phpESP User Guide

phpESP (php Easy Survey Package) allows you to create basic surveys quickly and easily without programming or database management.

Getting an Account:

phpESP accounts are organized by Groups. Within your group you can create many surveys, and several people can belong to your group and either assist in creation or create their own surveys. To set up your group and account, please send email to researchservices@bc.edu.  Include your name, (if you are a student, include the name of the faculty member you are working with), and contact informatin.

First Steps:

Once you receive details of your account, log on at capricorn.bc.edu/phpESP. You will see the Management Interface. Your first step is to change your password from the generic password assigned to your account to a password that you are comfortable with, and that is secure. Feel free to experiment with other options on the menu. Most of them will not have many options until you have created one or more surveys. When you are leaving phpESP, you should log out to keep your surveys secure.

Creating a Survey

The General tab:

• Log on at capricorn.bc.edu/phpESP. Click on "Create a New Survey".
• Enter a filename for the survey. The filename must be alpha-numeric without spaces. This filename will be part of the the URL for survey respondants, so it is helpful to choose a descriptive name. For example, a survey with the filename "My_Survey" will have the URL "http://.bc.edu/phpESP/public/survey.php?name=My_Survey".
• Choose a group for the survey. The drop down list will show all groups that you have an account with.
• Enter a title for the survey. This will show at the top of the survey. If you would like a subtitle, enter it next.
• The "Additonal Info" box gives you a place to enter text that will be at the top of each survey page. You can use this box for instructions, repeated information, disclaimers, reminders etc.
• You can specify a Confirmation Page by entering a URL into the next box. This is where the repondants will go once they have completed the survey. The page may be something you have created for the survey, or any pre-existing page. Alternatively, phpESP can create a page using text that you enter into the next two boxes.
• If you need to have a copy of each response emailed to someone, enter an Email address in the next box. Do not do this if you expect hundreds of replies. Email notification is handy if you are doing something that would require a personal response to each survey submission, or for registration forms.
• phpESP has several different visual themes to choose from. It is often advisable to create some questions before choosing a theme. You can then preview the survey in different themes and choose the most suitable.
• Click the "Continue>" button at the bottom of the screen.

Creating Questions:

 

Text Questions are created from the form above.  Fill in the "Field Name". This will be the name associated with the data that is entered, so choose a short but significant name. This box is required.

Next, choose the Type of question. The available types are:

• Yes/No. This will return a Yes or No as text (rather than a 1 or 0).
• Text Box. Use this for a short text answer. You can set the visible box length using the "Length" box, and the maximum allowable length of the answer with the "Precision" box.
• Essay Box. These answers can be much longer than text boxes. You can set the box size using the "Length" box for columns and the "Precision" box for rows.
• Radio Buttons (think of the buttons on your car radio) . This allows the respondant to choose one unique answer out of several choices. The choices must be listed in the possible answers boxes below this form.
• Check Boxes. Similar to radio buttons, but the respondant may choose multiple answers. As with radio buttons, the choices must be listed in the possible answers boxes below this form. You may enter !other on a line to create a fill-in-the-blank option. You may create a specific prompt text with the format !other=prompt text.
• Dropdown Box. When the respondant clicks on a dropdown box, a menu opens and allows a choice. Like the radio buttons, the choice is exclusive. Also like the radio buttons, the choices must be listed in the possible answers boxes.
• Rate. This gives you a Likert scale. The "Length" box defines the range of the scale (the default is 5). Any number other than 0 in the "Precision" box adds an 'N/A' option to the scale. You can group many rating scales by entering questions in the possible answer boxes. Otherwise, leave the possible answer boxes blank.
• Date. The respondant can enter a date, which is treated differently from text.
• Numeric. For numeric data. You can specify the length and precision of the numbers.
• Section Text. If you want to add text following a section break (see below), or between questions, use the Section Text option. Responses are not collected by section text.

Any question can be made mandatory by setting the "Required" box to Yes

The "Text" box is where you enter the question or prompt that will be seen by the respondant. This box is required.

As mentioned above, the "possible"answers boxes are used for Radio Buttons, Check Boxes, Dropdown Box, and Rate. The !other option is available for Radio Buttons and Check Boxes.

Setting the Order of questions :

Questions can be re-ordered, deleted or edited from the Order tab. Change the order by changing numbers in the dropdown boxes

This tab is also used for creating section breaks. If you would like to break a survey up into smaller sections, insert a section break by clicking the "Add Section Break button". Section breaks can be moved around in the order the same way you move questions.

Previewing your survey:

To see what your survey will look like, use the "Preview" tab. It is handy to use the preview to verify that a question will look the way you expect it to. You can jump between the Questions and Preview tab, but phpESP will require you to complete questions before previewing. If you attempt to preview and the program prevents you, check for error messages indicating addition fields that require filling out. You can enter data into the preview, but the data will not be saved. For that, you will need to Test the survey (see below).

If the format of your survey is not satisfactory, click on the General tab and try another theme. The available themes are limited, but you may find one that you like.

Finishing the survey:

When your survey is complete, or when you would like to save your changes and return later, click the "Finish" tab. A survey can be edited right up until it is finally activated. The next section of this guide covers editing surveys.

Continue to Editing Surveys>