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Background data

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    Background data can both be used as a filter on the results in your report, or to personalise your survey questions or sendout. In short, background data is known information about your respondent, but it is hidden in the background so that your respondent will NOT see it. This information is added in a Respondent List.

    To learn more about Respondent Lists, how to create and upload them, read this article.

    Don’t want to read? Watch this video tutorial:

    Import background data to your survey

    Background data is information we already have about our respondents, that we want to include in the survey or report, but do not want to show to the respondent. For example, we already know the customer type, what product, and contact person the respondent has. This means that we do not need to ask these questions in the survey. This information will automatically be added in the survey when background data is imported.

    1. Start by going to Distribution.
    2. Choose your preferred channel of distribution, for example email sendout.
    3. Add respondent from File, Respondent Lists or manually. In this example we will use a file.
    4. Once you have uploaded your file the system will recognise your data types and sort them accordingly. Please take second look to check that everything is like you imagined. The option that is visible in the question is the first option in the list. If you click the dropdown menu you will be able to view all the added options.
    5. You will also be presented with the option to “Add to survey”. What this means is that this information will be added to the survey in the form of a question. However, these questions will NOT be visible to the respondent. Check all the boxes that you want to include.

      When checked, this data will be added to the survey and marked in green text as  Background data, which indicates that this is a background data and will not be visible to respondents. These are the fields that will used when creating filters in the report later. The fields that you choose not to include will still be saved as background data, but not as a filter possibility in the report.
      In the next page you will have a summary as well as the option to Allow Duplicates if a respondent is added twice. If the same respondent is added two times, the respondent will also get two survey links, and two possibilities to answer.

    It doesn’t matter if you add background data before or after the send-out. It is important that the respondent list has been uploaded for the survey and that it contains all background variables. The import before the send-out is important when you to base logic on background variables.

    If you add more background variables after the initial import (e.g. country or language), you will have to delete the mechanism and import it anew to use it in the report. In this specific case, you can accept the warning message about the deletion of background variables, as the variables will still be present in the list and can be reconnected.

    Edit, delete, or add data

    After adding your respondent list and background data to your survey and sendout, you can edit, delete, or add data if needed by clicking on the number of respondents or the pencil icon.

    You will then be presented with your list of respondents.

    You can do manual changes such as:
    Edit: click on the field you wish to edit.
    Delete: check the respondend(s) you wish to delete and click the delete button on the bottom of the page.
    Add column: on the right side of the list you will find the “Add column”-option.
    Add respondent: Between your list of respondents and the delete-button you will find the “Add respondents”-option.

    Or you can do them in your Excel file. To add the changes, simply upload your file again. Go through the same steps as when adding the file the first time. At the end of the processes you will then see the option “Update existing respondents if matched”, which you should select.

    To read more about adding new respondents to an already existing senout, check out this article.

    Finalise your sendout

    After you have added the respondent list, you can finish your email message. Click Next and activate the sendout. Your respondents will receive the survey via email at the date and time you have specified. As soon as your respondents answer the first question, the background data will automatically be filled in and you can filter your results accordingly.