Create a survey
First, you'll use ArcGIS Survey123 to create a survey that will help the homeowner association (HOA) assess its community members' disaster preparedness for earthquakes and home fires. ArcGIS Survey123 is an intuitive form-centric data-gathering solution for creating and analyzing surveys.
After authoring the survey, you'll publish it to ArcGIS Online so participants can complete the survey within the Survey123 web app or using the Survey123 field app.
Start designing the survey
First, you'll sign in to the Survey123 website.
- In a web browser, go to the Survey123 website.
The Survey123 website is where you create and manage surveys, view the data collected for each survey, and analyze and print the results. You can also export the collected survey data to use it in other ArcGIS client applications.
- Click Sign in and sign in with your ArcGIS organizational
account. (Your account must have publishing
privileges.)
Note:
If you don't have an organizational account, see options for software access.
Note:
If you are using an ArcGIS Enterprise account, please refer to Use Survey123 with ArcGIS Enterprise document.
Once you sign in, the Survey123 website displays the survey gallery page with your surveys. If you have not previously created any surveys, the gallery page will be empty.
Note:
If you were already signed in to ArcGIS when you launched the Survey123 website, your credentials will be recognized and you won't need to sign in again. In this case, click My Surveys to go to your survey gallery. When you sign in directly to the Survey123 website, you are automatically taken to the survey gallery.
- Click New Survey
The New Survey window opens.
- In the Using the web designer section, click Get Started.
It may take a moment for the survey to be created. During this process, a new form item and associated feature layer are being created in ArcGIS Online. When the survey is ready, a survey design page appears; it does not contain any survey questions yet.
The objective of the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey is to help the HOA assess how well their association members are prepared in the event that a disaster occurs, such as an earthquake or fire. A secondary goal is to create an inventory of useful items that association members have for emergency response—this may be useful information for the HOA to have in the event of an emergency.
- On the ribbon, next to Untitled Survey, click the Edit survey info button.
- In the Edit survey info window, type the following details:
- Name: HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey
- Tags: HOA, emergency preparedness
- Summary: This survey is being conducted by the HOA to help assess the community’s emergency preparedness in the event of a disaster, such as an earthquake.
You can optionally add a custom thumbnail by clicking the thumbnail icon and adding your own image. (The recommended size for thumbnail images is 200x133 pixels.)
- Click OK.
Before you start designing your survey, you should become familiar with the Survey123 website interface.
The My Surveys, Organization, and Help links appear at the top of the page. The My Surveys link opens the survey gallery, which provides you access to all your surveys. The Organization tab shows all the surveys in the created within your organization. Help opens the ArcGIS Survey123 help documentation. In the green bar below those links, the name of the active survey appears with tabs for working with the survey: Overview, Design, Collaborate, Analyze, Data, and Settings.
Currently, the Design tab is active. Its main display area is divided into two sections. The survey layout preview appears on the left of the design page. The four tabs on the right include the available options for creating and configuring your survey:
- Add—Select the type of question you want to add to the survey.
- Edit—Edit the content and properties of a survey question.
- Appearance—Define the appearance of your survey.
- Options—Configure a thank you message that appears after the survey is submitted.
The design interface provides a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) user experience. As you make configuration changes in the tabs on the right, the changes are reflected in the survey layout preview on the left.
In the process of designing the survey, you'll learn about the different survey question types that you can create in the Survey123 website, and how to configure related questions. As you'll see, ArcGIS Survey123 uses smart forms—as survey questions are answered, subsequent questions will only appear based on the responses to questions. This helps get more concise answers in the survey and saves the respondent time when completing the survey.
Your survey will consist of three sections: general participant information, the 9 Fix-it prevention safety checks, and emergency asset inventory. First, you'll add a survey title and description.
- Click the Survey title is not set to open the Edit tab for the header.
- On the Edit tab, in the Text box, delete the text and enter HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey.
The tittle is updated at the top of the survey.
- Under the title, click the Survey Description area to open the Edit tab, and add the following text:
This survey is being conducted by the HOA to help assess the community’s emergency preparedness in the event of a disaster, such as an earthquake.
Now that you have added the survey title and description, you'll add the first question to get the date that the survey is completed.
- On the Add tab, in the Text, number, date, and time set, click Date.
The new date question type is added to the survey. Date questions are used to collect date input for surveys.
- In the survey layout preview, click the question to select it for editing.
- On the Edit tab, for Label, type Survey Completion Date:
As you type the label, it appears on the survey layout. You can configure multiple parameters for each survey question, depending on the type of question. In this case, you can control the default dates and validation rules. You can assign a default value of the date when the survey is submitted or a specific date. You can also specify a limited date range. You'll set a default date and require that the question be answered before the survey can be submitted.
- For Default Value, select Submitting date. For Validation, check the This is a required question box.
A red asterisk appears next to the question in the survey layout to indicate that the question is required.
- Click Save.
Next, you'll add a Singleline Text question, which collects a free text response in a single line. This question type is a good choice when you expect short answers of only a few words. In this case, you want the participant to provide their name.
- On the Add tab, in the Text, number, date, and time set, click Singleline Text to add the question to the survey.
Tip:
You can drag a question type from the Add tab to the survey layout and position the question where you want it to appear in the survey. You can also re-order questions by moving their position in the layout.
- In the survey layout, click the new question to edit it.
- On the Edit tab, for Label, type Participant Name: and for Validation, check the This is a required question box.
You can also assign a default value for the answer to the question or set minimum and maximum character counts for the answer.
- Click Save.
- Add another Singleline Text question. For its label, type Participant Location: and make it a required question.
Ideally, you would prefer to obtain the participant's specific street address. However, for security or personal reasons, some participants completing the survey may not want to share their address. To accommodate this, you'll add a hint to indicate that providing a street name or nearest cross street is an acceptable response.
- For Hint, type e.g., address, street name, or nearest cross streets.
- Click Save.
Next, you'll add a Location question to collect a spatial location in the survey.
- On the Add tab, in the Location set, click Map to add the question to the end of the survey.
- Edit the question:
- Label: Locate your residence on the map:
- Hint: Note: If you would prefer to not locate your home, please use the nearest intersection/cross streets.
- For Drawing Tools, select Point.
- Make it a required question.
You can provide an interactive map in the survey for the end user to indicate their location.
- For Default Map, choose one of the listed ArcGIS Online basemaps.
As you are locating residences in this survey, the Streets map would be a good choice.
- Click Save.
Your survey now contains four questions.
Add questions about the participant's residence
In the next part of the survey, you'll collect some information about the participant's residence. The first of these questions asks what type of residence is being surveyed. You will also add a question that is dependent on the answer of the first.
- In the
Add tab, from the Choice set, choose Single Select.
This is a multiple choice question type for which participants can only select one answer. You'll define the answer choices.
- For the question's Label, type What type of residence do you live in?
- In the Choices section, for Choice 1, type Single family (house).
- For Choice 2, type Multi-family (apartment, condo).
- For Choice 3, click the minus sign to remove it from the list.
Tip:
You can add or remove answer choices by clicking the plus sign and minus sign buttons, respectively.
- Check the Allow "Other" box.
You can also specify how the choices appear in the survey. You'll accept the default layout.
- Click Save.
Next, you'll add a Number question, which collects numerical data in the survey.
- From the Text, number, date and time set, add a Number question to the end of the survey:
- Label: How many levels does your home have?
- Hint: include the basement as a separate level (if applicable)
- Click Save.
One of the advantages of Survey123 is its smart form capability. You can design the survey to only show certain questions based on the participant's response to earlier questions. Next, you'll set a dependency for question 6 to only appear when a specific answer is given for question 5. You'll define a rule on question 5 to display question 6 based on one of question 5's choice options.
- In the survey layout, click question 5 to make it active.
- In the dashed box, click the Set Rule button.
The Set Rule window opens. First, you specify which answer choice should cause a subsequent question to appear. Then, you choose which question to display when that answer is chosen.
- Set the following rule: If the answer is Single family (house), show the question How many levels does your home have?
- Click OK.
After the rule has been set, new icons appear in the survey layout for question 5 and question 6 to show their association.
- Add a Number question to the end of the survey:
- For Label, type Approximately what year was your residence built?
- In the Validation section, check the Must be an integer box.
- Click Save.
Next, you'll add an Image question to the survey. With this question type, participants can submit images with the survey. If the survey is being completed on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, the participant can use the device's camera or browse for an image saved to the device's image library.
- From the Media and Files set, add an Image question to the end of the survey:
- Label: Picture of your residence
- Hint: Note: This will help assess building materials and structural integrity. Be advised: For security reasons, please do not share pictures with personally identifiable elements such as house numbers or car license plates.
- Click Save.
You'll add two more questions about the participant's residence.
- Add a Number question to the end of the survey:
- Label: How many people live in your home?
- Validation: Must be an integer
- Click Save.
- Add a Multiple select question to the end of the survey.
This is a multiple choice question type for which participants can select multiple answers. Similar to the Single select question type, you define the answer choices and how they appear in the survey (vertical or horizontal).
- Edit the question:
- Label: What are the age ranges of the people who live in your household?
- Hint: Check all that apply.
- In the Choices section, create the following answer choices. (Remember, you click the plus sign to add more answer choices.)
- Choice 1: 0-5 years old
- Choice 2: 6-17 years old
- Choice 3: 18-60 years old
- Choice 4: > 60 years old
- For Appearance, select Horizontal. Click Save.
You've completed the first section of the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey in which you collect general information about the participant.
Add questions for the 4 Fix-it safety checks
In the second part of the survey, you'll add some yes/no questions to determine if the participant has performed the 4 Fix-it prevention safety checks in their household. People can perform these 4 Fix-it safety checks around the home to ensure they are prepared for earthquakes and household fires. These questions are adapted from the RISK study using the PAR approach.
- Add a Single select question to the end of the survey.
- Edit the question:
- Label: Safety check 1: Are televisions in the home secured?
- Hint: e.g., secured to where they are located, such as the cabinet, table or wall
- Choice 1: Yes
- Choice 2: No
- Choice 3: Delete from the list
- For Layout, select Horizontal.
- Make it a required question and click Save.
- At the bottom of question 11, click the Duplicate button three times to add three more Single Choice questions to the end of the survey.
With the Duplicate button, you can create new questions that preserve all the settings and choices of the original question.
- For questions 12 through 14, edit the label and hint text using the following table as a guide. (Keep the same choice values and the same appearance and validation settings.)
Question # Label Hint Question 12
Safety check 2: Are computers in the home secured?
e.g., secured to where they are located, such as the desk or table?
Question 13
Safety check 3: Are bookcases secured to the walls?
Question 14
Safety check 4: Are large cabinets secured to the walls?
- Click Save.
To gather more detail on the responses to the 4 Fix-it questions, you'll add four more questions that will only appear when participants answer Yes to specific safety checks (1, 2, 3, and 4).
- Click the Add tab.
- From the Choice set, rag a Dropdown question into the survey layout and position the question below Safety check 1 (question 11).
The new question becomes question 12 in the survey. The Dropdown question type provides answer choices in the form of a drop-down list in the survey. This question type uses minimal space in the survey and can be beneficial when surveys are being completed on mobile devices.
- Edit the question:
- Label: How are they secured?
- Choice 1: Locks
- Choice 2: Pad
- Choice 3: Straps
- Choice 4: Velcro
- Click Save.
Now you'll set a rule to relate this new question to Safety check 1.
- Click the Safety check 1 question to make it active. Click the Set Rule button, and set a rule with the following condition: If the answer is Yes, show the question How are they secured? Click OK.
- For the How are they secured? question, click the Duplicate button. Drag the copied question and position it below the Safety check 2 question.
- Edit the label for the question by deleting the word Copy.
- Set a rule to relate this new question to Safety check 2 based on the following condition: If the answer is Yes, show the question How are they secured?
- Click Save.
Your survey now contains 16 survey questions in total.
You have just completed the second section of the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey, where you asked the participant if their household performed four Fix-it safety checks.
Add questions for an inventory of emergency assets
In the final part of this survey, you'll ask questions that will help the HOA compile an inventory of available resources and assets that could be useful in an emergency situation.
- Add a Single Choice question to the end of the survey:
- Label: Is someone in the household trained in First-Aid?
- Choice 1: Yes
- Choice 2: No
- Choice 3: Delete from the list
- Layout: Horizontal
Next, you'll add a question to help gather a list of items at the residence that may be useful in an emergency situation.
- Add a Multiple select question to the end of the survey:
- Label: Select items in your home that could be used in case of an emergency response
- Hint: check all that apply
When you need to provide several answer choices, you can use the batch edit method to add them to the survey.
- In the Choices section, click Batch Edit.
- In the window that opens, replace the text by pasting the following list of answer choices:
Axe Batteries Blowtorch First-aid kit Flashlight, candles, matches HAM radio or AM/FM radio Handheld radios Ladder Portable generator Satellite phone Saw Shovel Stockpile of food and water for 7 days Tent Town/city map Wheelbarrow
- Click OK.
- Add three Single select questions to the end of the survey.
- For each question, provide two answer choices: Yes and No.
- Format the questions with a horizontal layout.
Question # Label Question 19
Do you have an up to date emergency contact list or phone tree directory?
Question 20
Do you have a current evacuation plan?
Question 21
Do you have a local neighborhood or community disaster plan?
You'll add one final question to collect additional comments from the survey participant.
- From the Text, number, date, and time set add a Multiline Text question to the end of the survey:
- Label: Additional comments:
- Hint: please list other resource items that could be useful in an emergency
- Click Save.
You now have 22 questions in total.
Publish the survey
- Scroll through your HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey to review the content.
- Click Preview to check that all survey questions are correct.
- Click the Phone or Tablet buttons to see how the survey will appear on mobile devices.
You can also test the various question types and rules within the preview. For example, you can confirm that the rules you set are working as expected.
- Scroll down to the Safety check 1 question and select Yes and then No to confirm that the related question appears only when you select Yes.
- Click the Close Preview button to return to the survey.
When you're happy with the survey content, you can publish it and start to collect survey data.
- Click Publish.
The red circle on the Publish button indicates that you have changes that have not yet been published.
The Publish Survey window opens.
- Click Publish.
It may take a moment to publish the survey. When it's completed, a Published Successfully message briefly appears. An additional message indicates that you can now launch the survey URL and distribute it to end users for data collection.
- Click OK.
- Click My Surveys.
Your new survey appears in the survey gallery. Once you have other surveys available, you can use the search and sort functions to filter or rearrange your surveys.
You've used the Survey123 website to create and author a survey to support the HOA emergency preparedness plan. The survey consists of three sections: general participant information, 4 Fix-it prevention safety checks, and emergency asset inventory. You configured many question types in the survey and also learned how to relate survey questions so that certain questions only appear in the survey based on responses to previous survey questions. Next, you'll share the survey and complete it as an end user to generate some sample survey data.
Complete and submit the survey
Previously, you authored a survey to support the HOA emergency preparedness plan. Now that you've published the survey, you can share it with members of your ArcGIS organization so they can use it and collect some survey data. Then, you'll complete the survey in a web browser and using the Survey123 field app.
Share the survey
First, you'll share the survey.
- If necessary, sign in to the Survey123 website using your ArcGIS organizational account to access your surveys.
The HOA Emergency Preparedness survey that you created appears on the survey gallery page with a thumbnail image and several buttons for working with the survey and collected data.
- Point to each button to display their names in a ScreenTip.
The Open the survey button on the survey's thumbnail opens the survey in a form that you can complete. The Design, Collaborate, Analyze, and Data buttons are shortcuts to the respective survey tabs. The ellipsis button displays a menu instead of a ScreenTip. The menu includes options to edit the survey's metadata, save a copy of the survey, or delete the survey.
- Click the survey's thumbnail icon to open the survey's Overview page.
The overview page includes the summary that you provided when you created the survey, plus the date that you created it and an indication that the survey is private. Your survey is empty (that is, no one has completed and submitted it yet), so the overview page displays the message, The survey has no records yet. As surveys are completed and submitted, this page will show how many surveys (records) were submitted, how many participants, and a corresponding timeline graph. You'll see this information for your survey after you collect some sample data.
- Click the Design tab.
The Design page should look familiar because this is where you authored the survey earlier.
- Click the Collaborate tab.
On this tab, you decide who can view, access, and work with your survey. You can share your survey with everyone (the public), all members of your ArcGIS organization, or specific groups within your organization. You'll share the survey with members of your organization because you plan to have personnel survey the HOA community.
- Check the Members of my organization box.
Note:
You can also share surveys with the public so anonymous users can complete and submit surveys.
- Click Save.
This tab also includes links to the survey that you can provide to members after you share the survey. Each link has buttons you can use to copy the URL to your clipboard, scan a QR code to open the survey on your device, and open the survey URL directly. The first link is for web browsers and the second link is for the Survey123 field app. (The Survey123 field app is a component of Survey123 with which you can collect data in the field on a mobile device.)
- Click the Analyze tab.
The Analyze tab reports the results of your collected survey data. This tab is currently empty because no one has completed or submitted your survey yet. You'll return to this tab after you collect sample data.
- Click the Data tab.
On this tab, you can view the individual surveys that participants have submitted. Again, the page is empty because no data has been collected yet.
Open the survey in a web browser
Next, you'll open and complete the survey.
- Click the icon next to the Settings tab.
A link to the survey form appears with buttons to copy the URL or scan its QR code. (This is the same link for web browsers that you saw on the Collaborate tab.) This is another method for accessing the link to open the survey form in a web browser. The buttons offer quick access to share the URL with the public and members of your ArcGIS organization so they can open and complete the survey.
- Click the Survey URL link to open the HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey.
The HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey opens in a new window.
- Complete the survey.
- Experiment with the answers for Safety check questions 1, 2, 7, and 8 to observe the behavior of their associated related questions.
Note:
For this tutorial, you're just collecting sample data, so you can use fictitious information to complete the survey.
Notice that additional questions appear in the survey when you answer yes to the noted Safety check questions. When you answer no, the related questions don't appear. This behavior demonstrates the smart form validation and logic in Survey123.
- When you've completed the survey, click Submit.
A message appears indicating that your data was sent successfully.
- Close the survey window and return to the Survey123 website.
You've just submitted a survey via the web browser experience. Before you review the data, you'll complete the survey again using the Survey123 field app.
Download the survey in the Survey123 field app
You'll download the Survey123 field app onto your mobile device or computer and use the app to complete the survey. It's recommended that you install the app on a smartphone or tablet.
- Depending on your mobile device platform, download and install the Survey123 field app from the appropriate app store.
- For iOS devices, you can get the app from the iTunes App Store.
- For Android devices, you can get the app from Google Play.
- For Windows devices, you can get the app from Windows Store.
- The Windows 7, 8, 10 and Mac versions of the Survey123 field app are available from this website.
With the Survey123 field app, people who work in the field can download and complete surveys—connected and disconnected environments are both supported. Surveys that are completed when working disconnected can be submitted to ArcGIS later when a network connection is re-established.
The Survey123 field app may take a few minutes to install. When it completes, you'll see a new Survey123 app icon added to your device.
For the purposes of this tutorial, you'll use two different methods to access and open the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey in the Survey123 field app. First, you'll open the survey as a member of your ArcGIS organization.
- Select the icon to open the Survey123 field app.
When you first open the Survey123 app, a splash screen loads prompting you to sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
- Select Sign In. In the panel that appears, sign in with your ArcGIS organizational account. (Use the same account that you used earlier.)
Note:
The Survey123 app can sign in and connect to any ArcGIS organization or Portal for ArcGIS (10.4 or later) instance of which you are a member.
After you've signed in to your ArcGIS organization, the app opens the My Surveys gallery, which displays all the surveys that you're working with in the app. Because this is the first time you've used the app, the gallery appears empty with the message, No surveys on device.
- Select Get Surveys.
The Survey123 app connects to your ArcGIS organization and searches for surveys to which you have access. The Download Surveys page lists the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey that you created in the previous tutorial.
- Select Download to download the survey into the app.
When the survey download is completed, a notification appears.
- Select OK.
- Select Back to return to the My Surveys gallery page.
The HOA Emergency Preparedness survey now appears in the gallery.
Before you open the survey, you'll take a quick tour of the Survey123 field app.
- Select the menu button to display the app menu.
You can choose to download more surveys that you have access to in your ArcGIS organization. You can also configure the app settings, sign out of your account, or learn more about the app.
- Select Settings.
On this panel, you can change various configuration settings for the app. Different properties are available for configuration: Text, Portals, Location, Storage, and Diagnostics.
- Select Diagnostics.
In some instances, you may want to generate log files for troubleshooting purposes. You can activate the logging property to create logs that are stored locally. A red icon indicates that logging is disabled, and a green icon indicates that logging is enabled. You can also delete submitted surveys.
- Select Back twice to return to the My Surveys gallery page.
Open the survey in the field app
- Select the survey to open it in the app.
The HOA Emergency Preparedness survey opens, and you can start to collect data by selecting Collect at the bottom of the screen.
Note:
The menu button on the survey page is specific to the survey. In this case, if you display the menu, you'll see the option to delete the survey from the app.
- Select Collect to start the survey.
- Complete the survey.
- After you've completed the survey, select the check mark at the bottom of the app.
The Survey Completed message appears with three options.
You can submit the save the survey in the Outbox, (in which case, a copy is saved in the app), submit the survey now, or continue working on the survey. If you were working in a disconnected environment without Internet access, you wouldn't be able to submit the survey, so you'd choose to Save in Outbox. You could still continue working in the field and collecting survey data, and you'd submit the completed surveys later when you have an Internet connection.
- Select Send Now .
The Survey123 app submits both surveys to ArcGIS Online. The Sent icon has a number that indicates the number of surveys sent.
- Select Collect and complete another survey with varied answers.
- When you finish the survey, select Send Now.
- Select Sent.
The app lists all the submitted surveys, with a timestamp for when each survey was completed. You can click one of the submitted surveys to re-open it, change some responses, and resubmit the survey if necessary. You can also remove the submitted surveys from the app by selecting Empty.
You want to analyze the survey results and available reports in the Survey123 website, so you need a good sample data set. You'll need at least six to eight submitted surveys.
- Complete and submit five more HOA Emergency Preparedness surveys using either the Survey123 app or opening the survey in a web browser. Try to vary your responses with each survey.
Tip:
Alternatively, you could ask other members of your ArcGIS organization to complete and submit the HOA survey.
You had a quick tour of some of the functionality in the Survey123 website, and you used the Survey123 field app. You collected a sample set of survey results by completing and submitting the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey several times using the Survey123 field app and opening the survey in a web browser. Next, you'll analyze your survey results.
Analyze survey data
Previously, you submitted the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey several times in a web browser and using the Survey123 field app. Now that you've collected some survey data, you can view the results of the submitted surveys.
Analyze reports
In this section, you'll view the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey results in the ArcGIS Survey123 website and explore its reporting capabilities.
- Return to the My Surveys page. (If necessary, sign in to the Survey123 website using your ArcGIS organizational account.)
When the survey gallery page loads, notice that your survey now indicates the number of records (that is, the number of surveys that have been submitted).
- Click the thumbnail to open the Overview page for your HOA Emergency Preparedness survey.
The survey's overview page now displays information about the survey results. The top of the overview page highlights the following key points about the survey:
- Total number of records (surveys) submitted.
- Total number of participants—If you were the only person who signed in and submitted sample surveys, the number of participants is one.
- Date of the first survey submitted.
- Date of the last survey submitted.
In the Survey Count section, the timeline graph displays the number of surveys submitted and when they were submitted. As the survey owner (and likely member of the HOA board), you can see how many HOA members completed the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey, and when surveys were submitted the most and on which days. You'll likely see a peak on the date that you submitted several surveys (when you completed the previous tutorial).
- Click the date range box and select Since Survey Creation.
The timeline graph defaults to show how many surveys have been submitted since the date the first survey was submitted. You can change the timeline to show the number of surveys submitted today, the last seven days, the last 30 days, or within a specified date range.
- Scroll down to the Top Participants table.
Here, you can see the members in your ArcGIS organization who signed in and submitted surveys, as well as the number of surveys they submitted.
Note:
When a publicly shared survey is submitted anonymously, a blank value will appear in the User column of the participants table.
- Click the Analyze tab.
As noted earlier, this tab reports the results of your collected survey data. Unlike the last time you viewed this page (when no surveys had been completed or submitted), you can now see that it contains information for each of the questions in the HOA Emergency Preparedness survey.
The survey analysis report shows responses for each survey question. This report begins with a histogram that displays the number of surveys completed over a given time period. This data is based on the answers to the date question, which was the first question in your survey.
Note:
If you completed and submitted several surveys in one day, you'll notice that the histogram is slightly skewed. This would not be the case in a real scenario where surveys are completed over a longer time period.
The table below the histogram shows dates and the number of surveys submitted for each time period.
- Scroll down to see the responses for the next two questions, Participant Name and Participant Location.
Notice that the tables include a row for each distinct word from the responses. For questions that require participants to type a text response, the report counts the total number of instances of each word. When 20 or more surveys are completed and submitted, the Analyze tab generates a word cloud that shows the frequency of words in the text responses to find the most commonly used words.
- Scroll down to the next question, which asks about the participant's type of residence.
For the Single Choice question type, the report generates a column chart that shows the distribution of the survey responses. You can also display the results as a bar graph, pie chart, or as points on a map.
The total count for each choice appears in the table below the chart, with the percentage relative to all the survey responses. You can click Sort to change the order of the answers in the chart and the table. If an answer count is zero, you can uncheck the Empty Categories box to exclude that choice from the report. You can also hide the table, for example, if you want to print the report with only charts. Below the table, you can see how many participants skipped the question when they completed the survey.
- Click Pie to view the responses in a pie chart.
- Point to the pie segments to view pop-ups with relevant information about the chart segment.
- Click Map.
The survey responses display as data points on an interactive and dynamic map. You can use your pointer to interact with the map. The map shows the spatial distribution of where your surveys were submitted. A participant's location may have affected their responses to the survey, so the map view can help you discern possible patterns or trends in the data. The map includes a Legend button to show how the answers are symbolized in the map.
- Scroll down through the rest of the survey analysis report and experiment with the different question types by displaying the data using these various methods.
Notice that each question displays and reports relevant summary information. Typically, for the numeric and selection question types, the report generates charts with the option to change how the data is rendered. Numeric questions provide statistics in the table, including the minimum and maximum values, average, and sum.
The analysis reports are dynamic and will update as additional surveys are completed and submitted to the ArcGIS organization.
- Optionally, click Print Current View and save the report as a PDF.
Display individual survey responses
Next, you'll explore the actual survey data.
- Click the Data tab.
On this tab, all the submitted surveys are shown on an interactive map. The table below the map shows all the collected survey responses. One record represents a completed individual survey. The map is similar to the one you viewed previously on the Analyze tab. In this case, however, all survey results are shown in the map—as opposed to only results that were relevant to a specific question.
- Click a record in the table.
When you select a record in the table, its corresponding point location is selected in the map. In addition, a details pane for the selected record appears next to the table. This pane displays a print view of the individual survey response and includes a button to print a copy. You can also see which member of your ArcGIS organization submitted the survey with a timestamp of when.
Tip:
The option to display details for an individual survey response is active by default. You can turn this option off by unchecking the Show Individual Response box (below the table).
- Click the X at the upper right of the Individual Response pane to close it.
- Click a column heading for a column that contains numeric data (such as How many people live in your home?).
You can sort the table in ascending or descending order by any column. For columns that contain numeric data, you can also view simple statistics, such as a sum of values or average.
- On the ribbon, click Options and choose Clear Selection.
The record is no longer selected in the table or in the map. You can also use the Options menu to reset the default table sort order, show only selected records, choose which columns to show or hide in the table, and center the map display on a selected record.
- On the ribbon, click the date range box and choose Custom Range.
You can filter the table and map to show only surveys that were submitted within a specified time period.
Next, you'll explore the survey data export options.
- Click Export.
The survey data can be exported in one of several formats: CSV, Excel, KML, shapefile, or file geodatabase.
One thing to keep in mind is that ArcGIS Survey123 is part of the ArcGIS platform. The survey data collected by Survey123 is stored as a hosted feature layer in ArcGIS Online. This means that the survey data can be used within other parts of the ArcGIS platform.
- Click Open in Map Viewer.
A popup window opens in your survey browser, displaying the survey data in Map Viewer Classic.
- In the upper right corner of the map popup window, click the square button to open the map in a new window.
- If necessary, in the Contents pane, point to the survey layer, click the More Options button, and choose Zoom to.
The collected survey responses are shown as points in the map. You can take advantage of the display and rendering functionality of ArcGIS Online to visualize your survey results in a web map. If you're signed in to ArcGIS Online, you can also use your survey data in any of the ArcGIS client apps, such as the configurable templates, ArcGIS Web AppBuilder, and so on.
- In the Contents pane, point to the layer with survey in its name (this is the layer that contains your survey data). Click the Change Style button.
The Change Style pane opens. The nature of your data determines the default style suggestions for how best to render the layer. This is known as smart mapping, which helps you display your data in a cartographically pleasing way.
- For the drawing style, select Heat Map and click Done.
Your collected survey data points are now rendered as a heat map. Areas with stronger colors that appear to glow hotter indicate a higher concentration of completed surveys.
- Close the map window and return to your survey.
You've evaluated the collected survey results using the available reporting capabilities in the Survey123 website. You also experimented with the various options for analyzing and displaying the results in charts, tables, and maps. In addition, you learned how to access and print individual survey responses and export the survey data to multiple data formats. Finally, you viewed and styled your survey results in a web map to identify where the most surveys are being submitted in the community. Next, you'll create a web app to share with HOA members so they can view the survey results in an interactive map.
Share your survey data
Previously, you explored the reporting capabilities of the Survey123 website. As an HOA board member, you can examine the survey results and perhaps build an inventory of useful items for an emergency situation. However, you can also share the collected survey data with all the HOA members.
Recall that the collected Survey123 data is simply stored behind-the-scenes in ArcGIS Online as a hosted feature layer. This means that you can work with this hosted feature layer within the greater ArcGIS platform. Next, you'll use a configurable template in ArcGIS Online to create a simple web app that displays the results of your collected HOA Emergency Preparedness data in a map with pop-ups.
Create a map with custom pop-ups
First, you need to create a web map that displays your survey data.
- If necessary, sign in to the Survey123 website using your ArcGIS organizational account. Open your HOA Emergency Preparedness survey and click the Data tab.
- Click Open in Map Viewer.
A popup window opens displaying your collected survey data as points in a web map.
- If necessary, in the Contents pane, point to the survey layer, click the More Options button, and choose Zoom to.
You'll provide a more meaningful name for the survey points layer.
- In the Contents pane, point to the survey layer, click the More Options button, and choose Rename.
- In the Rename window, type a new name, such as HOA Emergency Response Survey Info. Click OK.
Next, you'll configure the layer's pop-ups so they only show relevant information. Although the HOA collected several details about each HOA member who completed the survey, some information is not relevant enough to share with the general HOA public. Also, some information could be considered sensitive and should not be openly shared in a web app.
- In the Contents pane, point to the survey data layer, click the More Options button, and choose Configure Pop-Up.
You'll remove some of the attribute fields from the pop-up display.
- In the Configure Pop-up pane, for Display, choose A custom attribute display.
- Click Configure Attributes.
- In the Configure Attributes window, check the Edit box and then uncheck it so that none of the fields can be edited.
- Ensure that the Display box is only checked for the fields with the following field alias values:
Field Alias Survey completion date
What type of residence do you live in?
Other - What type of residence do you live in?
How many levels does your home have?
Safety check 1
Safety check 2
Safety check 3
Safety check 4
Is someone in the household trained in First-Aid?
Select items in your home that could be used in case of an emergency response
- Click OK.
- In the Configure Pop-up pane, click OK.
- Click a survey point on the map to open its pop-up.
- Scroll through the pop-up to confirm that it only includes the fields that you want to show. (Refer to the preceding list of field aliases.)
When you deploy your web app, HOA members will be able to see the survey results but only the specific responses that you chose to show in the pop-ups. For instance, they can see if fellow members have met the 9 Fix-it safety checks. HOA members will be most interested to see the list of items that could be shared within the HOA community in case of an emergency situation.
Next, you'll save the web map.
- Click Save > Save As.
- In the Save Map window, complete the following steps:
- For Title, type HOA Survey Results.
- For Tags, type HOA, emergency preparedness, survey.
- For Summary, type This map shows the collected results of the HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey.
- Click Save Map.
Create a web app
Now that you have a map to visualize the survey data, you'll share it in a simple web app that the HOA members can access. You'll create a web app using a configurable template.
- Click the Share button.
- In the Share window, check the box to share with your organization and click Create a Web App.
The Create a New Web App window opens. In this window, you can choose to create a new web app based on one of the ArcGIS Online configurable templates or with ArcGIS Web AppBuilder. There are many different options available. Typically, the ArcGIS Online configurable templates are used to deploy task-focused web apps, such as for editing, showing data over time, data comparison, and so on. Web AppBuilder provides a more extensive web application builder user experience with several additional configuration options. With both methods, you can quickly deploy a new web app with minimal effort and no coding required.
For the purposes of this tutorial, you'll use a configurable template.
- On the Configurable Apps tab, click Show All and choose Basic Viewer.
- Click Create Web App.
- In the Create a New Web App window, change the title to HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey Viewer.
- Leave the tags unchanged.
- For Summary, type This web app shows the collected results of the HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey.
Notice that the web app will be shared in the same way as the map, which you shared with your organization.
- Click Done.
A new web app is created in your ArcGIS organizational account, and the app opens in its configurable state. The configuration window also shows a preview of your app. You'll configure a few options to create a basic web app for the HOA survey.
- On the General tab, for Application title, type HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey Results.
- Click the Theme tab and change the app's theme colors.
- Click Save to preview your changes.
- Click the Options tab.
Here, you can choose which tools to make available in the web app. You can add or remove tools by checking or unchecking their respective boxes in the list.
- Add and remove some tools and click Save to update the toolbar in the preview window. Experiment with the tools in the preview window to determine which tools may be beneficial to the end user.
- When you're finished, click Save.
You can also test the pop-ups in the preview window.
- Click a survey point on the map.
- Click Close.
The item page for the web app opens. On this page, you can add a description of your app and a thumbnail image. You can also set terms of use, if necessary. The Overview and Settings tabs both include your app's URL. You can copy the URL to provide HOA members with a direct link to your app so they can all see the survey results of your HOA Emergency Preparedness survey.
In this tutorial, you learned how to share the results of your ArcGIS Survey123 survey by creating a web app. This can be done quickly with either the ArcGIS Online configurable templates or with ArcGIS Web AppBuilder. You can also use the other ArcGIS client apps because the Survey123 data is a hosted feature layer.
Bookmark these additional resources to learn more about ArcGIS Survey123, get the latest updates, and participate in related discussions:
In this citizen science project, you followed the complete workflow to use ArcGIS Survey123. First, you created and designed a survey form on the Design tab of the Survey123 website. Then you published the survey and experimented with the two ways to collect survey responses: completing the survey in a web browser and using the Survey123 field app. After collecting a sample set of survey data, you analyzed the results in the Survey123 website using the reporting capabilities on the Analyze and Data tabs. Finally, you visualized the survey data in an ArcGIS Online map and shared the map of survey results as a web app that HOA members can access.
You can find more tutorials in the tutorial gallery.