> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pollandroll.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Building a questionnaire

> Start a questionnaire, add questions, preview it and review it.

The **questionnaire editor** is the interface where you assemble your questionnaire: the questions, their answers, their order and their display conditions. This page gives the overview. The details are in the following pages.

## Three ways to get started

You do not have to start from a blank page.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Import a Word file" icon="file-word">
    AI reads a Word document and programs the questionnaire for you.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Start from a template" icon="copy">
    Duplicate a survey template that already contains your recurring questions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Write it by hand" icon="keyboard">
    Add the questions one by one directly in the editor.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Import a Word document

On the Questionnaire page, choose **Import a Word questionnaire**. AI creates the questions, the items, the randomizations, the recodes and the filters it detects. Filters on one of a question's images are carried over too, provided the Word document refers to the image by its file name.

For the import to be reliable, the document must be **clear and consistent**:

* consistent formatting, with all sections written the same way;
* consistent question numbering (the format matters little as long as it is regular);
* the **type of each question** stated (open or closed, single or multiple choice).

<Note>
  You can also **import a Word file on top of a template** you have already duplicated: the questions from the Word file are added to the recurring module.
</Note>

<Warning>
  If your survey starts from a template, **remove the recurring module from the Word file before importing**. Otherwise you end up with duplicates. Filters that rely on that module may also not be carried over by the import.
</Warning>

<Note>
  The import runs in the background: the **Word questionnaire import in progress** page shows its progress. Until it is finished, you can **cancel the import** and then start a new one.
</Note>

### Start from a template

A **template** is a survey template that pre-fills a common base: systematic questions, recurring blocks. To use it, duplicate it from **My templates**. The copy keeps its questions.

### Copy questions or a section from another survey

To reuse only a few questions, or a whole section, without duplicating a survey, click **Copy from another survey** in the **My questionnaire** menu.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose the source survey">
    In **Source survey**, choose the survey the questions come from. The list offers the other surveys of the same organization you have access to, templates included.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose what to copy">
    In **Copy**, choose **Questions** or **A section**.

    * **Questions**: in **Questions to copy**, select one or more questions.
    * **A section**: in **Section to copy**, choose the section. It is copied with its title, its randomization and all its questions.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the position">
    In **Insert the questions** or **Insert the section**, say where the copy goes: at the beginning of the questionnaire, after a given question or section, or at the end of the questionnaire (the default). Click **Validate**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The copy runs in the background (**Copying questions…**). The copied questions keep their original order, their items and their randomization. Each one gets a new identifier in the survey.

<Note>
  A question filter is carried over only if every question it depends on is part of the copy. Otherwise it is dropped: check the display conditions of the copied questions. The filter of a copied section is not carried over.
</Note>

### Create your own template

Any survey in **Draft** can also become a template: open the menu on its card on the home page and choose **Turn into a template**. It then joins **My templates**, leaves the list of your surveys and can no longer be edited.

To edit it again, open the menu on its card in **My templates** and choose **Turn into an editable survey**: it becomes a draft in your surveys again.

## Add a question

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add the question">
    Click **Add a question** and choose where it goes in the questionnaire.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Give it a variable name">
    Every question carries a **Variable name**: it is its technical identifier.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the text and the items">
    Write the wording (color, bold and italic are available) and add the response items, by hand or by copy-paste.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  The **Variable name** matters for what comes next: comparison between the waves of a tracker is based on this name, not on the label. Keep the same name from one wave to the next. Duplicating a survey preserves variable names.
</Tip>

### The question identifier

Every question also gets an **identifier**, shown at the top of its card (**Question Q3**). It designates the question throughout the survey: in front of its label in question lists (charts, filters, recodes…), as the sheet name in Excel exports, and for the AI assistant. Do not confuse it with the Variable name.

* At creation, poll\&roll assigns a default identifier: **Q** followed by the question's position (Q1, Q2…).
* The identifier is **fixed**: moving the question does not renumber it.
* To change it, click the pencil icon (**Edit question identifier**) next to **Question Q3**. If you empty the field, a default identifier is assigned again.

<Note>
  An identifier is **unique within the survey** and is saved in upper case. It is at most 31 characters long and cannot contain any of the characters `/ \ ? * : [ ] '`.
</Note>

### Get help from AI

From a question's wording, AI can **suggest response items**. You enter the question, you run the suggestion, then you keep the relevant proposals.

The help is mostly useful to **enrich a questionnaire that is already written**: avoiding omissions in a list of items and limiting the size of the "Other" item. It is particularly helpful on a market you know poorly or a foreign market.

<Note>
  The **Background and objectives** entered when the survey was created feed these suggestions. The more precise they are, the more relevant the help.
</Note>

## Preview and test

At any time, click **Preview** to see the questionnaire as the respondent will see it. Check the rendering and how the filters trigger.

To check the mobile display, shrink the browser window, or open the questionnaire link on a smartphone. There is no dedicated "mobile preview" button.

## Review before launching

Two tools make the questionnaire more reliable before fieldwork.

| Tool | What it does |
| - | - |
| **AI review** | Diagnoses the questionnaire: item missing from a recode, duplicate variable name, filter that is too restrictive, respondent at risk of being blocked. It returns technical remarks and editorial suggestions (non-binding). |
| **PDF export** | Generates a complete PDF with, for each question, its filters, Screen outs and recodes. It can be exported in several languages. Handy to review, validate, archive the final version and share it. |

<Warning>
  When **fieldwork is launched, the questionnaire is locked**: it can no longer be edited. Going back to draft remains possible, but is impractical once data collection has started. Set everything up while the survey is in **Draft**.
</Warning>


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