Introduction to lists

Select a list to use in a question and make modifications to list through the selection dropdown on questions.

View all lists in one place with the list manager.

The list manager is found through the tools dropdown or in the list dropdown on question cards.

New, empty lists are automatically created when a question is added, however, you can start over with a new list by clicking the plus icon () in the list dropdown or manager.

When a list is created, it is assigned a default name. For example, a list generated by question Q1 will be named "Q1List."

To help organize your lists, renaming a question will automatically update the list's name to match. This automatic renaming will continue until you manually change the list name. For instance, if you rename "Q1" to "State," the list will then be renamed to "StateList."

Once a list has been created, you can easily reuse it in other questions. Simply select the same list from the list selection dropdown in each question where you want to use it. This allows you to avoid entering the same items multiple times.

 

Be aware that when a list is used in multiple questions, any changes to an item will be applied across all instances of that item. This can be both beneficial and problematic, so proceed with caution. For instance, correcting a spelling error in one place will fix it everywhere, but deleting a list item in one question might disrupt settings in another.

It is crucial to thoroughly review all questions utilizing a particular list before making any changes to the list or its items. This ensures that your modifications do not unintentionally impact other questions.

To help you track lists used in multiple questions, the icon next to the list name will change () and a message will appear next to the dropdown indicating all instances of the list.

Special items may behave differently depending on the question in which the list is used. For instance, a text entry (e.g., "Other, please specify") is appropriate for a multi-select question but not for a MaxDiff question, where only the item text will appear. In such cases, it might be better to duplicate the list and then remove the text entry option for use in the MaxDiff question.

If you change the list item text, respondent's records will stay consistent throughout the changes. For example, if list item 5 said “Bleu,” but you then changed it to “Blue,” respondent records would all match, showing that they all selected “Blue” (choice 5). In this case of a misspelled word, the responses would be equivalent. In another example, if you changed “Blue” to “Red,” all records would show that respondents chose list item 5, or “Red.” Ensure that changing list items in a published survey would result in desired behavior.

Reordering list items will be reflected in the data export. If the first set of respondents saw 2. Yellow, but halfway through collecting data, yellow was changed to 4, the record will show that everyone selected 4.

Deleting a list item from a question and publishing your survey will remove that item from data export and analysis. For example, if you have option 5 in a question as “Blue” and you choose to delete that item, respondent data will not show they ever selected Blue.

Sometimes slight modifications need to be made to a list to make it work in multiple questions. It can be much quicker to duplicate a list and then make changes to the new copy. Once a list is duplicated, the two lists are completely independent. Changes in one list will not affect the other.

Deleting a list will remove it from all questions, logic, and quotas it is used in. Proceed with caution.

This option allows respondents to type their own (open-end) answers. When this setting is applied, an input field is automatically inserted into a list item. An icon () is also added at the beginning of the list item to call out the applied setting.

For example, you could ask "What is your favorite color?” and present a list of colors. One option could say “Other (please specify)” and then allows the respondent to type their own answer.

More than one list item can allow for text entry.

This is how the question will appear to respondents:

When an exclusive item is checked, all other items in the list are automatically unchecked. The classic example of this is the "None of the above" response option. This option is only available in a question where multiple selections are available. When the setting is applied, an icon () is placed at the beginning of the item to signify the setting is applied. More than one list item may be set as "exclusive" for a question.