An example on how to create a survey

Introduction

In this tutorial we will build a survey for the registration of farmers with farmer detail data and a survey of the crop grown and field size. An additonal requirement is that the mobile users only access the data of the farmers registered in their province. Before you can create a survey in DENKAMI you need to register and create an account and activate the Free Trial subscript, then you are ready to go!

You can access the Survey Design plaform on URL: your_account_name.denkami.com/survey

When logged into the Survey Designer platform you will see the the screen below and you can get started with designing your surveys.

1. Survey structure

When designing a survey it is important to understand the structure of the surveys, the structure is shown in the graph below. In the graph you see the Registration survey which is used for the registration of the data elements, in this example the farmer. Linked to the Registration survey on the right are Survey questionnaires, this is data you want to collect over time for the data elements of the Registration survey, you can add as many survey questionnaires as you want.

On the left of the Registration survey you see the mobile user group(s). A mobile user group, groups the mobile users and controls the data the mobile users can access, which is done through the registration tables. This will become more clear when you design your survey.

For the design of our survey we will:

Define a new survey
Create the Registration tables
Create the Registration survey
Create the Survey questionnaires if required
Create the mobile user accounts
Create the mobile user groups
Create the reports and graphs

2. Define a new survey

To create a new survey click on + Add survey and fill in form; give the name and description of the new survey and click the update button. Access the new survey from the SURVEYS dropdown.

3. Create the Registration tables

After defining the new survey click on the menu Registration tables to create the registration tables, each survey needs at least one registration table.

For our survey we have mobile users based in one of three provinces and a mobile user who is the supervisor and can see all farmer data in all provinces. To implement this we need four mobile user groups, one for each province and one for the supervisor. This can be achieved by using the data structure for the registration tables as shown in the graph below. There are two registration tables, Company and Province, each province belongs to the company Denkamy. When you register a farmer, the farmer will always belong to the company Denkami and can belong to any of the three provinces.

To create the registration tables:

Add two registration tables, click the + button in the left table to create a new Registration table, name the first table Company and the second Province.
Enter the values for the two tables, select in the left table "Company" and click the + button in the right table to add the value for the company. Select then in the left table "Province" and click the + button in the right table to add the values for the three provinces, for the parent value of the provinces select the name of the company.

The registration tables should look like this:

4. Create the Registration survey

After creating the registration tables we can now start with the design of the registration survey, to access the registration survey select Registration under the CREATE QUESTIONNAIRES menu, see graph below. As you can see in the graph, the registration survey has already two questions for the two registration tables you created.

Lets create a simple registration survey for the registration of farmers and collect the following data: full name, ID number, gender, mobile tel number, GPS coordinates of the farm and the registration date:

1. Full name

Full name is a Single Input text question, to add a Single Input text question to the survey click on Single Input in the toolbox, the question will be added below the province question. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right:

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	name	Name of the data field
Title	Give the full name	The title of the question as seen by the user
Is required?	Yes	This is a required data field, the user must fill in this question before the survey can be submitted
Input type	Text	The data is a text field
Mobile->Header	1	If this value is larger than 0, this data field will be shown in the header on the phone.
Validation->Validators	- Select text validator - Text-> Name must be at least 3 charcaters - Minimum length->3	To ensure the name is at least 3 characters add a validator. The text field is the alert message when the name is less than 3 characters

Do not forget to save the survey! click on the Save Survey button. To test the survey click the Test Survey button

2. ID number

For the ID number we want to have the following format: _ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _, nine numbers separated by a forward slash. To do this add a Single Input text question by clicking on the Single Input in the toolbox, the question will be added below the previous question. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right:

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	ID	Name of the data field
Title	Give the ID number	The title of the question as seen by the user
Is required?	No	This is not a required data field in case the user does not have an ID number
Input type	Text	The data is a text field
Input format	999/999999	The ID provided must be in the format 3 numbers forward slash 6 numbers
Mobile->Header	0	Do not show this data field on the mobile app when listing all registered farmers.

Test and save the survey!

3. Gender

For gender we can have three options: Male, Female and N/A which can be selected by ticking a select box. To do this add a Radiogroup question by clicking on Radiogroup in the toolbox, the question will be added below the previous question. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right:

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	gender	Name of the data field
Title	Give the gender	The title of the question as seen by the user
Is required?	Yes	This is a required data field
Choices	Row 1 -> Value: M, Text: Male Row 2 -> Value: F, Text: Female Row 3 -> Value N/A, Text: N/A	With the radiogroup question you can set the choices presented to the user to select.
Mobile->Header	0	Do not show this data field on the mobile app when listing all registered farmers.

Test and save the survey!

4. Mobile tel number

For the mobile tel number we can add a Single Input text question, to add a Single Input text question to the survey click on Single Input in the toolbox, the question will be added below the province question. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right:

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	mobile	Name of the data field
Title	Give the mobile number	The title of the question as seen by the user
Is required?	No	This is not a required data field, this data field can be skipped if there is no mobile number
Input type	Text	The data is a text field
Mobile->Header	2	Set the value for the Mobile->header to 2, the mobile tel number will be added to the header when listing the farmers, this will also enable you to search the farmer by mobile number on the mobile app.

Test and save the survey!

4. GPS coordinates

For the GPS coordinates use the GPS position question, to add a GPS position question to the survey click on GPS position in the toolbox, the question will be added below the previous question. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right:

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	GPS position	Name of the data field
Title	Get the GPS postion of the farm	The title of the question as seen by the user
Is required?	No	Not required in case the mobile phone does not read the GPS postion the survey cannot be finalised
Input type	Text	The data is a text field
Mobile->Header	0	Do not show in the header on the mobile app.

Test and save the survey!

5. Registration date

For recording the registration date we use an Expression question whereby the date is automatically filled in. To add a registration date question to the survey click on Expression in the toolbox, the question will be added below the previous question. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right:

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	reg date	Name of the data field
Title	registration date	The title of the question as seen by the user
Expression	today()	It will fill in todays date, the user cannot change this
Mobile->Header	0	Do not show in the header on the mobile app.

Test and save the survey!

5. Create the survey questionnaire

After creating the registration survey we can now add a survey questionnaire, to get started click on + Add questionnaire under the CREATE QUESTIONNAIRES menu. Provide a name and description, let's call it farm survey and click save; you will see the new survey listed under the CREATE QUESTIONNAIRES menu.

We want to survey if the farmer planted one of the three crops Maize, Sunflower and Soybeans and the field size for each of the crops:

1. Did you plant question

For the did you plant question we use the boolean question (Yes or No). To do this add a Boolean question by clicking on Boolean in the toolbox. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right:

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	planted	Name of the data field
Title	Did you plant Maize, Sunflower or Soybeans	The title of the question as seen by the user
Is required?	Yes	This is a required data field
Data	Value true -> 1 Value false -> 0	When selecting True the system will record the value 1 and for False the value 0
Mobile->Header	0	Do not show this data field on the mobile app when listing all registered farmers.

Test and save the survey!

2. Crops question

For the crops question we have three options: Maize, Sunflower and Soybeans, which can be selected by ticking a select box, we want to show this question only when the planted question is true. To do this add a Checkbox question by clicking on Checkbox in the toolbox. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right:

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	crops	Name of the data field
Title	Select the crops the farmer grows	The title of the question as seen by the user
Is required?	Yes	This is a required data field
Choices	Row 1 -> Value: Maize Row 2 -> Value: Sunflower Row 3 -> Value: Soybeans	With the checkbox question you can set the choices presented to the user to select. The user can select multiple options.
Mobile->Header	1	Do show this data field on the mobile app when listing all registered farmers for whom this questionnaire was done.
Logic	Visible if -> Select question -> planted equals Yes	Only ask this question when the answer to the planted question was Yes.

Test and save the survey!

3. Field size questions

We need three field size questions, one for each crop, we only want to ask the field size for crops selected in the crops question. To do this add a Single Input question by clicking on Single Input in the toolbox. Set the properties for this question in the properties column on the right. Repeat this question for all three crops.

PROPERTY	VALUE	COMMENT
Name	maize field size	Name of the data field
Title	What is the size of the Maize field in hectares.	The title of the question as seen by the user
Is required?	Yes	This is a required data field
Input Type	Number	Field size is a number
Mobile->Header	0	Do not show this data field on the mobile app when listing all registered farmers
Logic	Visible if -> Select question -> crops contains Maize	Only ask this question when Maize is selected in the crops question.

Test and save the survey!

6. Create mobile user accounts

Each mobile user using the mobile application needs a user account, to add a new mobile user click on Mobile users in the menu on the left. Click the + button to add a new mobile user.

7. Create mobile user groups

For mobile users to access the registration survey and farm survey we need to create a mobile user group that links the mobile user to the surveys. Lets create a mobile user group for the users in the Northern province and call it Nortern province. Click on the + button and fill in the form with the values:

name: Northern province
description: Mobile users in Northern province
Registration table: Province
Registration table values: North
Select mobile user: .....select here the mobile user(s) who will be a member of this mobile user group
Registration can register: When ticked the users in this group can register new farmers on the mobile app
Registration can edit (own): When ticked the users in this group can edit registration data of the farmers they registered
registration can edit (all): When ticked the users in this group can edit registration data of all farmers
Select surveys for this mobile user group: Farm survey
Farm surveys can survey: When ticked the users in this group can do the farm survey for registered farmers on the mobile app
Farm surveys can edit (own): When ticked the users in this group can edit the farm survey they did on the mobile app
Farm surveys can edit (all): When ticked the users in this group can edit the all farm survey

8. Next steps

We are now done with the design of the survey, the next step is to install the app on your mobile phone or tablet and test the survey. How to install the app is explained in the tutorial How to install the mobile app on your phone or tablet; how to register the app is explained in the tutorial How to register your mobile app with a mobile user account. After the installation of the mobile app you might want to read the tutorials on how to create reports and graphs.

The registration of data elements in the system can be done on the mobile app and on the platform, if you have existing data you want to upload to the system then read the tutorial Uploading data to the system.