Introduction

dotData provides a big set of built-in question types that should suffice for all standard scenarios. In addition there is the possibility to build your own question type.

Data types and question types

A question type always maps to one or more data types. No matter how complex you want to build your questionnaire, there are only a few data types that can serve as building blocks for all your question types:

• single response: this maps to a single column in your data file. In a standard HTML form this maps to radiobuttons

• multiple response: this is a question that maps to multiple columns in your data file, each one containing a 0 or a 1. In a standard HTML form this maps to checkboxes

• free text (open end): this maps to a text column in your data file. In a standard HTML form this maps to a field where you can type something

Overview of data types

Type	Data type	Typical HTML form element
Free text (open end)	Column (text)	texarea or inputbox
Single response	Column	radio buttons or pulldown
Multiple response	Columns	checkboxes

Overview of question types

The following basic question types each map to a simple data type as described above:

Single Response (SR)

Example: ‘what is your gender M/F’ Note that a SR item can typically have an ‘other…’ type of input box. When set up like that, an extra column is created in your data file.

Multiple Response (MR)

Example: ‘select one or more options that apply to you’ Note that a MR item can have an ‘namely…’ type of input box. When set up like that, an extra column is create in your data file for each of the related checkboxes.

Free text (FT)

Example: ‘please enter text….’ Note that the data type of a FT question can have subtypes, such as: * numeric * integer * email address * postal code For the purpose of working with the system the only relevant distinction is between numeric and textual content since this affects the storage of the data. But for instance an email address and a postal code will both be saved as plain text.

In addition to the above each question type has a variation that has multiple ‘rows’:

FT => FTM

Example: ‘for each of your kids, please enter their age’

SR => SRM

Example: ‘for each of the 3 day parts, select which is your favorite drink’

MR => MRM

Example: ‘for each of the days in the week, select one or more activities you engage in’

Items that do not have a question type

Certain item types are necessary for processing logic in your questionnaire. These are:

End-of-Questionnaire (Exit Point)

Used at the point where respondents are finished with their questionnaire

Instruction text

Used to display text to the respondent without asking a question.

Mail item

Used to send an automated mail, typically to the respondent or an administrator

Routing point

Used to manipulate the order in which items are shown to the respondents, mainly by skipping sets of items.

Blockstart + BlockEnd

Used to set up and randomize the order of sections in your questionnaire

Repeater + BlockEnd

Used to repeat a certain set of questions, as in ‘for each brand show question A, B and C’

Script

Use to program logic in your questionnaire. For instance to store a calculated value such as a segmentation. Can also be used to manipulate content en order of items

See also Script language overview