Qualtrics
Qualtrics is a university-approved, online platform that allows users to create forms and surveys, collect data and complete analysis. Qualtrics enables Laurier editors to integrate responsive and accessible web forms seamlessly into Laurier’s web properties for the benefit of students, faculty and staff, and external website visitors.
Qualtrics software gives you the ability to:
- Create surveys using a large library of question types and response options.
- Use powerful survey flow logic options to tailor your survey.
- Send customized email invitations to respondents and track their progress.
- Create custom online reports with tables and graphs that can be exported to Word, PowerPoint or PDF.
- Use automatically built reports, with the best visualizations selected for each question type.
- Download data to Excel or SPSS for additional analysis.
Guidelines for Use
Qualtrics can only be used for research, academic or quality assurance purposes and can only be used by current Laurier faculty, students and staff. Any surveys created by users outside of the university, without the proper approval, will be immediately removed. The use of Qualtrics must:
- Ensure compliance with related university policies and guidelines.
- All surveys must adhere to the guidelines related to Research Ethics Board (REB) and/or quality assurance (administrative research) review.
- Ensure copyright and legal compliance.
- Ensure compliance with the Qualtrics terms of service.
- Ensure compliance with applicable accessibility requirements.
- Qualtrics offers a "Check Survey Accessibility" feature which diagnoses your survey and indicates which questions are inaccessible and gives other recommendations for increased accessibility.
Related Policies
- 3.4 Data Classification and Information Management
- 8.2 Approval for Administrative Research Projects Using Human Subjects
- 9.1 Use of Information Technology
- 9.4 Information Security Policy Statement
- 9.5 External Information Technology and Cloud Services
- 10.1 Information Availability and Privacy Protection
- 10.4 Records Management
- 11.13 Ethics Review of Research Involving Humans
- 11.14 Policy for the Responsible Conduct of Research
Privacy, Data Collection and University Policies
Maintaining high standards in our process of collecting, housing and deleting data collected is important to ensure the privacy and security of Laurier faculty, staff, students and external community members.
The data you collect is required to be kept for at least one year prior to properly removing all records of the information. Always streamline the collection of information; if you do not need the information, do not ask for it.
To maintain the integrity of Laurier's data collection, please ensure you are following all related university policies regarding privacy, information technology and research compliance. The related policies are listed on the left-hand side of this page.
At a minimum, when collecting data from individuals, the preamble/informed consent of any survey should identify the following to the intended audience:
- Who is collecting the information and why it is being collected.
- What will be done with the information and who will have access to it.
- How long the information will be kept (please ensure you are following any relevant data retention guidelines) and any confidentiality considerations.
- That participation is voluntary.
Visit the guidelines related to Research Ethics Board (REB) and/or quality assurance (administrative research) reviews for more detailed information and requirements.
Data Types
In particular, it is important to familiarize yourself with the procedures and policies regarding internal (type 2) and restricted (type 3) data types outlined in Policy 3.4 prior to any data collection on Qualtrics. The following are examples of restricted (type 3) data; please review the specific instructions associated with each:
- Social Insurance Number
- When collecting a user's SIN, ensure that the following note is included: "Note: Laurier collects personal information under the authority of the Wilfrid Laurier University Act. If you have questions about this collection, please contact Shereen Rowe, privacy coordinator, at privacy@wlu.ca or 519.884.0710 x2037."
- Credit card information
- It is not permitted that any credit card information be collected as this information can only be collected through privacy and security approved Moneris payment platform.
- Medical information
- The collection of any medical information must be reviewed and approved by the Privacy Office. Review Laurier's 3.4 Data Classification and Information Management Policy for additional information.
Getting Started with Qualtrics
Step 1: Accessing Your Account
Current Qualtrics Users
- Go to Laurier's Qualtrics site.
- Laurier's Qualtrics Single Sign-On (SSO) will appear.
- Log in with your SSO credentials.
New Qualtrics Users
- Go to Laurier's Qualtrics site.
- Laurier's Qualtrics Single Sign-On (SSO) will appear.
- Log in with your SSO credentials.
- On the next page, you will be asked if you have ever used Qualtrics before. Even if you have a pre-existing account with another organization, say this is your first time using Qualtrics. A new account will be automatically generated for you.
- If you would like to be associated with a specific existing user group, please contact qualtrics@wlu.ca.
Step 2: How to Use Qualtrics
Support and training is offered directly through Qualtrics, via their support website, which has a significant amount of material on functionality.
The following are some specific links to get you started:
- Learn the survey platform
- Survey basic overview
- Distributions basic overview
- Collecting responses
- Qualtrics also offers weekly live training webinars on a variety of topics.
- Qualtrics user community forums allow users to share best practices, tips and advice about using the platform.
Step 3: Support
- Use the following link to login to the Qualtrics Support Center.
- Click the second link “Sign in with SSO.”
- A new window will open up and you will be asked for the Organization ID. Insert “wlu” (lower case) and click “Continue”. Note: This field is case sensitive.
- You will be directed to the Laurier-Qualtrics Single Sign-On page. Please login with your Laurier SSO credentials.
- You will be directed to the Qualtrics Support Center where you can submit your ticket. Please note the Qualtrics Support Team is only able to provide support assistance for the account that the user used to login to the Support Center to submit a ticket.
The Qualtrics support team provides 24/7 support at:
- Email: support@qualtrics.com
- Phone: 1.800.340.9194
- Live chat