queXS: Administration

Questionnaire Creation and Management

Adding a questionnaire

queXS relies on the LimeSurvey system to administer the questionnaire to the operator. A patched version of LimeSurvey is included with queXS to aid in interoperability.

Keep in mind that a single questionnaire in LimeSurvey can be added to queXS multiple times if necessary (eg once for testing, once for the live run).

Add questionnaire manually

Add questionnaire from queXML

Add questionnaire from an existing instrument in LimeSurvey

Add questionnaire to queXS

Adding a sample

Sample list formatting

queXS requires sample lists to be in CSV form. The first row should contain the name of the column. Most statistical packages, and Microsoft Excel can export lists in CSV form. The minimum required for a sample file is a single column containing a phone number. A sample list containing the name of the respondent should be formatted with the first name and last name of the respondent is separate columns. For example:

firstName

lastName

Number

Sex

Fred

Jones

03 1234 5678

M

Mary

Jones

03 1234 5678

F



Add the sample

Once the sample list is saved in CSV form, it can be imported in to queXS

Assigning samples to questionnaires

Use the “Assign samples to questionnaires” link to assign a sample to a questionnaire.





Assigning pre-filled questions

A pre-filled question is a question within the questionnaire that has data filled before the operator begins collecting data. The pre-filled data could be static (the same for each case within the questionnaire) or come from information already available in the sample.

Adding operators to the system

queXS relies on an underlying authentication system (such as Apache Basic Authentication) to handle authentication of users. Once they are authenticated, queXS uses the username of the operator to determine who the operator is, and therefore how to assign work to them. This means that queXS needs to know the authentication system username (username only, not password) of each operator on the system and some other details if using Voice over IP (VoIP).

Assigning operators to questionnaires

When an operator is assigned to a questionnaire they will be assigned work from that questionnaire. An operator can be added or removed from a questionnaire at any time.



Assigning skills to operators

Assigning skills to operators is done in a similar fashion to assigning operators to questionnaires. The following skills are available:



Use the “Modify operator skills” tool to assign the appropriate skills to each operator. A “normal” interviewer has “Temporary” and “Appointment” assigned to them.



Creating/modifying shifts for a questionnaires

queXS will usually only assign work to operators if they are assigned to the questionnaire, have the appropriate skill assigned to them, and finally that there is a shift available at the current time for the questionnaire. Defining shifts allows for appointments to be restricted to times when operators will be available, and to restrict work to specific hours.

It is desirable to add as many shifts as you know will be run in advance so that operators will be able to schedule appointments in them. But conversely, remember not to add shifts if they will not be run, as appointments may be made for those times.

The shifts listed by default are taken from the shift_template table, and can be modified by a system administrator.



Once you have completed all the steps in the “Questionnaire Creation and Management” section, the system should be ready to execute questionnaires. The following sections describe information about the progress of the questionnaire, and functions for the supervisor to modify erroneous outcomes or handle cases where the operator was unsure about what outcome to assign

Questionnaire progress

Display future appointments

Clicking on this link will display a list of all appointments in the future.

Questionnaire outcomes

By selecting a questionnaire, a list of AAPOR outcomes and rates will be listed.

Operator performance

Performance of operators is split in to completions per hour and effectiveness. Effectiveness is the ratio of how often an operator is on a call while a case is assigned to them.

Supervisor functions

Assigning outcomes to cases (and calls)

An operator may incorrectly assign an outcome to a call, or have assigned a case to be reviewed by a supervisor. A supervisor can then modify the outcome of a call and/or the outcome of the case.

Creating shift reports

A shift report is filled in by the shift supervisor to detail any notes about a particular shift.

Searching the sample

A supervisor can search the sample to find particular records to either remove from the sample, therefore not ever be selected as a case, or if a case has already been assigned – to be able to see what calls have been made to the case and modify the outcome if necessary (using the Assigning outcomes to cases tool).

Client Management

A client view of the project is available in the client subdirectory of the queXS installation. If this URL is made available publicly, and each client is assigned a system username and password as for operators, then clients can be added to the system and assigned to questionnaires. Each client will then see a progress report of each questionnaire assigned to them when visiting the client page and entering in their credentials.

Adding clients to the system

Assigning clients to questionnaires