of the question.

1. Enter a title for your question. If necessary, also enter a label and description for your question. The author is inserted automatically.
2. Enter your question. It is also helpful to indicate that the participant must enter the answer into the input field.
3. Activate the radio button of the desired subtype: Interval Scaled, Ratio Scaled, or Absolute Scaled. This specification determines which further calculations can be performed with the values.

• Optional: Under Minimum value, enter the smallest allowed value for the response.
• Optional: Under the Maximum value, enter the largest allowed value for the response.
  • Select the Mandatory checkbox to make answering this question mandatory for all survey participants.

4. Click the Save button to accept your entries.
5. ILIAS will accept your entries and report "Changes saved."

Create/edit matrix questions.

You want to create or edit a matrix question.

Prerequisite: You are already in the edit mode of the question.

1. Enter a title for your question. If necessary, also enter a label and a description for your question. The author is inserted automatically.
2. Enter your question. It is also helpful to indicate how many answer choices can be selected per line.
3. Make clear to which subject all queries refer.
4. Select the desired subtype:
   Radio buttons (single choice) let you select only one answer per line.
   Checkboxes (multiple selections) allow the selection of multiple answers per line.
5. Check the Mandatory checkbox to make answering this question mandatory for all survey participants.

Display: Separate columns and rows with lines

1. In the Display area, activate the Column separator checkbox to separate the individual columns of the matrix with narrow lines.
2. Activate the Row separator checkbox to separate the individual rows of the matrix with narrow lines.
3. Activate the Neutral column separator checkbox to separate the neutral answer column from the other columns with a broader line.

Matrix columns: Enter answer choices

1. Enter the first desired answer choice in the text input field under Column Text. This can be, for example, ratings (outstanding, good, satisfactory, ...) or statements such as "Agree" and "Disagree".
2. Click on the (+) icon to add more columns.

• Optional: use the possibility to insert answers automatically by adding phrases.
• Click on the black arrows to change the order of the columns. The top column is displayed on the far left of the matrix, and the bottom is on the far right.
• If necessary, enter your desired scale values in the text entry fields under Scale to simplify the analysis of the survey results in external statistical software.
• Under Text for a neutral column, enter the name of the neutral column in the matrix. Neutral responses are not included in calculating values such as median or mean.

Column properties: Add poles

1. Under Left Pole, enter a label to name the extreme on the left side of the matrix.
2. Under Right Pole, enter a label to name the extreme on the right side of the matrix.

Matrix rows: Enter aspects to be evaluated

1. In the text entry box under Row, type the first aspect you want to evaluate. This can be, for example, statements or questions.
   • Activate the checkbox Free text to allow respondents to add free answers to an aspect.
   • Enter your desired labels in the text input fields under Label to simplify the analysis of the survey results in an external statistics software.
2. Click on the (+) icon to add more rows.
   • Click on the black arrows to change the order of the rows. The top row is also displayed at the top of the matrix.

Save to apply for your entries.

1. Click on the Save button to apply for your entries.
2. ILIAS will accept your entries and report "Changes saved."

Create/edit text question

You want to create or edit a free text question.

Prerequisite: You are already in the edit mode of the question.

1. Enter a title for your question.

• Optional: If desired, enter a label, author, and description for your question.

2. Enter your question.

• Optional: Enter a Maximum number of characters allowed to limit the answer length.
• Optional: Change the default value of the width of the text input field (input in the number of characters).
• Optional: Change the default value of the height of the text input field (input in the number of lines).
• Optional: Select the Mandatory checkbox to make answering this question mandatory for all survey participants.

3. Click the Save button to accept your entries.
4. ILIAS accepts your entries and reports, "Changes saved."

Copy, move, delete, or export questions.

Copying a question to another question pool

You want to copy a question to another question pool. The question will remain in the original question pool.

Tip: It is also possible to copy questions within a question pool. This can be useful to create several similar questions with minor changes quickly.

1. Select the checkbox next to the question you want to copy.    
   Note: You can also select multiple questions.
2. Select Copy from the drop-down menu above or below the questions.
3. Click on the Execute button.
4. ILIAS copies the question to the clipboard and reports, "The selected questions have been copied to the clipboard".
5. Switch to the Questions tab of the question pool to which the question is to be copied.
6. Click on the Paste button on the right.
7. ILIAS inserts the question and reports "Question(s) pasted".

Move a question to another question pool.

You want to move a question to another question pool. This will delete the question in the original question pool.

1. Select the checkbox next to the question you want to move.    
   Note: You can also select multiple questions.
2. Select Move in the drop-down menu above or below the questions.
3. Click on the Execute button.
4. ILIAS copies the question to the clipboard and reports, "The selected questions have been marked for moving".    
   Note: As long as you do not paste the question into another question pool, it will remain at the starting point.
5. Switch to the Questions tab of the question pool to which you want to move the question.
6. Click on the Insert button on the right.
7. ILIAS inserts the question and reports "Question(s) inserted".

Export question pool or a single question

You want to export a question pool or a single question, e.g., to use it in another ILIAS installation.

1. Select the checkbox next to the question you want to export.    
   Note: You can also select multiple questions.
2. Select Export from the drop-down menu above or below the questions.
3. Click the Run button.
4. ILIAS creates a compressed ZIP file containing the question in XML format and switches to the Export tab.
5. Select the checkbox next to the file.    
   Note: If there are multiple files, select the file with the most recent date.
6. Select Download from the drop-down menu above or below the file.
7. Click on the Execute button.
8. ILIAS opens the save dialog of your browser.
   Note: This dialog may vary depending on your browser and operating system.

Delete question

You want to delete a question.

1. Select the checkbox next to the question you want to delete.    
   Note: You can also select multiple questions.
2. Select Delete from the drop-down menu above or below the questions.
3. Click on Execute.
4. ILIAS asks you to confirm your entries: "Are you sure you want to delete the following question(s)?"
5. Click Confirm.
6. ILIAS deletes the question and reports, "Question(s) deleted."

Activate questions from the pool for use in surveys

Activate the question pool online

You want to include questions from your question pool in a survey. To do this, you must first activate your question pool online.

1. Open the Settings tab in the desired question pool.
2. Activate the checkbox Online.
3. Click on the Save button.
4. ILIAS switches the question pool online and reports: "Your changes have been saved."
5. You can now use the questions in the pool in surveys. To do this, follow the instructions for action in the Survey object.

Note: If a pool is changed or taken offline again after a survey has been created, the survey already created is not affected by the changes.

53.6 Phrases: Reuse answer options

Phrases - Introduction

Surveys regularly use certain sets of answer options. A classic example is the answer options to frequency questions: "Never, Once, A Few Times, Often, Always."

Sets of answer options are called "phrases" in ILIAS. You can create and save your phrases. You can use these phrases for other questions with a few mouse clicks.

In addition, ILIAS already comes with some frequently used phrases that you can use for your questions.

Create new phrase

You want to create a set of reusable answer options (phrases).

1. Navigate to the My Phrases tab in the question pool.
2. Click on the Create new phrase button.
3. Enter a title for your phrase.
4. In the text entry field under Answers, type the first answer choice you want.
5. Click the (+) icon to add more answers.
   Optional: Click the black arrows to change the order of the answers.
   Optional: Enter your desired scale values in the text input fields under Scale to simplify the analysis of the survey results in external statistical software.
   Optional: Enter the name of a neutral response under Text for a neutral column.
6. Click on the Save button.
7. ILIAS saves the phrase and reports "Phrase added".

Saving phrases for reuse

You can save frequently used answers or ratings for matrix and single-choice questions as phrases in ILIAS directly in the question's edit mode and reuse them for new questions.

You want to save your answers as a new phrase.

Prerequisite: You are already in the edit mode of the question.

1. In the Answers section (for Single Choice questions) or Matrix Columns section (for Matrix questions), click the Save as Phrase button to save your input for reuse in another question.
2. ILIAS loads a new page.
3. Enter a title for the new phrase.
4. Click the Confirm button.
5. ILIAS saves the phrase and reports, "The phrase was successfully saved." You can now continue editing the question.

Editing an existing phrase

You want to edit an existing phrase.

1. Activate the checkbox next to the phrase you want to edit.
2. Select Edit in the drop-down menu above or below the phrases.
3. Click the Execute button.
4. Change the title, responses, scales, or order of reactions as described in "Creating a New Phrase".
5. Click on the Save button.
6. ILIAS saves the changes and reports, "The phrase was saved successfully".

Adding saved phrases to the question

You want to add an existing phrase to your question.

Note: Phrases can only be used in matrix and single-choice questions.

Prerequisite: You are already in edit mode for the question.

1. Click the Add Phrase button in the Answers section (for Single Choice questions) or the Matrix Columns section (for Matrix questions).
2. ILIAS loads a new page with all saved phrases.
3. Select the radio button next to the desired phrase.
4. Click on the Add Phrase button.
5. ILIAS adds the phrase and reports, "Phrase added." You can now continue editing the question.

Delete phrase

You want to delete an existing phrase.

1. Activate the checkbox next to the phrase you want to delete.        
   Note: You can also select multiple phrases.
2. Select Delete from the drop-down menu above or below the phrases.
3. Click the Execute button.
4. ILIAS asks you to confirm your entries: "Are you sure you want to delete the following phrase(s)?"
5. Click the Confirm button.
6. ILIAS deletes the phrase and reports, "Phrase(s) deleted."

Adding learning content to a question

Adding learning content to a question

You want to add material to a question that will be displayed to the respondent as a direct link along with the question. This can be a learning module, chapter, page, or glossary term.

1. Check the radio button for the type of material you want to add to the question.
2. Click on the Add button.
3. ILIAS opens an overview of the existing materials and reports "Please select the object to be linked".    
   Note: All materials that can be used are marked as a link.
4. Click on the desired link.
5. Click the Add link next to the desired object.
6. ILIAS adds a link to the object to the question and reports, "You have successfully set a link to material".

Sorting the list of questions and making it clear

Filtering the list of questions

You want to filter the listing of questions. This can be useful to keep track of large question pools or to find a desired question quickly. You can filter by title, description, author, and question type.

1. Click the Show filter link on the right above the question list.
2. ILIAS opens three input fields (title, description, author) and a selection menu (question type).
3. Enter part of the title, description, or author in the text entry fields to filter by. Alternatively, please select the desired question type in the drop-down menu to filter by it.
   Optional: You can combine several filters to refine the results (e.g., only matrix questions written by a specific author).
4. Click the Apply Filter button.
5. ILIAS filters the questions and updates the display accordingly.

Reset filter

You have searched for a question in the question pool and used the filter. Now you want to have all questions listed again.

Prerequisite: You have previously filtered the questions.

1. Click on the button Reset filter.
2. ILIAS resets the filter and shows all questions of the question pool again.

Sorting the list of questions differently

You want to have the questions of the question pool sorted by a certain column in ascending or descending order. It is possible to list the questions by title, description, question type, author, creation date, and last update.

Prerequisite: The column to be sorted must be visible. (See "Changing the number of columns displayed in the question pool").

1. Click on the column header by which you want to sort.
2. ILIAS will re-sort the questions.
   Optional: Click the sort arrow to reverse the sort order.

Changing the number of columns displayed in the question pool

You want to change the number of columns in the question pool display.

1. Click on the columns menu above the questions.
2. Select the checkboxes of the columns you want to display in the plot.    
   Note: You can select the Description, Question Type, Author, Created On, and Last Updated columns. The Title column is always displayed and is therefore not selectable.
3. Click on Refresh.
4. ILIAS updates the representation according to your selection.