Matrix

Here you specify per row all products or services to be rated, e.g. Service 1, Service 2. To add an extra row (sub question), click the Add row button. To remove a redundant row, click the cross (x) at the end of the corresponding row.

All rows (sub-questions) have a unique variable suffix (i.e. a unique variable value); this value is incremented by 1 for each row. The first row has the variable suffix 1, the second row has the variable suffix 2, etc. If these suffixes are not unique for a question, this will undoubtedly result in an error message. In order to edit the variable suffix of a row, you must click the ellipsis sign (3 vertical dots) at the end of the corresponding row.

In order to allow a participant to enter a text in a row himself, you must leave a row empty and place check marks on Add text entry and Force response (mandatory question). When filling out the survey, the participant can then, for example, enter a product or service to be rated.

If randomization of rows is activated (see the Randomize rows tab), you can indicate for each row in a matrix question that this row should not be randomized (check mark at Exclude from randomization).

You can change the chronological order of the various rows in a matrix question using the cell sign in front of the row. In order to change the position of a row, you have to select the cell sign and drag the corresponding row to its desired position while holding down the left mouse button. As soon as you release the left mouse button, the corresponding row will be dropped to its new position.

Note: The text in the rows of all matrix questions is displayed in full, when the participant fills out a survey. However, when downloading a PowerPoint export from the Activation - Online Report page, this text will be truncated, if it exceeds 50 characters.

If the Randomize columns option is ticked, each participant will see the columns (with for example the rating criteria) in a random order. When randomization is enabled, you are also able to exclude columns from randomization.

Rating labels allow you to specify two extreme values, e.g. Poor and Excellent, which apply to, for example, the rating criteria defined in the columns.

Here you can set the question type for all rows of a matrix question:

• Single response: The participant can select a maximum of one answer per row. Only one radio button can be selected per row.
• Multiple response: The participant can select several answers per row. Multiple checkboxes can be ticked per row.
• Drop-down: The participant can select a maximum of one answer per row. These answers are displayed in a drop-down list. In the Prompt field you can add a helpful hint to the drop-down list, e.g. Please select… This instruction is shown to the participant when making his/her choice per row.
• Text: The participant can enter text for several answers per row.
• Starscale: The participant can indicate the quality aspect of a product or service, e.g. by the number of stars per row. With the Star choices you can then indicate the descriptions for the amount of stars, e.g. 1 star or bad, 2 stars or moderate, 3 stars or acceptable, 4 stars or good, 5 stars or excellent.

The descriptions of these star choices and the selection frequency of the number of stars per row (product or service) of all invited participants can be found in the online report. When upon downloading the raw data the Download raw data with question text and answer option labels option has been selected, the defined star choice descriptions will also be displayed in the columns of the Excel file.

Note: Click here for information on adjusting the length of a text field.

Here you enter the various rating criteria for all columns of the matrix question. These can be scores like 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, but also descriptions like I completely disagree, I disagree, I partially agree, I agree, I completely agree. In order to add an additional column, click the Add column button. In order to remove an unused column, you can click the cross (x) at the end of the corresponding line.

All columns have a unique variable value; this value is incremented by 1 for each column. The first column has the value 1, the second column the value 2, etc. If these values are not unique, this will undoubtedly result in an error message. In order to edit the variable value of a column, you must click the ellipsis sign (3 vertical dots) at the end of the corresponding line.

In order to allow a participant to enter a text in a column himself, you must place check marks at Add text entry and Force response (mandatory question). When filling out the survey, the participant can then, for example, assign a rating criterion to a particular product or service in a row (sub question). No maximum length has been defined for this text field, so the participant can enter a rather long rating criterion. The value None (= Text) must be selected under Response data type.

If you want to provide the participant with a smaller text field for rating a product or service, you can check the box next to Small text input field. In this case, too, the participant can enter a text of unlimited length in a slightly smaller text field. This field has been integrated into the software for visual reasons.

If you tick the Autocomplete box, a text box appears in which you can enter specific information, e.g. the various rating criteria for the 5 stars column. One autocomplete value per line can be defined (see image above). This allows the participant to choose a predefined rating criterion. A prerequisite is that the value Values listed in autocomplete is selected under Response data type.

When answering the relevant sub-question (with product or service), the participant can easily select the required criterion from the list which can be unfolded.

After you have clicked the Add column group button, a new column group incl. an x number of columns is added to the survey and positioned next to the existing column group. This is very similar to a multimatrix question. Each column group can be assigned a specific description and a different question type. You can, for example, use an extra column group, if you want the participant to rate the attributes of several suppliers/manufacturers at once.

If you want to provide a specific word in your survey with a comment or explanation, you can create a tooltip on the RTE window. For this, you must click in the corresponding text box and select the Rich text editor.