Question type Yes, No, Other

Support
1

In the XLSForm help, a usage is shown like this: *select_one yesno or_other

··· * but it also says: *A second column will have the answer for the questions which the user selected ‘other.’ This makes doing data analysis more cumbersome, so we don’t recommend the or_other construct for large-scale data collection efforts. The option is perfectly appropriate for pilots, however.*

What is the "proper" way to make a yes, no, other question? Is it possible
to have one column in the final csv that shows values of yes, no, and all
the things the people have typed into the other box?

Curtis Broderick
EpiConcept
France

2

Hi Curtis,
There isn't really a proper way to implement yes/no/other questions, it's
more of a trade-off. The or_other flag is a convenient shortcut, but you
give up control over your other option's label and the specify other
question.
If you want to make everything show up in a single column you could make
calculate question with this formula:
if(selected(${select_one_question}, 'other'), ${specify_other_question},
${select_one_question})
Since you need the name of the specify_other question, I would suggest
creating one yourself rather than using the or_other flag. (You might be
able to use the generated name which I believe is the select question's
name with "_other" appended to it, but I haven't tested this.)
Regards,
-Nathan

··· On Monday, August 27, 2012 7:51:53 AM UTC-7, Curtis Broderick wrote: > > In the XLSForm help, a usage is shown like this: *select_one yesno > or_other* > but it also says: > *A second column will have the answer for the questions which the user > selected ‘other.’ This makes doing data analysis more cumbersome, so we > don’t recommend the or_other construct for large-scale data collection > efforts. The option is perfectly appropriate for pilots, however.* > > What is the "proper" way to make a yes, no, other question? Is it possible > to have one column in the final csv that shows values of yes, no, and all > the things the people have typed into the other box? > > Curtis Broderick > EpiConcept > France >
3

Thanks, will give it a try.
Curtis

··· 2012/8/27 Nathan

Hi Curtis,
There isn't really a proper way to implement yes/no/other questions, it's
more of a trade-off. The or_other flag is a convenient shortcut, but you
give up control over your other option's label and the specify other
question.
If you want to make everything show up in a single column you could make
calculate question with this formula:
if(selected(${select_one_question}, 'other'), ${specify_other_question},
${select_one_question})
Since you need the name of the specify_other question, I would suggest
creating one yourself rather than using the or_other flag. (You might be
able to use the generated name which I believe is the select question's
name with "_other" appended to it, but I haven't tested this.)
Regards,
-Nathan