Build

Build is an easy-to-use tool for building questionnaires that can be used with for web-based interviewing or with Paper for pen-and-paper-based interviewing. It has been designed for relatively small and simple questionnaires of up to 100 or so questions. If you want to create larger or more complex questionnaires you should use other tools such as UNICOM Intelligence Professional.

Build breaks down the task of defining questions into the following stages: basic, advanced, presentation, and export and analysis. This approach enables you to draft the basic outline of your questionnaire without having to define the detailed structure and content of each question, unless, of course, you want to do so.

At the basic level, you define the question name (a default is supplied), the question text and, if appropriate, the list of responses from which choices may be made.

The advanced level allows you to complete the definitions by defining, for example, response types for single and multiple choice lists or valid ranges for numeric questions.

The presentation level currently applies only to questionnaires and defines how the question should appear on the screen.

The export and analysis level lets you define alternative question and response texts for use in tabulations. Typically, you tend to use longer texts in printed or Web questionnaires whereas shorter texts work better in analyses.

Other facilities include:

▪Shared lists. Shared lists are a quick and easy way of dealing with responses that are common to a number of questions. If you place the responses in a shared list, you can then insert them in any number of questions simply by selecting the name of the list. There is no need to retype the response texts or to copy and paste responses between questions.

▪Bookmarks. Bookmarks identify particular positions in a questionnaire with unique names and are useful in large questionnaires with complex routing requirements.

▪Exit codes. You can terminate an interview immediately and for any reason by specifying an exit code of your choice. A typical example is with quota control when you will usually want to terminate the interview if the respondent belongs in a category whose quota has already been filled.

▪Groups. Questions can be grouped so that they are all displayed on a single page when the questionnaire is used for web-based interviewing with UNICOM Intelligence Interviewer (this is sometimes referred to as a multiask question).

▪Gotos. Questions are presented in the order they appear in the questionnaire. You can define simple routing for individual choices within a response list. You can also use If...Goto items to specify more complex routing instructions that are based on combinations of answers to one or more questions. Routing that must be followed by all respondents can be defined using a standard Goto item.

▪Library files. Questions that are common to a number of questionnaires can be saved in the library and can be imported wherever they are needed.

▪Scripting statements for the Routing section. Questionnaires have two sections. The Metadata section defines the questions and the Routing section determines how and when the questions will be displayed. Build creates a simple Routing section based on the order you have defined the questions in the questionnaire, but you will usually want to insert other statements in the Routing section as well. Build provides IOM Script and Insert from Script Library items for inserting code in the Routing section of the questionnaire.

▪User and questionnaire options. You can set defaults for certain Build parameters, both for yourself and for specific questionnaires.

Questionnaires are stored as .mdd files and can be translated for multilingual interviewing. You can set a default primary language for all questionnaires or you can define the primary language separately for each questionnaire when you create it. When you create an interviewing questionnaire or print a questionnaire, this is the language that will be used if there are no translations available.

You can run Build from UNICOM Intelligence Interviewer Server - Admin or as a standalone program outside UNICOM Intelligence Interviewer Server - Admin. When you run Build from UNICOM Intelligence Interviewer Server - Admin, it automatically opens the project that is current when you select the Build link, and lets you work only on this project. If you want to work on another project, you must close Build, return to UNICOM Intelligence Interviewer Server - Admin to choose the project, and then restart Build. If you are a Scriptwriter, this is the way you will normally use Build.

When you run Build by typing its URL into your browser, Build starts with no project selected so you can either open an existing questionnaire or create a new one. If you are an administrator, this is the way to create library files of general questions that can be loaded into any project. For more information, see Running Build outside UNICOM Intelligence Interviewer Server - Admin.

This difference in the way Build works means that the options that are available in the File menu will differ according to how you started Build.

Questionnaires can be created and edited in UNICOM Intelligence Professional as well as in Build, and you can switch between applications while working on a single questionnaire. For more information, see Switching between Build and UNICOM Intelligence Professional.