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Live update of respondents (Snap 9)

This worksheet describes how to update the respondents for a live survey running on Snap WebHost. You would do this if:

  • You realised that you had seeded the wrong data for respondents that you had already uploaded (for example, their addresses were wrong)
  • You needed to add more respondents for a current survey
  • You wanted to run the survey again with a totally new set of respondents

Background

There are two sets of data associated with each respondent in Snap WebHost:

  • Personal data. This is provided by the database (e.g, email addresses, age etc.)
  • Survey and scheduling data. This is provided by Snap WebHost. It is a record of what surveys have been completed, half-completed surveys, which reminders have been sent out etc. that is stored in Snap WebHost.

There are different types of update, to allow you to update personal data while keeping scheduling data, or to delete scheduling data.

Key for diagrams

Key for respondent diagrams

Subtractive merge

You would use a subtractive merge to update all the respondent data. For example, if you need to change the addresses for your respondents. It updates the personal data of existing respondents, adds new respondents, and deletes respondents who are not included in the update. It keeps the scheduling data of all existing respondents.

Subtractive merge diagram

Additive merge

You would use an additive merge to add a few respondents to your database (for example, if you were sending the same survey out to new people each week). It updates the personal data of existing respondents, adds new respondents, and leaves respondents who are not included in the update. It keeps the scheduling data of all existing respondents.

Additive merge diagram

Replace all respondents

You would use a replace if you wanted to send an existing survey to a totally new set of people. It replaces all the respondents associated with that survey with a new set, and deletes all scheduling data.

Replace respondents diagram

Summary of steps

To update the respondents, you need to:

  1. In Snap, create a database link in Online Survey mode to the changed or filtered database from the survey.
  2. In Snap, run the database link to generate the new respondent data file.
  3. In Snap WebHost, upload the new respondent data file to the survey. You may do this as a subtractive merge, an additive merge, or as a replace.

Step 1

  1. Open the survey in Data Entry mode in Snap.
  2. Select File | Database Link to display the Database Linkage dialog box.
  3. Click [New] to create a new database link. The Database Wizard dialog is displayed.
  4. Click on the Online Survey radio button.
  5. Click [Next].The Database linkage dialog is displayed.
  6. Click [Select Database File] and browse to the file containing the respondent IDs and data.

    If you wish to filter the respondents so that this survey is only available to some members of the database, set an appropriate filter condition.

  7. Click [Next].

  8. Complete all the settings as you did for the original database link. Click [Next].

  9. Enter a name for the link and click [Finish].

Step 2: Running the database link

  1. Open the survey in Data Entry mode in Snap.
  2. Select File | Database Link to display the Database Linkage dialog box.
  3. Select the link with the new respondent database
  4. Click [Run] to generate the new respondent data. The Generate New Respondents File dialog appears.

  5. Select the folder where you would like the generated data to be placed and click [OK]. Snap generates the new respondent .dat file, adds it to a zip file for upload and places both of them in the selected folder.

    Generate New Respondents dialog

Step 3: Updating the respondents

  1. Log in to Snap WebHost.
  2. Select the survey in the list.
  3. Pause the survey.
  4. Click on the Respondents tab. You will see a list of current respondents for the survey and their status.
  5. Click the Upload new respondents link. The Upload Respondents dialog appears.

    Upload respondents dialog

  6. Browse to the zip file of new data.
  7. Select the type of upload you wish to use (subtractive merge to update respondents, additive merge to add respondents, and replace to replace all respondents).
  8. Click the Upload Archive button.
  9. The respondents list is updated with the new data.

Possible problems

A subtractive merge removes all the respondents that are not in the upload. If you want to remove ten people, then you must upload a database that includes everyone except those ten people. If you upload a database containing ten people and do a subtractive merge, you will only have those ten people left and everyone else will be deleted.

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