ViewsFlash
Guidelines: Web-based questionnaires from Kent Norman, University of Maryland
Writing Survey Questions from Instructional Assessment Resources, UT Austin
Overview
What Is It?
ViewsFlash by Cogix is a Web-based authoring and publishing system for conducting surveys and creating polls and quizzes online. ViewsFlash is hosted locally on a secure server at Duke and is supported by Duke Office of Information Technology (OIT).
Features include:
- Pre-defined question types including:
- Closed-ended question types such as:
- Radio butto (single choice)
- Check box (multiple choice)
- Drop-down menus
- Matrix question types for Likert scales
- Open-ended questions with single or multiple line text boxes
- Support for HTML formatting within and between questions, including embedded images
- Logical branching
- Multiple options for authenticating respondents including NetID and email invitation lists that enable authentication and respondent tracking with anonymous surveys
- Ability to send out each response as submitted via email and/or store in a CSV (comma separated value) table for exporting data to Excel or other analysis programs
- Real-time web-based analysis tools for single variable analysis or cross-tabulation
Who Uses It?
ViewsFlash is used by faculty, staff and students at Duke who need to create web-based surveys and polls. ViewsFlash is useful for those who want features not currently supported by Blackboard's survey tool such as multi-page surveys, logical branching, matrix question types and the ability to publish a survey to be taken by people not co-enrolled in a Blackboard course or even not affiliated with Duke.
How Does It Work?
In a nutshell, ViewsFlash lets you create and publish web-based surveys without needing to learn HTML or web scripting languages. All ViewsFlash surveys and polls reside in what is called a Polling Place. Anyone with a valid NetID can request a polling place and immediately begin to design and publish surveys. Request a polling place through the OIT Help Desk by calling (919) 684-2200. Each polling place is a password-protected area where you can create multiple surveys.
Your polling place can be accessed using your NetID via http://www.duke.edu/survey/.
As the administrator of a polling place, you can give other users access via their NetID to the survey setup area, to the raw data, and/or the analysis tools in your polling place.
Uses as an Instructional Technology Tool
Additional Information
Learning to use ViewsFlash
Although easy to use, the tool has a lot of features and can be confusing for new users. Previous familiarity with HTML is helpful but not necessary. Context-sensitive help features can assist you in building and publishing your surveys. Additional self-help is available on OIT's ViewsFlash FAQ page. If you have no previous knowledge of HTML, you may need help getting started. Instructor-led training from OIT is also available through scheduled technology training seminars or as "OnDemand" training. Also, the Social Science Research Institute at Duke offers training sessions tailored to researchers - see their Events calendar for the next scheduled workshop.
Surveytool Mailing List
Many ViewsFlash users subscribe to the Duke-wide "surveytool" mailing list. This low-traffic mailing list provides important information and news regarding ViewsFlash survey software, and also operates as a user forum where survey users can send inquiries to the rest of the survey community ranging from "how-to's" to basic troubleshooting of surveys. To subscribe to the "surveytool" mailing list, use the Duke Mailing List Manager.
