Qualtrics
Overview
Setting up a Qualtrics account is free to all NDSU staff, faculty, and students.
All surveys must be set-up exclusively by each individual researcher. In addition, all survey questions are designed exclusively by each individual researcher. The Office of Teaching and Learning is dedicated to assisting individuals with their survey and electronic forms. Linda Charlton Gunderson is a trained, expert-level survey designer who can assist you by reviewing your survey, making suggestions for improvements, and demonstrating features that enhance the functionality of your survey.
Features
Some of the many features of Qualtrics include:
- Wizards with point and click interface to build surveys quickly.
- Library of surveys and questions to customize.
- Personal library to save survey questions, graphics, files, and messages.
- Powerful survey mailer to track, remind, and thank respondents.
- Piped text and embed data to personalize surveys.
- Branching and conditions (logics) to direct survey takers through relevant parts of the survey.
- Integrated graphics and statistical tools.
- Ability to export data into Excel, SPSS, PDF, PowerPoint, or Word.
- Collaborate and share surveys among users.
- Permission options to edit, view reports, activate/deactivate, and/or distribute surveys.
In addition, more than 4,000 surveys per year are set up for the Student Course Experience Surveys (SCES).
This service is supported by the Office of Teaching and Learning. Please email Linda.Charlton@ndsu.edu for assistance or questions about this service.
Getting Started
New Qualtrics Users
Individuals who have never had an NDSU Qualtrics account must complete the set-up process. Setting up your Qualtrics account is a one time process.
Directions for setting up your Qualtrics account:
- Login to Qualtrics using NDSU's CAS System
- When asked if you have used Qualtrics before, answer "no."
- A new account will be generated for you.
- On the next login, you will only enter your NDSU CAS credentials.
View instructions with screen shots >>
Transfer a Qualtrics Account
If you already use Qualtrics as a free account or with another organization, follow these steps to move your projects to your NDSU account (you can read more about user moves here):
- Log in using your NDSU username and password through the NDSU CAS System (single sign on).
- When asked if you have used Qualtrics before, answer "yes."
- You may manually move inactive surveys and surveys you do not plan to reopen. Read the directions and conditions here.
- If you have active surveys, you will need to request Qualtrics assistance in moving your account. This may take 2 to 3 weeks. Read the directions and conditions for requesting Qualtrics' assistance in moving your account .
Best Practices
Help documents and best practices are listed in this knowledge base and can be found by using the search term "Qualtrics."
Use Cases
Student Course Experience Surveys
Faculty and departments will have their student course experience surveys set up at the beginning of each semester. Surveys are administered electronically through Qualtrics. Faculty have access to dashboards to view their survey results. View your dashboard >>
Research Surveys
Qualtrics online surveys make it easy for you to collect data from a small or large group of people. Gather information quickly and easily from employees, members, or customers using an online survey. Gather information on:
- Behavior: Inquire about the past, present, or intended behaviors.
- Demographic characteristics: Research a wide variety of classification data, such as the participant’s age, sex, income, and occupation.
- Level of knowledge: Measure the knowledge base of a group.
- Attitudes and opinions: Conduct opinion polls on various topics relating to the community, customers, board of directors, stakeholders, or employees.
- General information and research: Conduct timely and in-depth research on a wide variety of topics. Gain data quickly and easily, without manually entering and tabulating results.
Participants complete surveys electronically on their own time and demographics are easily identified through generated reports. The versatile features allow you to direct participants to answer only applicable questions and to prompt participants if a question is skipped or answered in an incorrect format. The results are instantly added to group data and reports are generated automatically to include a wide range of statistics, charts, and graphs that can be customized. Data can be exported for further analysis based on your needs (Note: Additional charges may apply for customization).
IRB Approval
All NDSU researchers seeking to send out a research survey must seek Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Learn more >>
Citing or Referencing Qualtrics in Research
Because Qualtrics is such a vital part of research, it is common to cite Qualtrics within a research project or paper. View Qualtrics' citation and reference guidelines.
Collaboration
Collaboration on Qualtrics surveys among individuals at NDSU is encouraged. Before you begin collaborating with another individual, be sure they have registered for a Qualtrics account through NDSU. Remember to transfer ownership of all Qualtrics surveys from any faculty, staff, or student leaving NDSU. Survey information will be lost upon deactivation of the accounts for individuals leaving NDSU. To request a survey transfer, email Linda Charlton Gunderson.
There are many ways to get assistance with designing your Qualtrics surveys. Our in-house expert is happy to review your survey, make suggestions for improvements, and demonstrate features that will enhance the functionality of your survey.
ADA Compliance
Researchers at NDSU are responsible for ensuring their surveys are ADA compliant.
Forms
You can create sophisticated ADA compliant forms that gather the exact information you need to collect from individuals. With features like an easy to follow set up guide/checklist and automatic expert review ratings and suggestions you can efficiently and effectively create a form.
Features that will make Qualtrics forms work efficiently for you:
- Manage and limit the number of participants for events or reservations of equipment and space.
- When your event reaches capacity, individuals can be redirected to a separate form that adds them to a wait list.
- Required fields ensure you have the information you need.
- Survey flows and branches move the individual through the form based on answers provided.
- An email action lets you know every time the form has been filled out.
- Write custom survey messages upon survey completion, full quota, and/or expired forms.
- Communicate about further details in an email to all individuals who have filled out the form.
Universal Design/Accessibility
The Qualtrics survey platform is now certified by WebAIM.org, a third-party authority in web accessibility. This is important for any commercial, academic, and federal organization whose survey takers may have hearing, vision, motor, or cognitive disabilities. Qualtrics is now the only leading survey platform that is WCAG AA certified.
At NDSU, all question types in Qualtrics not in compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act are turned off. We strongly encourage all individuals to design their survey using universal design principles, regardless of what survey software you use. Using Qualtrics for your forms and surveys ensures the question types you choose are accessible.
Benefits of Universally Accessible Surveys:
When you use fully accessible question types you ensure all individuals are able to take your survey which increases the diversity of respondents, your time is used more efficiently with fewer accommodation requests, and responses are more efficient because respondents can choose the adaptive software they prefer.
Requesting a Non-Compliant Survey Question Type:
Requests for the use of a non-compliant or inaccessible question type are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. All requests must be made through the Office of Teaching and Learning and must have an alternate format for individuals who need accommodations.
Confidentiality Statement
All surveys are the property of the survey owners. To request survey data, please contact the survey owner directly.
Terms of Use
By using your NDSU Qualtrics account, you agree to the following policies:
- Policy 158 -
Acceptable Use of Electronic Communications Devices - Policy 335 - Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct
- Policy 601 - Code of Student Behavior
- Policy 190 - Intellectual Property
- Policy 724 - Digital Accessibility
- Institutional Review Board (IRB) Compliance