Copying a Survey

This chapter describes how to copy a survey (the questionnaire including the list of questions). This can be useful if you want to refer back to the old list of questions in a follow-up study.

Advice: Do not copy projects if you want to conduct the survey in multiple languages, with different target groups or with different stimuli. There are basic functions that can be used for these:

• Multilingual Surveys
• Give the URL to different target groups (URL to a Questionnaire)
• Multiple questionnaires in a project (Create a Questionnaire)
• Placeholders
• Randomization
• Shared Access to Projects

A survey is made up of different components:

• Questionnaire incl. list of questions, text elements, labels and layouts
• Files (e.g. uploaded images)
• Collected data
• Addresses for Mailings, Database for Contents

When a project is copied, only the questionnaires and files (up to 1 MB) will be copied over. The collected data and other dynamic content (address list incl. mailings, a database for contents) will not be copied or must be copied separately if required.

Note: Please do not try to log into different projects in different browser tabs. You can only be logged into one survey project in a browser at a time. If you want to work in different survey projects at the same time, use the “private browser window” function in your browser (you can log in separately in the private and normal browser windows) or use different browsers.

To copy a questionnaire (list of questions and questionnaires), proceed as follows.

1. Export the questionnaire as XML file
   • either under Survey Project → Project Settings → Download Project as XML file.
   • or in your My Account → Projects with the download symbole .
2. You will receive the XML file as a download: save this onto your computer in case your browser does not automatically store them in the download directory.
3. Create a new project in My Account.
4. Import the previously saved XML file in a new project
   • either SoSci Survey already offers to import a file when creating the project (upload survey project)
   • or under Survey Project → Project Settings → Import Project or Questions.
5. In the Project Settings, adjust the name of the project so that you do not confuse the survey projects in the user account. Confusion always leads to data loss!

Note: Before importing the download, check that you have logged into a new (empty) project. Be wary if you have to select the box “Okay, delete all previously collected survey data”.

Tip: Downloading the XML file does not serve as documentation of the questionnaire. Advice regarding this can be found in the chapter Tips on Documenting in Research Reports

Tip: If you only want to copy a layout or a few questions from one survey into another then you can download these elements as XML files and import these into another project; just like you would with a complete survey.

In rare cases it is useful to copy not only the questionnaire but also the collected data (data set). To achieve this, please proceed as follows:

1. Copy the questionnaire as explained above.
   • Make sure you can distinguish the survey projects.
   • For this it is useful to enter a different Project name in the project settings in each case.
2. Switch to the original project in which the collected data are available.
3. Set which records are to be copied under Collected data → Filter Criteria for Valid Cases.
   • When copying, only the data is copied, not the metadata – specifically not the information about which items were queried but not answered. Therefore, the variables MISSING, MISSREL, and TIME_RSI (Additional Variables in the Data Set) cannot be used to filter cases after importing the data in a new survey project.
   • Therefore, you should copy only those cases that you intend to use after import.
4. Under Collected Data → Download Data, click Reset Download Settings. This is especially necessary if you have customized the settings for the CSV format.
5. Download the data set under Collected data → Download data in the CSV (Excel/OpenOffice) tab as a CSV file. Your browser either offers the file for download or saves it directly to the download directory of your hard drive.
6. Switch to the project copy. To be on the safe side, check again under Collected data → View data set that you are really in the right survey project. No data should be displayed there.
7. In the Control on the left, select Collected data → Import data. Now select there as File with data (CSV) the CSV file that you have just downloaded in the other survey project and confirm with OK..
8. Now check in Collected data → View data to see if the import worked.