Ending a questionnaire without an exit URL

Problem

You want to end a questionnaire without re-direction to an exit URL.

Solution

  • create a "Thank you" question that has a minimum and a maximum of zero responses (no answer expected) as well as the following characteristics: BACKWALL (no Previous button) and CULDESAC (no Next button);
  • add a BLANK question (called QCOMPLETED hereafter) right before the Thank You question; it will act as a marker that the respondent has reached the end of the questionnaire;
  • add a # Complete Case instruction with "QCOMPLETED=1" as the condition; this will ease the determination of how many questionnaires were completed and supply this information in cwstats.cgi;
  • if you want to disallow returning into the questionnaire, add a # Noreturn Condition instruction with "QCOMPLETED.EQ.1" as the condition; this will ensure that anyone who has seen the Thank You page cannot go back into the questionnaire.

Discussion

The # URL instruction defines a URL where respondents are redirected once they leave the questionnaire (i.e., once they attempt to go past the last question). In standard circumstances where there is no need to redirect to another site or elsewhere on the current site (and where respondent's workstations are set up to disallow URL redirection), it may be preferable to NOT use # URL and to display the Thank You page in a standard question.

One advantage of this approach is that there is no need to create static pages for the Thank You page; another one is that you are certain that the Thank You page will have the same appearance as the rest of the questionnaire.

Ending a questionnaire without an exit URL

Problem

You want to end a questionnaire without re-direction to an exit URL.

Solution

  • create a "Thank you" question that has a minimum and a maximum of zero responses (no answer expected) as well as the following characteristics: BACKWALL (no Previous button) and CULDESAC (no Next button);
  • add a BLANK question (called QCOMPLETED hereafter) right before the Thank You question; it will act as a marker that the respondent has reached the end of the questionnaire;
  • add a # Complete Case instruction with "QCOMPLETED=1" as the condition; this will ease the determination of how many questionnaires were completed and supply this information in cwstats.cgi;
  • if you want to disallow returning into the questionnaire, add a # Noreturn Condition instruction with "QCOMPLETED.EQ.1" as the condition; this will ensure that anyone who has seen the Thank You page cannot go back into the questionnaire.

Discussion

The # URL instruction defines a URL where respondents are redirected once they leave the questionnaire (i.e., once they attempt to go past the last question). In standard circumstances where there is no need to redirect to another site or elsewhere on the current site (and where respondent's workstations are set up to disallow URL redirection), it may be preferable to NOT use # URL and to display the Thank You page in a standard question.

One advantage of this approach is that there is no need to create static pages for the Thank You page; another one is that you are certain that the Thank You page will have the same appearance as the rest of the questionnaire.