LimeSurvey

About

LimeSurvey is a web-based system for creating, deploying and managing basic online (i.e. 'web') surveys.   With LimeSurvey you design, deploy and manage your web surveys through a web interface.  There is no software to download or install - all that is required is an account on the LimeSurvey system, a web browser and access to the internet.    

An example LimeSurvey survey is available here.

Please see the Features section below for more information on LimeSurvey's capabilities.
 

How to obtain a LimeSurvey account

In order to create web surveys, you must be set up with a LimeSurvey account.  A LimeSurvey account consists of a username and password to access the LimeSurvey system. To request a LimeSurvey account, please send email to drchelp@uoguelph.ca  In your email message please include your name and U of G email address.   A U of G email address is required for your account to be created.

There is no charge for a LimeSurvey account for members of the University of Guelph / Guelph-Humber community.  You will receive your account via an automated email message from the LimeSurvey system.  Please allow up to 3 business days for your account to be created.

How to access LimeSurvey

Once you have a LimeSurvey account you can login to LimeSurvey here.
 

User Guides to help you use LimeSurvey

1.  Quick Start Guide

A Quick Start Guide (version 2.2) for LimeSurvey is available here.   CCS recommends you review the Quick Start Guide as a first step in becoming familiar with LimeSurvey.

2.  Drill Down Guides

CCS also provides the following Drill Down Guides that explain specific LimeSurvey functionality:   

3.  LimeSurvey's User Manual

The complete LimeSurvey User Manual is available here.   (Referring to the table of contents, start with the Creating surveys - introduction section.  The content before this section is for computer system administrators wishing to install their own version of LimeSurvey on a server). 
 

 

Essential Points you need to be aware of:

Before using LimeSurvey to create and/or administer surveys you need to be aware of the following seven key points:

  1. CCS's liability for your response data.  Your LimeSurvey survey response data is stored in a database in the CCS data centre at the University of Guelph.  The database is backed up once per day via a snapshot of all surveys and their responses in place when the backup is run.  CCS's ability to restore survey data is limited to recovery of the full underlying database system in the event of a catastrophic system failure.   The recovery would be all surveys and responses as they were captured in the previous day's backup.   Survey administrators should therefore ensure they are taking regular backups of their survey data by exporting their survey data to Excel, SPSS, etc.
     
  2. Potential to corrupt your survey if you modify questions with dependent conditions.   Due to a bug in the current version of LimeSurvey, your survey may become corrupted if you modify a question and subsequent questions in your survey have "display / no display" conditions on them based on this question.   Modifications such: as deleting the question, moving its location within your survey, or changing its answer options have all been known to trigger the bug.   CCS strongly recommends that before you modify any question in your survey that subsequent questions test for a "display / no display" decision, you make a backup copy of your survey first before proceeding.     
     
  3. Research involving human participants.  Ethical clearance must be obtained before conducting any research involving human participants. Human Participant applications are reviewed by the Research Ethics Board.  
     
  4. Importing text from Microsoft Word.  Text from Microsoft Word cannot safely be directly imported into LimeSurvey via the standard "copy and paste" technique.   Doing so can insert various MS Word XML markup in your survey, with unpredicatable results when the survey is accessed via Internet Explorer.    The current CCS-recommended way to include text from a MS Word document in your survey is to (a) save the Word document on your computer as a "Single File Web Page"  (e.g. File... Save as... Single File Web Page), then (b) open the saved web page with a web browser (e.g. File... Open file...) and then (c) cut the text from this "web page" and paste it into LimeSurvey. 

    If you are populating aspects of your survey with text copied from MS Word please ensure you test your survey thoroughly in various web browsers, including FireFox and Internet Explorer to ensure no XML markup is corrupting the display of your content.  
     

  5. Using images in your questions, answer options, etc.   You can include images in your question's text, answer options, etc. however these images must be in a web-accessible location (e.g. the personal web site associated with your U of G Central Login ID, the organizational web site associated with your group's U of G organizational account, etc.).   LimeSurvey does not provide the ability for survey administrators to upload images directly into the system for use in question text, answer option text, etc.  Instead, when you use LimeSurvey's editor to insert an image into your question text, answer option text, etc. you provide the URL of the image in its web-assessible location.    Please contact the CCS Help Centre if you require assistance storing images in your U of G personal or organizational web site.
     
  6. LimeSurvey is an open source product without formal vendor support in the event bugs are uncovered.  LimeSurvey is an open source product voluntarily developed by staff at some European universities.  As such CCS's ability to resolve bugs that arise in your use of LimeSurvey is limited to posting the issue on the associated LimeSurvey discussion forums and asking the developer community for their assistance.
     
  7. Templates.   Templates control the basic colour scheme and logos for your survey.   CCS supplies three basic templates with your account (the templates are explained below).   The templates are not modifiable, but you can add an image to the top of each page of your web survey.  How to do this is explained in the Drill Down Document:  How to use the 'Guelph Title Blank' template to add an image at the top of your survey's pages.

Below is information on the three templates suppled with your account.

 

1.  Guelph Title Blank Fixed template - this template is a basic white background.   The template will display your survey in a fixed width of 790 pixels. 

2.    Guelph Title Blank Floating template - this template is a basic white background.   The template will display your survey in a floating width of 90% of your screen's resolution. 

3.    Guelph Elections template - this template is a basic white background.   The template will display your survey in a fixed width of 790 pixels.   This template is used for online voting/elections at Guelph.  It differs from the Guelph Title Blank Fixed template only in that participants do not have the option to save their responses and continue later (i.e. the Save button does not appear). 

For all three of the above templates, you can use the content of your survey's description message metadata field to add your own logo/title to the top of each page of your survey.   How to do this is explained in the Drill Down Document below:

How to use the 'Guelph Title Blank' template to add an image at the top of your survey's pages.

 

Features:

LimeSurvey includes a variety of different question types including open ended text, radio buttons, check boxes and drop-down lists. A matrix-style question is available for rating multiple statements along a common scale.  Question text can include images and links, and various questions have extended customization options.   Please refer to the LimeSurvey User Manual for information on the full range of LimeSurvey question types. 

LimeSurvey can be used to create web surveys containing features such as:

  • hding or displaying questions based on either (a) a respondent's answer to a previous question in the survey and/or (b) information you supply about the respondent in the associated "panel file"  (see "panels" below)
     
  • piping - using a respondent's reply to an earlier question, in the formulation of a subsequent question 
     
  • panels - essentially a "mailing list" of email addresses that you wish to send an invitation to complete the survey.  The "mailing list" can include additional information about the respondent for use in hiding/displaying questions and piping. 
     
  • multiple display formats - a survey can be displayed one question at a time, in blocks of related questions, or all the survey questions can be displayed at one time.
     
  • chaining - upon survey completion the respondent can be directed to another web site/application.   Respondent's replies to certain question types can be included in the parameters passed to the application.

 

Response data is stored in the secure CCS server environment on campus at the University of Guelph.   Survey data can be exported into SPSS syntax (*.sps), comma separated value (*.csv), MS Excel and MS Word files. Surveys and response data will be stored on a central server for up to two years.

Survey results can be exported to a number of different formats, including SPSS, MS Excel, MS Word and CSV

Additional Features:
  • Survey results can be fully anonymous (default mode) or linked to the respondent’s details
  • Question conditions, i.e. you can control whether a question is visible depending on what answers a respondent has already chosen. Conditions can be very simple or very complex, and the same conditions can be applied to several questions at once. Plus question visiblity can be based on respondent attributes uploaded with the original email list (i.e. the "panel" data).
  • Access to surveys can be set to only allow users from a list (known as a panel) to complete it or require respondents to register before beginning the survey
  • You can send out emails inviting individuals to participate. Reminder emails can also be sent out to anyone who is registered but has not yet completed the survey.  In addition an acknowledgement email can be sent to respondents upon their submission of the survey. 
  • Respondents can (if the individual survey is configured to do so), save their responses and return to them at a later stage.
  • Simple print versions of a survey can easily be generated by LimeSurvey. (in the current vesion of LImeSurvey, the printed version of the survey is quite basic).
  • Collaborative research: LimeSurvey allows various people to work on a single survey and/or share results, based on permissions per survey
  • Quotas can be set to close the survey if enough people answer a certain question in a particular way.
  • Email notification. When a complete survey is submitted, you as the survey's administrator can be told that it’s happened, receive the full submission, or nothing at all.
  • Templates.  LimeSurvey accounts have access to four basic templates or "skins".  In some cases, CCS can perform minor customizations to one of these templates, the Guelph cornerstone template, to incorporate a project's logo.  

Video Tutorials

Quick Start to LimeSurvey - courtesy of Hosted In Canada Surveys

 
 

Best Practices for online surveys

Availability

LimeSurvey is available for faculty, staff and students at the University of Guelph.  The system is available 24/7 except during pre-announced maintenance windows.  These maintenance windows are announced on the CCS web site:   http://www.uoguelph.ca/ccs

Acquiring Software

LimeSurvey is hosted on a secure web server with SSL enabled to provide data encryption between your web browser and the web server.  Physically, this web server is in a secure location on campus (the CCS data centre).   Once you have a LimeSurvey account, all you need to access LimeSurvey is a web browser and an internet connection.

Support

Support is available during University business hours via the Data Resource Centre (DRC) by contacting drchelp@uoguelph.ca    Your email to drchelp@uoguelph.ca will create a ticket in the DRC's client request tracking system and an analyst will reply within 2 business days.  Before requesting support please review the Quick Start Guide and relevant Drill Down Guides listed in the above section:  User Guides to help you use LimeSurvey.

While many LimeSurvey support questions can be resolved via email, you are also welcome to meet with a survey support analyst to discuss your project or to obtain further assistance.  Support for incorporating LimeSurvey into courses is also available.   Please contact the Data Resource Centre for more information.