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SurveyProgramming

Fundamentals

SurveyProgrammingFundamentals
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Version:

SPF12(Dimensions4.5)

SurveyProgrammingFundamentals

TableofContents

TableofContents
Chapter1 IntroductiontoSurveyProgramming.....................................................................................1
TheBigPicture........................................................................................................................................1
WhatisSurveyDesignAbout?............................................................................................................2
TheSurveyProcess.................................................................................................................................2
DimensionsScriptingOverview..............................................................................................................2
InterviewObjectModel..........................................................................................................................2
ObjectOrientedProgramming...............................................................................................................3
WhatisObjectOrientedProgramming?............................................................................................3
DimensionsDevelopmentLibraryOverview..........................................................................................3
NavigatingtheDDL.............................................................................................................................4
Examples.............................................................................................................................................4
DDLLinks.............................................................................................................................................5
WhatismrStudio?..................................................................................................................................6
WhatsNext?...........................................................................................................................................7
Chapter2 ConstructingQuestions...........................................................................................................9
MetadataItemsFormat..........................................................................................................................9
InformationItems.................................................................................................................................10
NumericQuestions...............................................................................................................................11

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TableofContents

SurveyProgrammingFundamentals

TipsforCreatingMetadata...................................................................................................................25
ViewingandTestingtheSurveyinmrStudio........................................................................................26
Exercise.................................................................................................................................................28
Chapter4 SpecialResponsesandOptions............................................................................................31
SingleResponseChoicesinMultipleSelectionQuestions...................................................................31
SpecialResponseswithCategoricalQuestions.....................................................................................34
CategoricalResponseswithNonCategoricalQuestions......................................................................36
CollectingOtherTextResponsesinCategoricalQuestions..................................................................38
Subheading...........................................................................................................................................39
Exercise.................................................................................................................................................42
Chapter5 BasicRoutingLogic................................................................................................................45
AskingQuestions...................................................................................................................................47
ReadOnlyItems....................................................................................................................................49
ConditionalStatements........................................................................................................................50
IfThenElse..................................................................................................................................50
SelectCase............................................................................................................................................52
Goto......................................................................................................................................................55
LogicalExpressions...............................................................................................................................56
NumericQuestions...........................................................................................................................56
BooleanQuestions............................................................................................................................57
TextQuestions..................................................................................................................................57
CategoricalQuestions.......................................................................................................................58
LogicalOperators..............................................................................................................................60
TipsforRoutingSectionSyntax............................................................................................................62
AddingErrorHandling...........................................................................................................................63
Exercise.................................................................................................................................................64
Chapter6 SharedLists...........................................................................................................................67
CreatingSubheadingswithSharedLists...............................................................................................69
Chapter7 SortingCategoricalResponseLists.......................................................................................73
SortinginMetadata..............................................................................................................................74
RoutingSectionSorting........................................................................................................................75
NotSortingSpecificResponses.............................................................................................................75
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SurveyProgrammingFundamentals

TableofContents

KeepingSpecificCategoriesGroupedTogether...................................................................................77
Exercise.................................................................................................................................................78
Chapter8 RestrictingResponses...........................................................................................................79
FilterCategories....................................................................................................................................79
Limiting

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SurveyProgrammingFundamentals

Loops/GridsFilteredonaSublistofCategories..................................................................................131
Exercise...............................................................................................................................................134
Chapter13

ControllingtheLookofYourSurvey...............................................................................137

OverviewoftheFormattingofaSurvey.............................................................................................137
Templates...........................................................................................................................................137
ApplyingaTemplatewithinYourScript.........................................................................................139
Folders............................................................................................................................................140
TipsforScriptwritersRegardingTemplates....................................................................................141
Styles...................................................................................................................................................141
DefaultStyles......................................................................................................................................141
Default............................................................................................................................................142
Categories.......................................................................................................................................143
Grid.................................................................................................................................................144
Labels..............................................................................................................................................146
Navigation.......................................................................................................................................146
Questions........................................................................................................................................147
QuestionStyles...................................................................................................................................148
CategoricalQuestions.....................................................................................................................148
TextQuestions................................................................................................................................149
MetadataStyles..................................................................................................................................150
CustomControls.................................................................................................................................151
XHTMLinLabels..................................................................................................................................151
WhatisXHTML?..............................................................................................................................151
FinalThoughtsonFormatting.............................................................................................................152
Exercise...............................................................................................................................................153
Chapter14

TextSubstitutionsandTextHeadings.............................................................................155

DisplayingResponsestoPreviousQuestions.....................................................................................155
InsertTextintotheMetadatathatwillbecontrolledintheroutingsection.....................................158
TextHeadings......................................................................................................................................162
Chapter15

EnhancingSurveyFlow...................................................................................................165

MustAnswer.......................................................................................................................................166
DefaultAnswers..................................................................................................................................166
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Hiddendefaultresponses...............................................................................................................169
InitialResponse...................................................................................................................................170
Exercise...............................................................................................................................................172
Chapter16

CustomizingtheStandardErrorMessages.....................................................................173

Globalchangestoerrormessages......................................................................................................175
Errormessageschangesforaspecificmetadatafile..........................................................................175
Errormessageschangesforaspecificquestion.................................................................................176
Customizingtheerrormessage..........................................................................................................177
Chapter17

Functions&Subroutines.................................................................................................179

DefinitionofFunctionsandSubroutines............................................................................................179
Subroutine......................................................................................................................................180
SubroutineExample............................................................................................................................180
Function..........................................................................................................................................184
Exercise...............................................................................................................................................188
Chapter18

Validation........................................................................................................................189

ValidatingTextQuestionPatterns......................................................................................................189
CheckingCustomLogic.......................................................................................................................192
Addingcustomerrors.........................................................................................................................193
Addingcustompropertiestometadata.........................................................................................198
Chapter19

CompoundQuestions.....................................................................................................201

DefiningCompoundQuestions...........................................................................................................201
Validatingacompoundquestion........................................................................................................204
Compoundvs.Loop............................................................................................................................206
Chapter20

WorkingwithSample......................................................................................................207

TestingsampleinformationwithinmrStudio.....................................................................................209
AlternativetoSampleManagementtopassinformationintothesurvey.........................................213
Chapter21

WorkingwithQuotas......................................................................................................215

DefiningSurveyQuotas......................................................................................................................215
CheckingQuotas.................................................................................................................................218
QuotasInmrStudio.........................................................................................................................221
ActivationwithQuotas.......................................................................................................................222
Viewing&ChangingQuotas...............................................................................................................222

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Chapter22

SurveyProgrammingFundamentals

CreatingMultiLingualProjects.......................................................................................227

OverviewofTranslatingStudiesinDimensions..................................................................................227
Settingthelanguagewithinthescript................................................................................................228
Askaquestiontocollectandsetthelanguage..................................................................................228
Setlanguagefromasamplefieldvariable..........................................................................................229
Tipsforcreatingmultilingualprojects...............................................................................................230
Chapter23

AdditionalinformationforAnalysis................................................................................231

AlternateTextforAnalysis..................................................................................................................231
AddingAnalysisContextwithmrStudio.........................................................................................231
Factors.................................................................................................................................................232
CreatingQuestionItemsforAnalysis..................................................................................................233
ElementTypes..................................................................................................................................234
AxisExpressions..............................................................................................................................236
Tipscreatinganalysiselements..........................................................................................................239
Summary.............................................................................................................................................239

VI