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Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions

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6 years 5 months ago #196292 by Pangslinger
Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions was created by Pangslinger
Hi!
I am not sure whether it is a bug or a feature (I cannot find an option to turn it off) and would appreciate your help very much:


The answering options (i.e. the columns of my array-type F questions) are shown in randomized order with every page refresh.This outcome is independent on whether I activate "Random order" - which, to my knowledge, randomizes the array questions.


I am using Limsurvey Version 4.1.13+200325.

Thank you very much for any help.

Best,
Julian
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6 years 5 months ago #196294 by tpartner
Replied by tpartner on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
Please attach a small survey export (.lss file) containing only that question.
Cheers,
Tony Partner
Solutions, code and workarounds presented in these forums are given without any warranty, implied or otherwise.
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6 years 5 months ago #196295 by Pangslinger
Replied by Pangslinger on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
Thanks for the quick answer!

Does a lss-file of the question suffice (see attached)?
When creating an lss file, the question is all over the place-I was not able to remove the rest of the stuff.
Might this and the problem be due to the fact that I imported the survey from Version 2.06+ ?

Best,
Julian
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6 years 5 months ago #196300 by DenisChenu
Replied by DenisChenu on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
If i remind i see this in mantis, it's a bug.
Assistance on LimeSurvey forum and LimeSurvey core development are on my free time.
I'm not a LimeSurvey GmbH member. - Professional support - Plugins, theme and development .
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6 years 5 months ago #196302 by Pangslinger
Replied by Pangslinger on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
I checked mantis before, but maybe I couldn't find it.
Allright. Thanks. I will switch to version 3.x (dunno why our admin installed the developer version...) and hope that the bug will go away.

Cheers.
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6 years 5 months ago #196304 by holch
Replied by holch on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
This is a LSQ (LimeSurvey Question) file, not a LSS file (LimeSurvey Survey). If you provide only a LSQ file, people who want to help you need to create a survey and a question group to import your LSQ file. So this means a lot more work for the helper. In addition to that, if the language of the LSQ file is different to the one the helper created, it can't be imported. And lastly, the problem might come from settings in the survey, that are not included in the LSQ file.

So you need to create a copy of your survey, delete all questions that are not relevant and export it as a LSS file. Help us to help you.
Help us to help you!
  • Provide your LS version and where it is installed (own server, uni/employer, SaaS hosting, etc.).
  • Always provide a LSS file (not LSQ or LSG).
Note: I answer at this forum in my spare time, I'm not a LimeSurvey GmbH employee.
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6 years 5 months ago #196306 by Pangslinger
Replied by Pangslinger on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
Thanks for the explanation. As I wrote before, I was aware of that and was not able to do it otherwise.
However, I will resolve the problem by downgrading.
This thread can be closed.
Thanks again y'all for your quick responses. Highly appreciated!
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6 years 5 months ago #196308 by holch
Replied by holch on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions

As I wrote before, I was aware of that and was not able to do it otherwise.

OK, I must have ignored that part.

But if the question is all over the place, what does this mean? This should not happen if the question was not modified otherwise or relies on a specific theme/template (those have changed in LS3 and again in LS4).
Help us to help you!
  • Provide your LS version and where it is installed (own server, uni/employer, SaaS hosting, etc.).
  • Always provide a LSS file (not LSQ or LSG).
Note: I answer at this forum in my spare time, I'm not a LimeSurvey GmbH employee.
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6 years 5 months ago #197273 by YvesRoy
Replied by YvesRoy on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
I must insist : this is much more a specification problem than a bug.

I've seen that using the "LimeSurvey Sample Survey - Assessments", downloadable from this site, by simply changing the "Random order" property to yes. Under LS 3.22.7 and previous versions, only the subquestions are randomized, which is perfect for me. Still, the tip of this property reads "Present subquestions/answers in random order". Hopefully, that was'nt true in versions prior to 4.

The button and tip are the same under version 4, but, this time, the tip says the truth which, for the example question, is stupid: the scale reads 2 3 6 5 4 1 or any other variant.

There should be two "Randomize" buttons, one for subquestions (very common in Likert scales) and the other for answer options (pretty rare).

Thanks for your attention
Yves Roy, University of Poitiers, France
Yves Roy
Université de Poitiers, France
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6 years 5 months ago #197274 by Joffm
Replied by Joffm on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
This is a known issue.

I do not know if it is fixed in the recent version.

Joffm
Volunteers are not paid.
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6 years 5 months ago #197275 by holch
Replied by holch on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions

"Present subquestions/answers in random order". Hopefully, that was'nt true in versions prior to 4.


As we have question types with subquestions (multiple choice, array, etc.) and questions with only answer options (e.g. single choice questions), this tooltip is actually somehow correct, if a bit generic though.
Help us to help you!
  • Provide your LS version and where it is installed (own server, uni/employer, SaaS hosting, etc.).
  • Always provide a LSS file (not LSQ or LSG).
Note: I answer at this forum in my spare time, I'm not a LimeSurvey GmbH employee.
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6 years 5 months ago - 6 years 5 months ago #197283 by tpartner
Replied by tpartner on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
I think Yves' point is about array questions where you have both sub-questions and answers randomized in 4.x.

I agree that there should be two settings.

Yves, if you can't find a bug report, please submit one.

Cheers,
Tony Partner
Solutions, code and workarounds presented in these forums are given without any warranty, implied or otherwise.
Last edit: 6 years 5 months ago by tpartner.
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6 years 5 months ago #197284 by tpartner
Replied by tpartner on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
In the meantime, you can add this script to the source of an array question to only randomize the sub-questions:

Code:
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"> $(document).on('ready',function(){ // Identify this question var thisQuestion = $('#question{QID}'); var thisTable = $('table.subquestion-list', thisQuestion); // Randomize the rows var rowsArr = []; $('tr.answers-list', thisTable).each(function(i){ $(this).attr('data-index', i); rowsArr.push(i); }); shuffleArray(rowsArr); $(rowsArr).each(function(i){ $('tbody:eq(0)', thisTable).append($('tr[data-index="'+this+'"]', thisTable)); }); // Fix up the row classes var rowClass = 1; $('tr.answers-list', thisTable).removeClass('ls-even ls-odd').each(function(i) { if(i%2 == 0) { $(this).addClass('ls-even'); } else { $(this).addClass('ls-odd'); } }); }); function shuffleArray(array) { for (var i = array.length - 1; i > 0; i--) { var j = Math.floor(Math.random() * (i + 1)); var temp = array[i]; array[i] = array[j]; array[j] = temp; } return array; } </script>
Cheers,
Tony Partner
Solutions, code and workarounds presented in these forums are given without any warranty, implied or otherwise.
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6 years 5 months ago #197288 by holch
Replied by holch on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions

I think Yves' point is about array questions where you have both sub-questions and answers randomized in 4.x.


Oh, now I get it. I totally understood his post wrong.

And yes, while I think it is a good idea to provide the option to randomize not only the subquestions of array questions, but also the answer options, this obviously should be optional and set individually.

Imagine you have a scale 1-2-3-4-5, it doesn't make sense to randomize that... Would be a lot of fun for the respondents. ;-)

I really need to set up my new VPS to install my own LS4 for testing. I was waiting because I will need to move to a new VPS, so I didn't want to install anything on the old one. More stuff on it, more stuff to move. Maybe I'll get around it this weekend.
Help us to help you!
  • Provide your LS version and where it is installed (own server, uni/employer, SaaS hosting, etc.).
  • Always provide a LSS file (not LSQ or LSG).
Note: I answer at this forum in my spare time, I'm not a LimeSurvey GmbH employee.
The topic has been locked.
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6 years 5 months ago #197328 by YvesRoy
Replied by YvesRoy on topic Unwanted Randomization of Answer Options in Array Questions
Hi,

thank you for the script, I'll try it next week.

There actually is a bug track, #16032, open at the end of March but still not assigned.

Yves
Yves Roy
Université de Poitiers, France
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