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Some types of questions that can be used in a survey must be simplified to make them suitable for the SMS environment. The question types available are listed below, along with descriptions of any "simplifications" that are performed on them, and examples of how they will look to the respondent.
Single - displayed "as is". For example, a "Gender" question could be sent as:
Gender
1 Male
2 Female
The respondent must reply with the code of the desired answer alternative, for example 1 for Male.
Multi - displayed "as is", with a hint on how to answer the question. For example, a "Car" question could be sent as:
Cars tested
1 Ford
2 VW
3 Volvo
4 Toyota
Answer all that apply, on the same line. e.g. 1,2,3.
The respondent must reply with the codes of the desired answer alternatives, separated by a comma or semicolon when several are sent. For example 1,3,4.
- Grid - sent as a series of single questions. For each question, the respondent must reply with the code of the desired answer alternative.
- Open text - displayed "as is". The respondent must reply with his/her desired response.
- Numeric - displayed "as is". The respondent must reply with his/her desired (numerical) response.
- Date - displayed "as is" with a hint on the date format. For example, a date-of-birth question could be sent as:
What is your date of birth?
(yyyy-mm-dd)
The respondent must answer with a date in the correct format, for example 2010-12-31.
Ranking - displayed "as is", with a hint on how to answer the question. For example, a "car ranking" question could be sent as:
Rank these cars in order of preference:
1 Ford
2 VW
3 Volvo
4 Toyota
5 BMW
List the ranking on the same line. e.g. 2,1,3
The respondent must reply with the codes of the desired answer alternatives in the order of preference, separated by a comma or semicolon. For example 5,1,3,2,4.
- Open text list - displayed as a series of open text questions. In each case the respondent must reply with his/her desired response.
- Numeric list - displayed as a series of numeric questions. In each case the respondent must reply with his/her desired (numerical) response.
- 3D-Grid - sent as a series of single, open text and/or numeric questions, depending on the types of questions used in the 3D-Grid. For each question, the respondent must reply as described above.
- Info - displayed "as is".
- Chart - displayed as a table, for example:
Car 22% (|10)
Train 49% (22)
Bus 11% (5)
Walk 36% (16)
Bicycle 29% (13)
Total 45
For some question types, a hint is added automatically to the message text to guide the respondent on how to reply. Hints are defined in the following languages (refer to Appendix B:
| Ar |
| Cs |
| Da |
| De |
| En |
| Es |
| Et |
| Fi |
| Fr |
| He |
| It |
| ja |
| Ko |
| Nl |
| No |
| Pl |
| Pt |
| Ru |
| Sv |
| Th |
| Zh-CHS |
| Zh-CHT |