WebSurveyor:  Frequently Asked Questions

WebSurveyor General Usage

Which web browsers are supported by WebSurveyor?

WebSurveyor’s web-based survey interface has been tested on a number of web browsers, including IE  for Windows and Macintosh, Firefox 1.0.4 for Windows and Safari for Macintosh.

 

Will Survey and Desktop Application Services help me design my survey?

While Survey and Desktop Application Services will provide you with the tools required to create a web survey, there is not a service for survey design assistance at this time.  We strongly encourage you to review the Best Practices page, as well as the "WebSurveyor U: Online Training Program", which is located under the Help section of WebSurveyor.  Additionally, we recommend you explore the various online resources for creating effective surveys, including Skillsoft and Books 24x7.

 

How can I obtain WebSurveyor training?

WebSurveyor provides training modules accessible through the WebSurveyor web client.  To access these modules, log into the WebSurveyor client and click on the Help link in the upper right.  Once you are in the Help screen, select the "WebSurveyor U: Online Training Program" link and select the training module you are interested in.  If you feel your department requires customized or hands-on training, please contact Survey & Desktop Applications at its-survey@uiowa.edu.

 

How do I stop a survey?  I no longer want to accept responses.

To display all surveys within your account, click the Surveys link.  Running surveys, able to collect responses, appear in the Surveys list with the running icon circled red star with mouse tip stating running survey beside them.  To stop receiving responses and deactivate a survey, single-click the desired survey name.  The survey name appears highlighted in the surveys list.  Also appearing are selections labeled Edit, Stop, Analyze, and Delete.  Click Stop, to stop collecting responses.  NOTE:  A survey that has never been published cannot be stopped. Publishing a survey gives the survey a filename.

 

How do I save a survey I'm not ready to publish?  I don't see a SAVE button.

Surveys are saved by default even if they have not been published.  The survey will appear in the list of surveys found on the Dashboard or the Surveys page when you logout.  All unpublished surveys appear at the end of the list of surveys.  NOTE: Surveys that have been titled, using the Title, Text & Limits link, appear on the Surveys page by that name.  Unpublished surveys containing an empty Survey Title field appear on the Surveys page as no text.

 

How do I delete a survey I no longer need?

After you log into WebSurveyor, select the survey you wish to delete, and click the Delete link.  You will then be asked if you are sure you want to delete the survey, click OK.  You will then decide how you would like the survey deleted (survey and responses, working copy, etc.), and be prompted to type "Delete" in the text box.  Click Delete Now and your survey will be deleted. 

 

I followed the instructions to delete my survey, and I kept receiving a message stating To delete this survey you must type "Delete" in the text box.  What am I doing wrong?

The "Delete" field is case-sensitive - you MUST capitalize the first letter in the word Delete in order for the survey to be deleted.

 

I accidentally deleted my published survey…can it be restored?

The ITS policy for survey restoration is disaster recovery only.  For this reason, it is important for you to backup your survey and responses regularly.  For more information on backing up your survey, please click here. If you have a copy of your survey saved to your desktop, you may republish it by following the directions here.

 

Are there any naming conventions rules for published surveys?

You may name your survey whatever you like, however, there should be no spaces in the name of the survey.

 

I have created a survey using the WebSurveyor Desktop Client, but am now having problems publishing it to the server.  Where can I obtain further assistance with this?

We strongly encourage users to create and modify surveys on the web version of WebSurveyor.  However, there are instructions for publishing your survey on the Survey and Desktop Application website.  To access these instructions, please go to http://cs.its.uiowa.edu/sda/survey/publish.shtml.  If you find you are still having concerns after reviewing this page, please contact Survey and Desktop Application at its-survey@uiowa.edu for further assistance.

 

The Survey@Iowa site is incorrectly advising me that I have already completed a survey.  What should I do?

This may occur if you are using a shared workstation to complete a survey that has been completed by a previous user.  You will need to delete/remove the cookies in your web browser to resolve this issue.

 

What if I want another copy of an existing survey?  How can I copy, update, and publish a survey like the one that exists?

In order to make a copy of an existing WebSurveyor survey, the original survey must first be published.  From the Dashboard, click Create a survey.  In the Survey Wizard window, click the Copy Survey button to create a new survey based on an existing survey.  Select a survey name to copy, click Finish.  A duplicate survey containing identical questions opens.  Duplicate surveys are not populated with data contained in the existing survey they are created from. 

NOTE: Surveys that have been titled, using the Title, Text & Limits link, appear on the Surveys page by that name. Duplicate Surveys are populated with the same text if contained possibly making it hard to differentiate between the two surveys.  Differentiation can be made by viewing the filename found by clicking the Publish link.  A filename must be unique.

 

Is it possible to download a copy of my survey to my workstation?

You have the ability to download either the published version of your survey, or the working version of your survey.  To do this, please click on the Download Survey button , and select which version of the survey you wish to download.

 

I participated in the pilot program, and previously created a survey during that time.  Is it possible to republish that survey on the new server?

If you have created a survey previously, it is possible to upload that survey as you would a newly created survey, as long as you have a copy of it locally.  Old surveys are not stored on ITS servers indefinitely.

 

My survey contains responses that were generated while testing the survey.  How can I delete these responses?

To remove the test responses, click Publish.  When the next screen appears select the Remove your survey responses you may have already received? and click Republish.  When the confirmation dialog box appears asking for verification of this action, click OK.  Another confirmation dialog box will appear indicating your survey has been published.  To verify the removal of the responses, return to the Dashboard to view the number of responses displayed beside the survey name.

 

I forgot to delete the test responses before inviting my survey respondents to take my survey.  How can I delete select responses without deleting all responses?

Editing survey data within the WebSurveyor Analysis section has no effect on the Results database where all published survey responses are stored.  The Analysis Database is created when the Results Database creates a copy of the data on the server and places it in the Workspace Area of your WebSurveyor desktop.  Edits performed here will only be applied to your local copy of the data.  It is not possible to modify data that lives on the Results Database.  Any edits that you make will be lost when you "Reset Local Results".  Choosing to "Reset Local Results" clears the local data in your Working Area by sending another copy of the data, in its originally submitted form, to the Workspace Area.  NOTE: It is advisable to wait until the survey ends before making any edits to the data.  To remove specific individual responses, click Analyze, and click the View / Edit Data link.  When the Preview window appears, locate the desired response to delete by using the scroll bar or the Previous and Next buttons (for surveys containing more than 25 responses).  Click on the Submission Key Value to display the Edit Data screen.  At the bottom of the response, click the Delete button.  When the confirmation dialog box appears asking for verification of this action, click OK.  To verify the removal of the response, return to the Dashboard to view the number of responses displayed beside the survey name.

 

How can I share a copy of my survey with another WebSurveyor user?

For information on sharing your surveys with other users, please see http://cs.its.uiowa.edu/sda/survey/sharingsurveys.shtml.