Create and edit a survey

Using surveys to effectively gather community feedback

Surveys use a predetermined set of questions that are asked to a group of people, or a sample of a group. Survey research is particularly useful when you want to describe or explain the features of a large group or multiple groups, or quickly gather general details about a community.

There are a wide range of survey question types, but the most useful for gathering quantitative and qualitative data are closed questions on specific topics. Click here for more info on when to use which question type.

Create a new survey

To create a new survey in a project:

1. In the left-hand menu bar, click Projects. This displays a list of all existing projects that you have access to.
2. Click on a project to open it.
3. In the project sub-menu, under Participation, click Surveys. This display the surveys created for this project.
4. Click on the + icon located on the right hand side of the screen.
5. Give the survey a Title. This will be visible on the public-facing page.
6. Add Summary text.
7. Add Introduction text which will display above the submission form. 
8. To build your survey, click +Add input. Click here for a full list of survey question types and their functions.
9. Fill out the fields to build your question. Tick Answer Required? if you want this question to be mandatory.
10. Click Add [input] to save.
11. You can sort your inputs into groups (Add group), which will help visually differentiate complex surveys for participants. You can also use groups to add conditional formatting for your survey. For more information about conditional formatting, see further down this page.
12. Decide whether survey submissions can be done only by logged-in users or by anyone by selecting Authenticated or Anyone from the Allowed submitter dropdown.
13. Set an End date to determine when this Survey will stop accepting new submissions.
14. In Advanced settings, you have the option to add a customised submission response message to survey respondents.
15. Once you’re finished building your survey, click Publish. Add a revision message to describe your changes.
16. You can preview your question formats in the Preview tab of the survey page.

Change the order of survey questions

To change the order or your survey questions:

1. Navigate to an existing survey and click Edit.
2. In front of each question, there is a graphic with 6 dots. Click on it, to turn it into a grab icon.
3. Drag and drop the question into the preferred order.
4. Once you’re finished, click Publish at the top of the screen.

Add conditional survey logic

If you have a more complex survey, you may want to add conditional logic to some questions. For example, you may want to show a different follow-up question depending on whether the respondent selected “happy with this service” or “unhappy with this service” in a previous question.

To add conditional logic to your survey:

1. Navigate to an existing survey and click Edit, or create a new survey.
2. Add a new question or click the question you would like to add the conditional logic to. Note: You will need at least two questions for survey logic to work.
3. Once the survey question box is open, scroll down and click +Add condition to add conditional logic.
4. Click +Add condition to add conditional logic. If more than one condition is added, you can set the Condition relationship between them:

   1. If And is chosen, then the question will only display if both conditions are met.

   2. If Or is chosen, then the question will display if at least one of the conditions are met.

5. In the dropdown of the If field name field, select the survey question that should determine whether this question should appear. In the Value field, enter the value that should be entered in the selected question, in order for this question to appear.
6. Click Done to add the conditional logic.
7. Once you’re finished building your survey, click Publish at the top of the screen.

Duplicate a question 

To duplicate a question in your survey:

1. Navigate to an existing survey and click Edit, or create a new survey.
2. Add a new question or click the question you would like to duplicate. 
3. Once the survey question box is open, scroll down and click the ellipsis icon and click duplicate Note: if a content block is duplicated within a group, the duplicate is positioned within the group
4. Edit the duplicate question as required. 
5. Once you’re finished building your survey, click Publish at the top of the screen.

Edit a survey

To edit an existing survey:

1. In the left-hand menu bar, click Projects.
2. Click on a project to open it.
3. In the project sub-menu, under Participation, click Surveys. This displays all the surveys that exist for this project.
4. When you have selected a survey to edit, click the ellipsis at the end of the row to see an extended menu. Click Edit.
5. Alternatively, click on the survey you want to edit, then click the Edit tab.
6. When you’re finished editing, click Publish.

Delete a survey

You can delete a survey from a project if it’s no longer needed, or was created by mistake. This permanently removes the survey and all its content and cannot be undone. Proceed with caution!

Note: you may not have delete permissions as part of your role. If you have any questions about your permissions, contact your District Engage administrator.

To delete a survey:

1. In the left-hand menu bar, click Projects.
2. Click on a project to open it.
3. In the project sub-menu, under Participation, click Surveys. This shows all the surveys that already exist for this project.
4. When you have selected a survey to delete, click the ellipsis at the end of the row to see an extended menu. Click Delete.
5. You’ll be prompted with a warning to confirm the action. Click Yes, Delete this Survey.
6. Your survey is now deleted.