October 2008
Update of SurveyXact 5.20 Anonymous measurements
In October 2008, version 5.20 Anonymous measurements will be launched:
On 1 October 2008, version 5.20 Anonymous measurements was launched:
The most important innovation of this version is that you can now choose to complete anonymous measurements in a new way. The new way of completing anonymous measurements permits using key control tools of the SurveyXact user, such as protection against several responses and an option of automatic reminders.
The previous option of completing anonymous measurements in SurveyXact is thus maintained so that the SurveyXact user is free to choose the setup that best matches the measurement situation in question. The key word of this new development was again offering the users maximum flexibility.
General information:
By hiding various information from the SurveyXact user, the system ensures that the user cannot identify which respondent gave which responses. This allows the anonymity of the respondents to be safeguarded while completing the measurements in the well-functioning and thoroughly tested SurveyXact system core with all the control tools known from non-anonymous measurements.
Creation of an anonymous measurement:
Anonymous measurements are created just like the "ordinary" SurveyXact measurements. The only difference is that the measurement is marked as ‘Anonymous' under measurement properties.
A measurement can be made anonymous as long as no respondents have been created in the measurement. As soon as a respondent has been created in a measurement, the user cannot change the anonymous/non-anonymous state of the measurement.
Completion of an anonymous measurement:
When the user works with an anonymous measurement, SurveyXact blocks all access to the responses which each respondent has given as well as the respondent keys which give access to the responses. The menu items which in non-anonymous measurements give access to the responses made by the respondents simply do not exist in anonymous measurements.
In anonymous measurements, the users cannot:
- Access a respondent's response
- Print a respondent's response
- View the respondents' keys on the respondent list
- Export base data and respondent keys for merges
- Enter the respondents' responses
- Complete interviews
- In addition to removing the menu items from the user's user interface, we also introduced a system-technical lock of the information which the user is not allowed to view ensuring that a user cannot "cheat" to view them.
Analysis in an anonymous measurement:
When a user works with an anonymous measurement in the analysis, the system blocks all access to open background information about the respondents and the respondent keys providing access to the responses. The variables which contain open background information about the respondents are simply not accessible in the analysis.
When the user creates a data set for analysis in an anonymous measurement, the system ensures that no open background information is transferred to the data set. Nor will any open system variables, such as creation time, closing time, etc. be transferred. The open background information will be removed from the analysis to ensure that the user cannot find information in the analysis identifying the respondent. In other words, the analysis does not contain any information which directly identifies each respondent.
The new function in the system has already been implemented and is, of course, free for all users of the system.