Surveys

2.1 Survey List

The survey list is the main screen of the application, accessible via the menu Surveys > My Surveys. It displays all surveys belonging to the current user.

Status filter buttons: The toolbar at the top includes filter buttons to show surveys by status: - All: Shows all surveys regardless of status. - Draft: Shows only surveys in programming/draft status. - Open: Shows active and paused surveys. This is the default filter. - Closed: Shows finished surveys.

To work with a survey, select it by clicking the radio button next to its name. The selected survey becomes the 'Working Survey' and all subsequent operations are executed against it.

Actions available from the toolbar:

The top navigation bar provides quick-access buttons organized into groups. These buttons operate on the currently selected (working) survey:

• Home (house icon): Returns to the survey list.
• New Survey (clipboard icon): Creates a new survey.
• Edit Survey (pencil icon): Opens the settings page for the selected survey. Equivalent to clicking the survey name in the breadcrumb.
• List Questions (question mark icon): Opens the question list for the selected survey.
• New Question (plus icon): Opens the form to add a new question to the selected survey.
• Edit Question (pencil icon): Opens the configuration form for the currently selected question.
• Preview (play icon): Tests the survey as a respondent would see it, in admin mode. No response data is saved. A confirmation dialog appears before opening the preview in a new window.
• Preview All (list icon): Displays all survey questions on a single page. Useful for reviewing the complete survey at a glance.
• Export to PDF (file icon): Provides instructions for exporting the survey to PDF using a browser extension (PDF Mage) or the browser's built-in print function. Opens the "Preview All" view for printing.
• Delete (trash icon): Deletes the selected survey and all associated data. A confirmation dialog is shown before deletion.

Additionally, the left-side menu under Surveys provides access to: - Duplicate: Creates an exact copy of the selected survey, including all questions, steps, rules, and configuration. Useful for creating language variants, backup copies, or templates based on an existing survey. - Detail: Displays detailed information about the selected survey. - Reset Counters: Resets the response counters for the selected survey.

2.2 Creating a Survey

To create a new survey, click the New button in the toolbar (Section 2 shortcuts). Enter the survey name, select the language, and click Save. The survey will be created in Draft status and you can immediately begin adding questions.

2.3 Configuration of Survey

This section allows you to configure important features of the survey. Once the survey has been selected, you can access this page through the "Edit" button in Section 2 (shortcut buttons) or by clicking the survey title in the breadcrumb.

The settings page is organized into the following sections:

2.3.1 Survey Name

• Name: The name of the survey as it appears in the survey list.
• Survey type: Displays the type of survey (normal, game, etc.). Read-only.

2.3.2 Objective

• Title: The title or objective of the survey (internal use, not shown to respondents).
• Description: A description of the survey (internal use).

2.3.3 Properties

• Select language: The language of the survey interface (Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Swedish, Polish, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Greek, Croatian, Montenegrin). The Translate automatically button uses Google AI to translate all survey content to the selected language.
• Select style: The visual theme of the survey (Orange, Green, Blue). Determines colors for buttons, borders, and highlights.
• Apply filters: Whether to apply personalized quota filters. Options: "Do not apply" or "Personalized filters." See Section 4 - Filters and Quotas for details.
• Minimum time (seconds): Minimum time required to complete the survey. Respondents finishing faster are quality-terminated. Set to 0 to disable.
• Maximum time (seconds): Maximum time allowed to complete the survey. Respondents exceeding this limit are removed on their next step. Set to 0 to disable.

2.3.4 Hybrid Surveys

• Interviewer telephones: Phone numbers of interviewers for hybrid (paper + digital) surveys. Separate multiple numbers with commas. Include the country code (e.g., +34).

2.3.5 Options

• Same computer control (cookies): Prevents the same browser from completing the survey more than once using a cookie. Acts as a first-line deterrent against repeat submissions from the same device. For stricter enforcement across devices or research panels, use Cross-Panel Deduplication (fingerprint) instead — the two options are mutually exclusive.
• Progress bar: Displays a progress bar at the top of the survey showing the respondent's progress through the steps.
• Back button: Controls the "Back" button that allows respondents to return to the previous step. This setting acts as a bulk toggle: when enabled, all steps are set to show the back button; when disabled, all steps are set to hide it. After toggling, you can fine-tune which individual steps show the back button in the Survey Structure form (see section 2.4.5).
• Save & Resume Later: Allows respondents to save their progress and return later to complete the survey. Requires a tree structure. Based on a browser cookie.
• Show banner: Displays the survey logo/banner at the top of each page.
• Visualize question identifier: Displays the question identifier (e.g., P1, P2) alongside each question. Useful during survey development and testing.
• Quality Survey: Enables quality checks for the survey, tracking response quality metrics.
• Lock for editing: Prevents accidental changes to the survey configuration while it is in the field. Only superadmins can unlock it.
• Survey Status: The current status of the survey: Programming (Draft), Open, Paused, or Closed. See Section 2.6 - Survey Status Management for details.
• Change Administrator (superadmin only): Transfer survey ownership to a different investigator.
• Email subject: The subject line used for survey-related emails (e.g., save & resume notifications).
• Scenario: Link the survey to a specific game scenario (for game experiments).
• Location: Link the survey to a geographic location.
• Target people (quota): Maximum number of completed responses. When reached, the survey closes automatically and no new respondents are accepted. Set to 0 for unlimited.
• Honorarium: The compensation amount for respondents (informational, displayed in the survey list).
• Average survey time (minutes): Expected average completion time (informational, displayed in the survey list).

2.3.6 Exit URLs

These URLs determine where respondents are redirected when they exit the survey for various reasons:

• Quota Full: Redirects respondents when all quotas are filled and no more completions are needed.
• Early Screen Out: Redirects respondents who do not meet the screening criteria.
• Quality Terminate: Redirects respondents who fail quality checks (minimum time, maximum time, careless responses).
• Complete (Done): Redirects respondents after successfully completing the survey.
• Already Done: Redirects respondents who have already completed the survey and attempt to access it again.
• URL Frame: URL used when the survey is embedded in an iframe on a client website.

Default TickStat redirect URLs are provided, but when distributing through research panels (Netquest, Cint, etc.), replace them with the panel's redirect URLs.

2.3.7 Entrance Filter Settings

• Websocket: Enables WebSocket communication for real-time features (required for game experiments).
• Allow access from mobile devices: Permits respondents to access the survey from mobile phones.
• Allow access to tablets: Permits respondents to access the survey from tablets.
• Geolocation: Requests the respondent's geographic location when they access the survey.
• Token request by email: Enables email-based token verification. Used with the Auth Filter question type to verify respondent identity and prevent cross-panel fraud. See Section 3.14 - AntiSpam.
• Customized Groovy Scripts: Enables Groovy script execution in survey steps for advanced validation and custom conditions. See Section 7.1 - Including Java Code.
• Cross-Panel Deduplication (Browser Fingerprint): Detects respondents attempting the survey from multiple research panels using browser fingerprinting. See Section 8.2 - Cross-Panel Deduplication. Mutually exclusive with Same Computer Control.

2.3.8 Pre-Survey Verification

• reCAPTCHA Verification (Bot Protection): Enables an invisible reCAPTCHA Enterprise check before the survey starts. See Section 8.1 - Pre-Survey Verification.
• Audio/Video Device Check: Enables an audio device check before the survey starts. See Section 8.1 - Pre-Survey Verification.

2.4 Survey Structure

2.4.1 Linear

In the linear structure, all questions are presented in sequential order. The user progresses through all questions one by one or in groups (steps).

To configure the linear structure, go to the menu Edit::Steps. Here you define the steps that compose the survey. Each step can contain one or more questions.

The configuration is done through a text area where you enter the steps. Each line represents a step, and questions within a step are separated by commas. For example:

P1
P2,P3
P4,P5,P6

This means: - Step 1: Question P1 - Step 2: Questions P2 and P3 - Step 3: Questions P4, P5, and P6

2.4.2 Tree Structure

In the tree structure, the survey flow is determined by the user's answers. Depending on their responses, the user is directed to different steps.

To configure the tree structure, first define the steps (as in the linear structure) and then define the rules that determine the flow.

The rules are configured in the menu Edit::Rules. Each rule has:

• Origin step: The step from which the rule originates.
• Destination step: The step the user is directed to if the condition is met.
• Condition: The condition that must be satisfied to proceed from the origin to the destination.

2.4.2.1 Definition of Conditions

Conditions follow a specific syntax. Below are the available condition types:

• $P1_1: The user selected option 1 of question P1 (for radio/single-option questions).
• $P1_2: The user selected option 2 of question P1.
• $P1_1_1: In a matrix question, the user selected option 1 for the first row of question P1.
• $P1_check_1: In a checkbox/multiple-selection question, the user selected option 1.
• $P1_check_1_Sel: In a checkbox/multiple-selection question, the user selected option 1 (alternative syntax).
• $P1_check_1_NoSel: In a checkbox/multiple-selection question, the user did NOT select option 1.
• $P42_statusQuo: In a multiple choice question, the user answered Status Quo for all presented questions. P42 refers to the parent question.
• $P42_0statusQuo: In a multiple choice / simple choice question, the user answered Status Quo for NONE of the presented questions. P42 refers to the parent question.
• $P42_noAnswer: The user did not answer an optional question.
• $P42_Answer: The user answered a question.
• $PX_HayPrograma: In a "Multiple continuous choice" question, the user did not click the "No hay programa" button.
• $PX_Val_0: In a "Line input" question, the user entered the value 0. The "Type of data" setting must be set to numeric.
• $PX_Val_NA: The user did not answer an optional question. Currently implemented only for line input questions, but it can be extended to other question types. Please contact us if you need this condition for a different question type.
• $Juego_Finished: The game associated with the survey did not finish correctly.
• Logical operators:
• || for logical OR
• && for logical AND

Random Paths in Survey Structure

Note the origin and destination of the rules. As shown, there are two rules: one goes from screen 1 to screen 2, and the other goes from screen 1 to screen 3.

2.4.3 Visualization in Two Columns

To display questions in a two-column layout, follow these rules:

• In the steps configuration, define the questions that should appear in two columns. For example, if a step has three questions and the first two should be displayed in two columns while the third occupies the full width, configure them as P1, P2, P3.
• Then, edit the configuration of the first question (the one in the left column) and set its width to 30%, 50%, or 66%. Do not change the configuration of the second question.

2.4.4 Upload Steps and Rules from Excel

For complex survey structures, it may be easier to define the steps and rules in Excel and then upload them through the user interface.

Steps to follow: An example Excel file with a tree structure is available at this link.

1. Create an Excel file with the format shown in the link, containing 2 tabs: one for steps and one for rules.
2. Populate the steps tab with Column A and Column B. Column C is a formula based on the first two columns and contains the information to paste into the TickStat platform.
3. Populate the rules tab:
4. Column A: Step ID (an incremental formula).
5. Column B: Initial step, using the step identifier from the first tab.
6. Column C: Final step, using the step identifier from the first tab.
7. Column D: Condition to apply for the transition from the initial step to the final step.
8. Column E: Formula that builds the information to paste into the TickStat platform, based on the previous columns.

We recommend drawing the tree structure on paper based on the steps tab before populating the rules tab.

Next step:

Copy the information from Column C in the steps tab and paste it into the form in the TickStat platform via the menu Edit::Pasos Manual.

Copy the information from Column E in the rules tab and paste it into the form in the TickStat platform via the menu Edit::Reglas Manual.

After testing the survey navigation, if any rules were not applied correctly, return to the Excel file, add new rules as needed, and paste the updated rules information again.

2.4.5 Per-Step Back Button

By default, when the "Back button" option is enabled in the survey settings (see section 2.3.5), the back button is shown on every step (except the first one). However, you can control the back button visibility on a per-step basis.

In the Survey Structure form (Edit::Steps), each step row has a Back checkbox column. When checked, the back button will be displayed on that step; when unchecked, it will be hidden.

How the global setting and per-step setting work together:

• When you enable the global "Back button" in the survey settings, all steps are set to show the back button. You can then uncheck specific steps where you want to hide it.
• When you disable the global "Back button", all steps are set to hide the back button. You can then check specific steps where you still want to show it.
• The global setting only affects the steps when its value changes. Once set, each step's back button can be individually configured without being overridden by saving the survey settings again.

This is useful when certain steps contain irreversible actions or time-sensitive content where going back would be inappropriate, while still allowing navigation on other steps.

2.5 Survey Sharing Between Investigators

Surveys can be shared between investigators to enable collaborative work.

2.5.1 How to Share

Go to menu Edit > Share Survey. Enter the email address of the investigator you want to share the survey with.

2.5.2 Roles

• Builder: The original creator of the survey. Has full editing permissions.
• Admin: An investigator who received a shared survey. Can manage the survey but cannot transfer ownership.

2.5.3 Concurrent Edit Protection (Optimistic Locking)

When two investigators edit the same survey simultaneously, the system detects the conflict. The second person to save will see a warning indicating that the survey was modified by another user. They can then reload the survey and re-apply their changes.

2.6 Survey Status Management

2.6.1 Extended Survey Statuses

Surveys have four statuses:

Status	Description
Draft (programacion)	Survey is being built. Not accessible to respondents.
Open (abierta)	Survey is active and accepting responses.
Paused (pausada)	Survey is temporarily stopped. No new responses accepted.
Closed (cerrada)	Survey is finished.

Status is managed from Settings > Options section.

2.6.2 Survey List Filters

The survey listing page includes filter buttons: All, Draft, Open, Closed. The default filter is "Open," which shows active and paused surveys.

2.6.3 Lock for Editing

When a survey is in the field (Open/Paused), it can be locked to prevent accidental changes. Enable Lock for editing in Settings to protect the survey configuration. Only superadmins can unlock it.

2.7 Survey Version History and Restore

Every time a survey is saved, a version is automatically created. Researchers can view the change history and restore previous versions.

2.7.1 Accessing Version History

Go to menu Edit > Version History for the selected survey.

2.7.2 Restoring a Version

Select a version from the history list and click Restore. This creates a new version with the restored content; the current version is not lost.

2.8 Survey Distribution

2.8.1 QR

The survey can be distributed through a QR code generated from the platform.

2.8.2 Links

The survey can be distributed through a link that can be embedded on any web page.

2.8.3 Redirects

By default, every survey has the following redirect URLs, which can be configured in the survey settings:

• Quality Check: The user is removed due to poor quality (e.g., completing the survey below the minimum time).
• Early Screen Out: The user does not meet the criteria to participate in the survey.
• Quota complete: The quota is full and no additional completions are needed for the given criteria.
• Done: The survey was completed successfully.

By default, TickStat redirects are used. However, when respondents are invited through a panel, the panel's redirect URLs should be used instead. To revert to the default TickStat redirects, configure the following URLs:

• Quality Check: https://www.tickstat.com/surveys/resources/messages/qualityTerminate
• Early Screen Out: https://www.tickstat.com/surveys/resources/messages/earlyScreenOut
• Quota complete: https://www.tickstat.com/surveys/resources/messages/quotaFull
• Done: https://www.tickstat.com/surveys/resources/messages/complete

2.9 Save Survey Functionality

This functionality allows respondents to abandon a survey and resume it later. The admin user activates the "Save & Resume Later" checkbox in the survey edit form.

This functionality requires a tree structure. If the survey does not have a tree structure, the application will not allow this feature to be enabled.

Important considerations when using this functionality in admin mode:

1. When previewing the survey in admin mode, the save and resume functionality is not active, as admin mode is used for testing the survey before launch.
2. This functionality relies on a cookie sent to the user's browser, which is removed upon survey completion. This means the feature only works from the same browser where the user started the survey.

2.10 Style

In the Style menu section, you can upload a logo image and specify its URL. The logo height must be 80px; the width can be adjusted by the researcher as needed.

You can also configure the URL that opens when the user clicks the logo. The URL will open in a new browser tab.

2.11 How to Translate the Survey

In some cases, a single survey may need to be available in multiple languages. TickStat facilitates translation through the following manual process:

• Download an Excel report of the original survey configuration.
• Translate the items in the Excel file.
• Duplicate the survey.
• Upload the Excel report with the translated items to the duplicated survey.

Additionally, TickStat now provides automatic translation to the 14 languages supported by the platform.

Each of these steps is explained in detail below.

2.11.1 Download an Excel Report of the Configuration for the Original Survey

To download the report containing all question text for the survey, go to the menu option Results::Reports and click the option to download this report.

The report contains 4 columns. The first 3 columns are tags that allow the application to identify the translated text. Column 4 contains the text that needs to be translated.

2.11.2 Translation of the Items in the Excel

The translator must translate the text in Column 4 (LiteralToTranslate) into Column 5 (LiteralTranslated).

In some cases, the text to translate contains code that must not be modified. For example:

Abundance (count per hectare/catches per unit effort) of SP 1
$encuesta.getPregunta("P118").getAnswerFromUserMatrixNumeric(1)

The translator must leave $encuesta.getPregunta("P118").getAnswerFromUserMatrixNumeric(1) unchanged, as it is a configuration expression that must not be translated.

Similarly, text may contain HTML code. Only the visible text should be translated; the HTML markup must remain unchanged. For example:

Original (English):

<div class="intro">
    <p>This survey has been developed in the frame of</p>
    <p>We estimate</p>
    <p>All information collected</p>
    <ul>
        <li>By default, it will be confidential</li>
        <li>If you agree and confirm</li>
    </ul>
    <p>Thank you</p>
    <p>If you have any further questions</p>
</div>

Translated (Spanish):

<div class="intro">
    <p>Esta encuesta ha sido desarrollada en el marco de</p>
    <p>Estimamos</p>
    <p>Toda la informacion obtenida</p>
    <ul>
        <li>Por defecto sera confidencial</li>
        <li>Si estas de acuerdo y confirmas</li>
    </ul>
    <p>Gracias</p>
    <p>Si tienes alguna pregunta adicional</p>
</div>

2.11.3 Upload the Excel Report with the Items Translated to the New Language

Once all items in the "LiteralTranslated" column are complete, upload the Excel file to the duplicated survey via the menu option "Style:: Upload translation."

Finally, set the survey language in the survey settings (click "Edit survey" and use the "Select language" field).

2.11.4 Automatic Translation

To translate automatically using the Google AI Translation model, duplicate the survey, then edit the duplicate and go to the "Choose language" setting. Select the target language and click "Translate automatically." After a brief wait, the entire survey will be translated. Some adjustments may be needed for Choice questions.