Make a question summary
If you want to make a summary from several question answers, you can use a Textbox with a few modifications.
When to use summary?
This function can be useful in surveys where you are dealing with numerical values. If you want to use this function, it is important that you present your intention clearly to the respondents to avoid confusion. We advise you to insert straightforward instructions about what type of information you need, and how the respondent should fill out the questions.
How to create a summary?
To begin creating a summarised Textbox, insert a Textbox from the left-hand menu. It will then be added as the last question at the bottom of the page you are currently editing. You will then be given the option to label the question with a description or heading. This field can be left blank, but we recommend that you have a clear heading explaining what value should be inserted into the box.
Once you have created a Textbox, you will need to adjust the settings for the SUM functionality to work:
- Required: All questions that should be summarised need to be set as Required. This means they cannot be skipped by respondents.
- Numerical: For the calculation to work, all questions that should be summarised need to collect numerical responses and be marked as Numerical in the textbox settings.
Important! Textboxes marked as Required cannot be left empty by the respondent. If a Required question is not relevant to a respondent, they must insert “0” (Zero) into the answer field.
With these two settings, all textboxes that appear consecutively, on the same page, will be included in the calculation.
In the image above, we have used the question “How much do you spend on the following items per month? (In Euro)”. We will use two textboxes in this example:
- Food (€)
- Shopping (€)
Below these two options you can see an additional Textbox, with the text “[SUM=0] Total (€):”. This box is where the calculation is executed. You must include this box for the summarise function to work. Note: This Textbox does also have to have the same settings as the previous ones (required and numerical) for the functionality to work.
Important! The Textboxes need to appear consecutively (i.e. one immediately after the other) on the same page. They should not be split up with any other question types or information text—this will disrupt the calculation.
Can I add variations to the summary?
Yes. As noted above, you need to end your series of questions with a final Textbox that works to summarise the responses. This will complete the functionality.
Above we used the tag [SUM=0] Total (€): but this tag can vary depending on what the purpose of the summary is.
[SUM=0]: When writing [SUM=0] in the header of the Textbox, the system will add up all of the numerical responses provided by respondents, giving you the total sum of all boxes.
[SUM=100]: When writing [SUM=100] in the header of a Textbox, the system will add up all numerical responses provided, but there will be a limit of 100. This option is a perfect fit for considering percentage distribution, for example. This means that the individual answers provided cannot be lower or higher than 100, with the final figure equalling exactly 100 for the calculation to work. You can change the number 100 here to any number that will fulfil your purpose.
How does summaries look in respondent view?
Sum functionality in the respondent view:
Can you please provide more feedback so we can make this article better?