The Table of Contents (above) lists SurveyMaker's features and functions that
link to helpful instructions.
Return
to the Table of Contents
System Requirements
WINDOWS
Windows 98, 2000, ME, NT 4.0, XP
64MB RAM
Pentium II or faster, 200 Mhz or faster
sVGA color monitor running at least 256 colors and a
resolution of 800x600
Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0, JavaScript and Cookies enabled
Internet Connection
MACINTOSH
Operating system 9.x or OS X Classic Mode
64MB RAM
G3 Power PC Processor or higher
Color monitor running at least 256 colors and a resolution
of 800 x 600
Internet Explorer 5.x, JavaScript and Cookies enabled
Internet Connection
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to the Table of Contents
Create Your Account
When SurveyMaker
opens, it presents the Log In screen. If
this is your first-time using SurveyMaker, mouse click the Create an Account button at the bottom of
the Log In screen. SurveyMaker will enable you to register as a user and
log in to SurveyMaker. The Create an Account
screen will appear with the following fields:
§
Full
Name: Enter your full name
as it appears on the class roster. This is a required field.
§
E-mail: Enter your complete e-mail address (e.g.,
johndoe@school.edu). This is a required field.
§
Username: Enter a name that will be easy for you to
remember. This is a required field.
§
Password: Enter a password that you will remember. It
is important to note that the password helps prevent others from accessing your
questionnaires and data. This is a required field.
§
Instructor’s
Name: Enter your
instructor’s name. This is a required field.
§
Instructor’s
E-mail: Enter your
instructor’s complete e-mail address. This is an optional field, and it can be
left blank.
§
University: Enter the name of your school. This is a
required field.
§
Course
Name: Enter the name of the
course you are taking. This is a required field.
Note: Be sure the cursor is blinking in the
intended text box next to the label before entering information. If the cursor
is not blinking in the desired field, mouse
click in the text box next to the associated label.
Create
Account Button
After you complete the registration form, mouse click on the Create Account button at the
bottom of the screen. You will see the Log In screen, and you now can
enter the Username and Password you specified on the Create an
Account screen and launch the program.
Reset Button
If you mouse click the Reset
button, all the fields return to their initial state and SurveyMaker erases
all information you entered in the form.
Caution: The Reset
button should not be used to correct a typing error. You can correct errors
by clicking in the text box and
using cursor keys along with the delete key or backspace key.
Return to Table of Contents
Log In
The Log In screen appears when
you first open the SurveyMaker site.If you already registered for SurveyMaker,
enter your user name in the text box next to Username, and then, mouse
click in the Password text
box and enter your password. Once this information is provided, click the Log
In button to proceed to the SurveyMaker home screen.
Caution: Only mouse
click the Remember this login check box if you are accessing
SurveyMaker from your private computer. Enabling this feature on a system that
is shared with others may allow someone other than yourself to edit or delete
work you have completed.
Return to Table of Contents
SurveyMaker
Home
SurveyMaker enables you
to create a questionnaire that you can send to anyone on your e-mail list. The program
also will collect data from your sample and collate that information. After you
log in, you will see the SurveyMaker Home screen.
SurveyMaker
Home
The SurveyMaker Home screen
provides links to questionnaires you created and saved and all the functions you need
to create, edit, and distribute questionnaires and collect responses. These links are
colored maroon, and your cursor will turn into a pointer when it passes over an
active link. Once the cursor is a pointer, a mouse click opens the page associated with that link.
The links listed
horizontally under the title of the screen opens functions that, once
completed, remain available for all questionnaires you generate. These include:
- Edit Your E-mail List: Records all the e-mail addresses that
will receive your completed surveys.
- Create a Questionnaire: Creates a new questionnaire where you can add
the name of your survey, write a brief description of its purpose, and set
options that will control how respondents view and complete the survey.
- Logout: Exits the SurveyMaker and return to the Log In screen.
- Help: Displays this Help file, which
will help you understand all the features of SurveyMaker.
If you saved one or
more surveys, each questionnaire is listed on the SurveyMaker
Home screen followed by corresponding links. These links open screens
that allow you to customize or access information for that survey. These links
include:
§ Preview: Displays the questionnaire as it will appear to respondent.
§ Modify Questionnaire Setup: Allows you to change the name of the
survey, edit the description or instructions, and modify options that will
control how respondents view and complete the survey.
§ Edit Questions: Enables you to delete, add, or modify
questions.
§ E-mail Questionnaire: Allows you to e-mail the questionnaire to the displayed
list of e-mail addresses and add a comment to the e-mail.
§ View Results: Displays the results of a questionnaire that you
sent.
§ Export Results: Saves the results of a questionnaire to a local
disk drive. The exported results file is comma-delimited, and it can be opened
using a spreadsheet program or a word processor. This allows you to examine the
individual responses and further analyze your results.
§ Copy: Provides ability to copy a survey. You need to provide a unique name in
order to save it.
§ Delete: Deletes the survey. Caution: This function cannot be undone.
Once you delete a survey, all information is erased.
Return to Table of Contents
Create a Questionnaire
From the SurveyMaker Home screen,
mouse click on the Create a Questionnaire link
at the top of the screen to create a new survey. The Survey
Setup screen allows you to enter the name of the survey, add a brief description
or instructions, and set options that will control how respondents view and
complete the survey. All these options can be changed after the questionnaire is saved
by clicking on the Modify Setup link
next to a specific survey.
Questionnaire Name
Use this text box to enter a name for your survey. For best results,
use a descriptive and relatively short name. This name appears on reports and
on the survey, so be sure that spelling and capitalization are correct. Before
entering text, be sure that the cursor is blinking in the blank text box. If
the cursor is not blinking in the desired field, mouse click in the text box.
Note: When the cursor is active in this text box,
the Enter key will save the survey, and return you to the SurveyMaker Home screen.
Description
This text box accepts a short description of the questionnaire or brief
instructions. The text appears on each questionnaire sent to your sample, so strive
for proper capitalization, grammar, and spelling. Before entering text, be sure
that the cursor is blinking in the Description text box. If the cursor
is not blinking in the desired field, mouse
click in the text box.
You can use the Enter
key in this box to create a new paragraph. The Tab key, however,
will shift the focus to the next field, so you must use spaces to indent or
align text in columns.
Survey
Options
You can control how
respondents answer the questionnaire using the questionnaire Options check boxes. A mouse click on the check box to the
left of each item enables that feature (a checkmark will appear in the box when
it is selected), and a mouse click on
the button next to an enabled item, will disable it (a blank check box will
appear). The following options are available:
§
Allow
users to vote more than once:
This permits respondents to answer a questionnaire questions multiple times. Depending
on your sample and the types of questions asked, enabling this option could
invalidate your results.
§
Allow
for questionnaire to be saved for later: Enabling this feature allows
respondents to partially complete a questionnaire form and return later to finish
answering the questions.
§
Auto-number
questions: This feature
instructs the program to assign numbers to the questions automatically.
Reset to Defaults Button
The Reset to
Defaults button at the bottom of the form clears all fields. Once the
fields are cleared, the information is erased and cannot be recovered.
Cancel Button
The Cancel button
at the bottom of the form closes the Questionnaire Setup and returns to the SurveyMaker
Home screen. This action deletes any information entered, and the information
cannot be recovered.
Save
Questionnaire Button
Mouse click on the Save
Questionnaire button at the bottom of the screen to save the information you
entered. The program closes the Questionnaire Setup screen and returns to the SurveyMaker
Home screen. The new questionnaire appears at the bottom of your list of surveys.
Note: If the new questionnaire does not display on the SurveyMaker Home screen:
§ Mouse click on View on the Microsoft Explorer Command
Bar. A drop down list of commands will appear.
§
Mouse click on Refresh from the drop-down list of
commands.
Return to Table of Contents
Create/Edit
Questions
Once a questionnaire is created, the new questionnaire appears at the end of the list
of your surveys. Beneath each Questionnaire Name is a row of corresponding links. Mouse
click the Edit Questions link to create and edit questions. SurveyMaker
displays text areas to create or edit questions on the left-had side of the
window. If this is the first time you have entered this survey, the right-hand
panel, titled Current Questions, will be blank. If questions exist, they
are listed in this area and you may need to click on the New Question link
to add a new question.
Return to Table of Contents
Add a Question
The following fields appear in the left of the screen and are needed to
create/edit questions:
Question
Enter the question that you intend to ask in this text box. The
question will appear on the questionnaire the same way that you type it, so be sure
that it does not contain typos or grammatical errors.
Optional
Check Box
Mouse clicking in the Optional check
box lets respondents skip this question without answering it. If the check box
is not clicked, the respondent must answer this question to save the results.
Type
SurveyMaker provides
three basic types of questions that you can use to build your survey. The question
types include fixed-alternative, open ended, and scale questions. Mouse click the arrow to the right of
the Type drop down menu to display the selections. Click on the type of
question you will be using.
- Fixed-Alternative: The Fixed alternative type should be
used for multiple choice and multiple response questions. In the column of
Responses to Questions text boxes, enter the answer choices
the respondent will see on the survey. For example, to enter in answer
choices for this question “Do you agree with this action?” enter “Yes” in
the text box next to the 1). In the text box labeled 2), enter “No,” and
enter “Not Sure” in the text box labeled 3).
- Open-Ended: The Open-Ended question type should be used for
short answer questions. Open-ended questions require that a respondent
enter a textual response. Once you select the Open-Ended style, the Open-Ended Style Editor window appears.
This window offers you to ability specify the size of the text box that
will appear with this questionnaire question. View more explanation of the Open-Ended Style Editor.
- Scale: The Scale question type should be used for rated
or scaled questions. Scale questions ask respondents to identify their
reactions to a question based on a range of answers. When you select a
Scale question, the Scale Style Editor window
appears, where you can specify the range or scale to be used. View more
explanation of the Scale Style Editor.
Responses
to Question
Enter the answers choices
for each question in the numbered text boxes under Responses to Survey
Question.
Add a Text
Box
If you want
respondents to supply an additional textual answer, mouse click the Add a Text Box check box to the right of
the response. This will open the Open-Ended
Style Editor window and allow you to specify the size of the text box
that appears next to the answer. For
example if you list several answer choices, plus the answer choice, “Other”,
you would want to add a text box.
Add 1 More
Response Field Button
The Add 1 More Response Field button increases the number of responses
that you can list for a question.
Caution: When this button is clicked, SurveyMaker
clears the information entered in the Responses to Question text
boxes. It is important, therefore, to plan your responses in advance to avoid
re-entering data.
Add Question Button
Click the Add Question button to save the question you have just
entered. The fields on the left-hand side of the screen will become blank, and
the new question will appear in the right-hand panel of the screen.
Note: If the new question is not shown:
- Mouse click on View on the Microsoft Explorer
Command Bar. A drop down list of commands will appear.
- Mouse click on Refresh
from the drop-down list of commands.
Reset to Original Values Button
Mouse clicking the Reset
to Original Values button will erase any changes you have made since you
opened this question. If this is a new question, the program will discard all
the information you entered for this question.
Once the fields are cleared, the information is erased and cannot be
recovered.
Preview
Questionnaire Button
This button
generates a view of the questionnaire as your respondents will see it. You should
always check on the layout and presentation of any questionnaire before it is
distributed.
Return to Table of Contents
Edit/Update a
Question
In the right-hand panel, under Current Questions, is a list of
all the questions you created. Mouse click
the question you want to change, and the question displays in the text
areas on the left-hand side of the window. You can make changes by clicking in the fields you want to
edit and modifying the text. Click the Update
Question button to save the changed question. The fields on the left-hand
side of the screen will become blank, and the new question will appear in the
right-hand panel of the screen.
Note: If the new question is not shown:
- Mouse click on View on the Microsoft Explorer
Command Bar. A drop down list of commands will appear.
- Mouse click on Refresh
from the drop-down list of commands.
For detailed instructions on the
fields that appear in the left of the
screen, see Add a Question above.
Return to Table of Contents
Open-Ended Question Style Editor
The Open-Ended question type should be used for short answer questions. Open-ended questions require that a respondent enter a textual response.
The Open-Ended Style Editor appears whenever you
mouse click the Add a Text
Box check box option next to a response in a fixed-alternative question or
when you select an open-ended question. The program presents the following
options:
- 20
characters: Provides
one line of 20 characters for a response.
- 40
characters: Generates a
text box that accepts one line of 40 characters for a response.
- 4 rows x
20 characters: Provides
a response area that accepts a total of 80 characters formatted across
four 20-character lines. Scrolling
is enabled.
- 4 rows x 40 characters: Generates a response area that accepts a total of 160 characters
formatted across four 40-character lines. Scrolling is enabled.
Select the preferred question format by clicking on the radio button to
the left of the description. When selected, a bullet will appear in the button.
After you choose the text box format you want, click the Add Open-Ended
Style button.
The Cancel button
closes the window and returns to the Edit Questionnaire Question screen without
saving your selection.
The Reset Selection button clears the radio button choice.
Return to Table of Contents
Scale Style Editor
The Scale question type should be used for rated
or scaled questions. Scale questions ask respondents to identify their
reactions to a question based on a range of answers.
When you select a scale style question, the Scale Style Editor appears. Within this
window, you can specify the scale you want in your answer scale. Select a 5 Button Scale, 6 Button Scale, or 10 Button
Scale by mouse clicking on
the radio button to the left of the desired sample. A bullet will appear in the
radio button.
Once you specify a
scale, mouse click the Add
Scale Question Style button to save your selection.
The Cancel button
closes the window and returns to the Edit Questionnaire Question screen without
saving your selection.
The Reset Selection button clears the radio button choice.
Return to Table of Contents
Copy a Question
You can copy questions to save time when you create a questionnaire. After you
create a question, mouse click the
Copy link that follows the text of the question listed under Current
Questions. The program displays a dialog box confirming that you want to
copy the question. Click OK. The copied question will appear under Current
Questions.
Note: If the question does not appear under Current
Questions in the right-hand panel of the window:
§ Mouse click on View on the Microsoft Explorer Command
Bar. A drop down list of commands will appear.
§
Mouse click on Refresh from the drop-down list of
commands.
To edit this question, mouse click the question in the right
column, and the question displays in the text areas on the left-hand side of
the window. You can make changes by clicking
in the fields you want to edit and modifying the text. Click the Update Question button to save the
changed question. The fields on the left-hand side of the screen will become
blank, and the new question will appear in the right-hand panel of the screen.
Return to Table of Contents
Delete a Question
Mouse click on the Delete link following the questionnaire question you would like
to delete. A pop up window will appear to confirm that you want to delete that
question. Click OK in the dialog box.
Cancel closes the dialog box without deleting the question.
Caution: Once a
question is deleted, it cannot be recovered. Be sure, therefore, that you are
deleting the intended question.
Return to Table of Contents
Change the Order of
Questions
SurveyMaker supports
two methods of changing the order of your questions on the Edit Questions screen. If you need to move the question up or down a
single position:
- Mouse click the arrow in the question
number drop down menu. The drop down
menu presents the number of the question, a U, and a D.
- To move the question above the previous
question, mouse click the U.
- To move the
question below the following question, mouse click the D.
In addition, you can
use the Moved Tagged Question To…drop
down menu to change the order of the questions.
- Mouse click the arrow in the Moved Tagged Question To…drop down
menu.
- The drop down lists the different possible
question numbers. Select the question or position number.
Return to Table of Contents
Preview
Your Survey
From the SurveyMaker Home screen, mouse click the Preview link to
view the corresponding questionnaire as your respondents will see it when they open
the questionnaire online. The Preview helps you
verify that the questionnaire looks the way you intended.
Return to Table of Contents
Modify Survey
Setup
On the SurveyMaker Home screen,
click on the Modify Questionnaire Setup link next to the questionnaire you wish to
change. The Questionnaire Setup screen appears. Mouse
click in the field that you want to edit and enter your changes. Mouse click Save Questionnaire to save your
changes. You will then return to the SurveyMaker
Home screen.
Survey
Options
You can control how
respondents answer the questionnaire using the questionnaire Options check boxes. A mouse click on the check box to the
left of each item enables that feature (a checkmark will appear in the box when
it is selected), and a mouse click on
the button next to an enabled item, will disable it (a blank check box will
appear). The following options are available:
§
Allow
users to vote more than once:
This permits respondents to answer a questionnaire questions multiple times. Depending
on your sample and the types of questions asked, enabling this option could
invalidate your results.
§
Allow
for questionnaire to be saved for later: Enabling this feature allows
respondents to partially complete a questionnaire form and return later to finish
answering the questions.
§
Auto-number
questions: This feature
instructs the program to assign numbers to the questions automatically.
Reset to Defaults Button
The Reset to
Defaults button at the bottom of the form clears all fields. Once the
fields are cleared, the information is erased and cannot be recovered.
Cancel
Button
The Cancel button
at the bottom of the form closes the Questionnaire Setup and returns to the SurveyMaker
Home screen. This action deletes any information entered, and the information
cannot be recovered.
Return to Table of Contents
Copy a
Survey
On the SurveyMaker Home screen, mouse click on the Copy link
next to the questionnaire you wish to copy. When the Survey
Management pop up window appears, give the new questionnaire a name that does
not exist in your list of surveys. Mouse
click the Copy Questionnaire button to save the copy. This closes the Survey
Management dialog and returns you to the SurveyMaker
Home screen.
Mouse click the Cancel button to close the Questionnaire Management dialog
box without saving the copy of the original survey.
When you return to SurveyMaker Home screen,
the copied questionnaire appears under its new name at the bottom of the list of
surveys.
Note: If the questionnaire does not appear:
§ Mouse click on View on the Microsoft Explorer Command
Bar. A drop down list of commands will appear.
§
Mouse
click on Refresh from the
drop-down list of commands.
Return to Table of Contents
Delete a
Survey
On the SurveyMaker Home screen, mouse click the Delete link
associated with the questionnaire you wish to remove. SurveyMaker prompts you to ensure that you intend to delete
this survey. Mouse click the OK
button to delete the survey. The dialog box closes and the SurveyMaker Home screen displays. The survey
will no longer be listed.
Caution: Once a
questionnaire is deleted, it cannot be recovered. Be sure, therefore, that you are
deleting the intended survey.
The Cancel button closes the dialog box without deleting the
survey.
Note: If the questionnaire still displays:
§ Mouse click on View on the Microsoft Explorer Command
Bar. A drop down list of commands will appear.
§
Mouse
click on Refresh from the
drop-down list of commands.
Return to Table of Contents
Create/Edit
Your E-mail List
SurveyMaker stores many email addresses, and you can enter up to ten at
a time using the Edit Your E-mail List
screen. This is launched from the SuveyMaker Home screen with a mouse click on the Edit Your E-mail
List link. Be sure that the cursor is blinking in a blank Add E-mail
Addresses text box. If the cursor is not blinking in the desired field, mouse click in the text box.
Type one complete e-mail address (e.g., johndoe@school.com) in each
text box. When the list is complete, or all the boxes are filled, click the Add
button. The e-mail addresses should now appear when you click on the arrow in
the Select E-mail Address drop down
menu.
If you need to change an existing e-mail address, you need to delete
the e-mail address you want to change and then re-enter the new address.
Delete E-mail Address
To delete an e-mail address, mouse
click on the Select E-mail drop
down menu. The full list of saved e-mail addresses appears in a drop-down list. Select the e-mail address you want to delete. The e-mail address will
become highlighted. Mouse click the Delete E-mail button. The e-mail
address is now deleted.
Caution: Deleted e-mail
addresses cannot be recovered, so be sure that you have highlighted the
intended e-mail address.
Note: If the names do not appear on the list:
§ Mouse click on View on the Microsoft Explorer Command
Bar. A drop down list of commands will appear.
§
Mouse
click on Refresh from the
drop-down list of commands.
Add Button
Mouse click the Add button
to save the data entered in the Add E-Mail Addresses text boxes. Once
you save this data, you cannot edit it.
Clear Button
Mouse click the Clear button to remove all e-mail addresses that exist in
the Add E-Mail Addresses text boxes. The Clear button removes
text from all fields, and it should not be used to correct a typing error.
Errors can be corrected by clicking
in the text box and using cursor keys along with the delete key.
Return to Table of Contents
E-mail
Your Questionnaire
Mouse click E-Mail Questionnaire link on the SurveyMaker Home screen. Your list of e-mail addresses
displays along with a text box where you can include an additional message. Enter
the text message that you want to send with your e-mail into the Additional Message text box.
To update your E-mail List, mouse
click the Edit Your E-Mail List link. See Edit Your E-mail List for detailed
instructions.
Mouse click the Send This Questionnaire button to e-mail the link to this survey
and your additional message to your entire e-mail list.
Return to Table of Contents
Print Your Survey
From the SurveyMaker Home screen, mouse click the Preview link to
view the corresponding survey. Use your Web Browser's tool bar to Print out the survey.
Return to Table of Contents
View
Results
On the SurveyMaker Home screen, mouse click on the View
Results link underneath the corresponding questionnaire name. The questionnaire results are
tabulated from the responses submitted. Survey
Results are shown in a new window.
Return to Table of Contents
Export Results
You also can export,
or download, the results of a questionnaire with by mouse clicking on the Export Results link underneath the corresponding
questionnaire name. The standard File Download pop
up window appears in which you can specify the location where you want to save
the results. The resulting file is in comma-delimited format and can be viewed
in a word processor or spreadsheet. See your word processor or spreadsheet’s
help files for importing comma-delimited files.
Return to Table of Contents
Troubleshooting
Please see the System Requirements above to make sure your
system meets the software requirements for using SurveyMaker.
Problem: SurveyMaker is not responding.
Solution: You must be connected to the Internet at all times while
using SurveyMaker.
Problem: Parts of the SurveyMaker windows are not appearing on my screen.
Solution: The minimum monitor requirements for SurveyMaker is a
monitor with at least 256 colors and a resolution of 800x600. SurveyMaker is optimized for a monitor with 16
bit color and a resolution of 1024x768.
Problem: The changes I make to
the questionnaires and questions do not appear on the screen.
Solution: Your screen is not
refreshing correctly. You can force your screen to refresh with the following
steps:
