The questionnaire builder is a tool that allows you to build or modify a questionnaire (if you have the rights to edit a particular questionnaire), as well as see all your information and related items in one place. The questionnaire builder can be accessed from the main menu by clicking Questionnaires, then Questionnaire Builder or from the list of questionnaires. If you enter from the menu, the questionnaire builder will be empty and you will have to click on the folder icon at the top to load a particular questionnaire. If you want to create a new questionnaire, you must first go to the “New Questionnaire” option in the “Questionnaire” menu in the main menu. Once created, you can move on to the builder to add the questions, sections, and other configurations of the questionnaire.
The name of the questionnaire is shown in the upper part of the Questionnaire Builder, along with its version (which is an internal identifier of the current version of the questionnaire) and an alert in the case that there are inconsistencies detected in the questionnaire (such as a questionnaire without questions). Next to the folder icon that opens a questionnaire, there is an eye icon that will open a new window with a preview of the questionnaire. The header attributes of the questionnaire, such as the level, description, etc., are shown next.
A little further down, the screen is divided into two parts. On the left are the questionnaire questions and on the right, a view of the tabs to add and define the various elements of a questionnaire: Questions, Sections, Pages and Questions (in the tools tab), and Score Ranges.
Preview: Clicking on the eye icon next to the name of the questionnaire opens a new window with a preview of the questionnaire. This window will display the questionnaire just as a candidate would see it when executing the questionnaire. The preview generates a questionnaire instance, so if it is answered, the instance can be seen in the results reports. At the end of the questionnaire preview the user will be asked if he wants to save the instance or delete it. If it is saved, the results report can be seen in the list of questionnaire instances, which can be useful to help better understand the information that the report shows. If the window is closed before the questionnaire is finished, the instance will be saved, but will automatically be deleted the next day (or you can delete it manually from any list report of questionnaire instances). Avoid opening more than one preview at the same time, as this may produce unexpected results.
Add or remove questions: To add questions to the questionnaire you must go to the question tab, which will list all available questions. By default, only the questionnaire family and sub family questions are shown, but you can change the filters to see other types of questions. To add a question, just click on the question you want to add and drag it to the list of questions on the left. The order of the list determines the order in which the questions will appear in the questionnaire (the questions in the list of selected questions can be dragged to the position that you want the question to have within the questionnaire).
To remove a question you must drag it back to the list of questions. For a preview of a particular question, click on the question´s eye icon, which will show you what that particular question will look like when running the questionnaire. If you have editing privileges for a particular question, you will see a pencil icon on it, which directs you to the question´s editing view (notice what if you edit a question, this change will affect all the questionnaires that include that question, not only the questionnaire that you are currently working on).
The score and time of a question can only be edited for the current questionnaire. To do so, click on the gear icon. Two fields will appear to edit the score and time. Note that the time does not affect the questionnaire; this value is only used as a reference to estimate the approximate time needed for the entire questionnaire.
Below the list of selected questions there are several totals that show summarized information.
Add or remove sections: All questionnaires must have at least one section (but may have more). The sections allow questions to be grouped within a questionnaire, which can be used to describe the subject of the questions that compose it. For example, a proficiency questionnaire could have a numerical reasoning section and a verbal reasoning section. The section information will be displayed at the beginning of section while the questionnaire is executed. The sections have an attribute called “Additional Information”.
The additional information is the text that is displayed during the execution of the questionnaire by clicking on a button located in the upper right corner of the questionnaire. The questions may also have additional information. If the question does not have any additional information, clicking on the information button would show the section´s additional information (if any). To add a section, drag it to the list of selected questions from the sections tab (or the opposite to remove a section of the questionnaire).
Pagination: By default, all the questions appear as just one per page, however, several questions can be grouped together on the same page (which is recommended for short questions). To group several questions on a single page, go to the “Tools” tab and click on “+ Add Page”. Two bands will appear to mark the start and end of a page. Drag the start band and place it above the question that you would like to be the first question on that page and then drag the end-of-page band below the last question of the page to mark it. All questions within the start and end bands will appear on a single page when the questionnaire is run. To undo a page you can drag the bands back or click on the “x” that will appear on the right to eliminate them. Note that it is not possible to place sections within a page.
Random Questions: Random questions allow you to group a set of questions of which only one will randomly be shown during the execution of the questionnaire. This is ideal for generating variations of the same questionnaire, where it is important to ensure that the random questions are equivalent in difficulty and score to maintain the consistency of the questionnaire. To use the random questions function, go to “Tools” and click on “+ Add Random”. You can group a set of questions by dragging the bands that appear, just as was done with paging. Drag these bands to the question section to indicate the start and end of the group. When the questionnaire is executed, only one of the group’s questions will be randomly displayed.
Score Ranges: The scoring ranges allow a questionnaire to be graded according to the score obtained, and to determine a description for each value of the rank. For example, a score of 1 of 5 can be qualified as “Low Knowledge” and 5 of 10 as “Medium Knowledge”. For each range, both a short description and a longer one with more details on how to interpret the score are given. The ranges can be applied in two levels: Questionnaire or Category. If a rank is applied to the questionnaire level, it will use the total score of the questionnaire to determine the descriptions, while if it is applied to the categories, the rank will be determined by the score obtained by the category to which the rank was assigned (usually if you are going to use ranges by category you have to define a range for each category that the questionnaire uses).
To add or edit a range to the questionnaire, use the “Score Ranges” tab. This tab allows you to select a range or view the range used. The score range can also be edited by clicking on the blue “Score Ranges” link. Keep in mind that it is possible that several questionnaires share the same range, so if you modify a range, it could affect multiple questionnaires.
To use ranges by category you must go to the “Rating by Category” tab. For more information on what the categories are and how they work see “Categories”. There is a tab for each category for which a range was defined (or no tab if the questionnaire does not have ranges by category). To select a range for a category that does not yet have a tab, click on the blue “Set of Rating Ranges by Category” link. This will open a window where you can link a range to a category by clicking on the “+ New” button. The same link can be used to edit the categories and ranges already defined for the questionnaire. Finally, you can also edit the values of the ranges for a category. To do so, click on the blue “Rankings by Score” link within the particular tab of the category, and remember that a range can be used for multiple questionnaires or categories and any changes will affect all questionnaires that use that range.
Cloning: The clone button allows you to generate a copy of the questionnaire. This creates a new questionnaire that is the same as the original. This function allows you to, for example, clone a public questionnaire that you do not have permission to edit so as to have a copy that you can modify (Note that if you want to modify questions that you cannot edit, it would require cloning the questions individually, since the questions are not cloned by cloning the questionnaire, the questionnaire cloned references the same questions as the original.).
Save: The save button will store all the changes in the Evalart database. In order for the preview to show the questionnaire, you must first click save, since the preview only shows information that has already been saved. If the questionnaire that you are trying to save has been used previously, you will be asked if you want to generate a new version. See the following point to determine which option to choose.
Questionnaire versions: The questionnaires have versions. A new version can be generated by saving a questionnaire. The versions allow a questionnaire to be modified without affecting questionnaire instances that have already been generated. For example, if you have used a questionnaire for a while and want to change one of the questions because it is already well known, you can make the change in the builder and when saving, select the option to generate a new version. This way, any instances of the previous or pending questionnaire will not be affected. Keep in mind that if the change to the questionnaire is significant, for example, if the maximum score or the number of questions is modified, it may be better to clone it. The version number is an internal and non-sequential number for each questionnaire, so it is normal for versions to skip numbers.