ViewsFlash FAQ

• Where can I find information that isn't here or in the ViewsFlash documentation?
• Can I copy settings and/or questions from surveys in different polling places?
• Can we change our settings so everyone in the polling place can view and use our invite list?
• How do I load an invite list directly from an Excel file?
• How can I assure my survey participants that their responses will be anonymous?
• I want to create a very large invite list. Must I consider Duke's mass-mailing policy?
• Do I need a new polling place for each survey I create?
• How do I make my surveys display or pre-populate an authenticated survey user's information (name, NetID, etc.)?
• My survey breaks when I try to view it. What did I do wrong?
• My invite list is not working or I get an error when trying to create a new list. What is wrong?
• When using text fields for free responses, is there a limit to how long an answer can be?
• Does my survey require authentication?
• Why are changes made to my survey not appearing for participants?
• My survey has partial or no response data collected. What happened to the data?
• Is ViewsFlash a HIPAA compliant service?

Where can I find information that isn't here or in the ViewsFlash documentation?

Ask a question on the survey tool users' mailing list. Subscribe by sending an email to sympa@duke.edu with "subscribe surveytool" in the body of the message. When you send a message to surveytool@duke.edu, your message will be distributed to everyone on the list.

Can I copy settings and/or questions from surveys in different polling places?

Yes, if you access rights to both polling places. If you do not have the right to create surveys in a particular polling place, you will not be able to copy a survey from that polling place. If you have any questions about your rights, please contact your polling place owner.

To copy the survey:

1. Navigate to the polling place into which you'd like to copy the survey.
2. Under Option 1 (What), choose New Survey.
3. Give the survey a name, then enter in the original survey's polling place ID (it is case-sensitive) in the Polling place field.
4. Enter the survey's name in the Survey field (it is case-sensitive).
5. If you'd like to include the questions and answers, check the box next to that option.
6. Click Go!.

This process can be used to replicate within a polling place as well.

Can we change our settings so everyone in the polling place can view and use our invite list?

To share your invite list:

1. Go to the Invite List page.
2. Check the box next to your survey list and click Go!.
3. Enter the NetIDs of people you'd like to allow to use or to modify you list. Separate entries with commas.

How do I load an invite list directly from an Excel file?

ViewsFlash will not accept an Excel file for an invite list. Use the Save As... function to get the list into csv format.

You can also copy/paste directly from a document into the text area form field.

How can I assure my survey participants that their responses will be anonymous?

That depends upon your authentication method.

• Using Question Authentication will automatically record the user ID with the survey answer data.
• WebAuth and Form Authentication allows you the option of saving the user ID on the Save page. By default, this setting is not selected, so your surveys will be anonymous unless you explicitly choose to store the user information.

For more information about survey authentication, see our Guide to Survey Authentication.

I want to create a very large invite list. Must I consider Duke's mass-mailing policy?

While the ViewsFlash system does not limit the number of users that can be added to an invite list, Duke has a group email policy that all survey users should comply with as they create surveys.

OIT strongly recommends that all survey creators review this policy and comply with it by obtaining proper approval for any survey that qualifies as a "large-scale emailing" (defined as "any electronic mailing sent to more than 100 people in the Duke University community or more than 500 people in the DUMC/DUHS communities").

Do I need a new polling place for each survey I create?

A polling place is your location for creating polls and surveys, and you can create as many as you like within that polling place. You can even create several at once and schedule them to be published at a later date.

How do I make my surveys display or pre-populate an authenticated survey user's information (name, NetID, etc.)?

While you won't be able to capture the user name with a simple NetID login, you can display the user's NetID by entering [/authenticateduserid] where you would like that text to display.

My survey breaks when I try to view it. What did I do wrong?

The most common error that occurs when the survey breaks is that the name of the survey is too long. Because of the way the information is stored in the ViewsFlash database, the name of the polling place with the name of the survey can be a maximum of 31 characters long.

You must make your survey name unique and descriptive so you can easily tell what the survey is about, but make it concise as well.

My invite list is not working or I get an error when trying to create a new list. What is wrong?

The name of the invite list cannot contain a space. A name such as "List 1" is not allowed, but "List1" is. If you try to create an invite list with a space in the name, ViewsFlash might give you an error or it might not let you see the list later on.

When using text fields for free responses, is there a limit to how long an answer can be?

Text fields have character limits. The limit for a regular text field is 62 characters. The multi-line text area can accept up to 4,000 characters. You can decide which one to use based on the expected length of answers.

Does my survey require authentication?

Multi-page surveys require authentication, and it is recommended on single page surveys as well. The easiest form of authentication is WebAuth, however this requires all participants to have a valid Duke NetID. In the case of a multi-page survey being taken by users without a valid Duke NetID, there are a variety of other options for the creator to choose from. These are explained in greater detail at survey.oit.duke.edu.

Why are changes made to my survey not appearing for participants?

If changes made to a survey after the survey has been published, you will need to do the following:

1. Make sure that you have submitted the changes.
2. Un-publish the survey.
3. Go to the "Archive" tab and publish the survey again.
   

After following the steps above, the published survey should now be displaying your recent changes.

My survey has partial or no response data collected. What happened to the data?

The most common reasons for partial or missing data are listed below.

• Extremely large data sets may be too large to be viewed in Microsoft Excel. Users experiencing this issue should click on the "View" button rather than "View in Excel", and then copy the data manually to a text editor or more advanced statistics package.
  
• Partially completed surveys only keep data if it has been saved at some point while being taken. If a user does not finish a survey, and does not save their progress, no data is saved. Saved data is also not available until the survey has been closed.
  
• Changing of settings for data logging after the survey has already been published will not make that data available for those who have already taken the survey. It is important to review and test your settings before publishing in order to avoid data loss. 

Is ViewsFlash a HIPAA compliant service?

No, ViewsFlash is not a HIPAA compliant service.  No information or data that is considered protected by HIPAA should be collected using a ViewsFlash survey.