Qualtrics: Tried & Tested

Survey tool review: What is it like designing a survey with QUALTRICS?

How does QUALTRICS stack up against another popular survey tool like GOOGLE FORMS?

Qualtrics and Google Forms are powerful, well-established products that should both be included in most "Top 10 survey tools" articles. I look at them here from an instructional designer's perspective: How well do they integrate with other learning technologies? What about improving accessibility? How customizable are they to fit a design brief? What is the learning curve involved in designing with them?

Integration and Distribution

Qualtrics: Integrates seamlessly through customizable link distribution for social media, websites, email, anonymity, QR code creation, learning management systems and authoring tools like Articulate Rise. In total, you can share it in seven ways. The sharing options are plentiful and take different audiences into account - from social media followers to students taking a course. Strangely, it does not provide an embed code option.

Google Forms provides three ways to distribute the survey: email, a shareable link, and an embed code. When integrated into a Rise course, the options in Google Forms make it possible to embed the questions directly so that respondents can see and complete them inside the Rise course, whereas the embedding Qaultrics in a Rise course results only in a clickable survey description that needs to open up in a new browser for respondents to access the questions. This isn't ideal since it adds to the navigation load for the students.

Both tools allow for contributors/editors to be added to a survey, but cleverly Qualtrics breaks down the level of permission in an easy tick-box style menu - ideal for if you'd like your SME to be able to distribute and copy it, but not edit it.

Access Enabled

Qualtrics provide a simple layout feature in its layout menu that is more accessible for people using assistive technologies like screen readers. I find it helpful that the program makes this adjustment across the survey with one click- certainly useful if you're in a hurry. Although surveys created in Google Forms may generally be considered accessible to screen readers, there isn't a built-in checker or adjustment setting to ensure this. In addition, Google products/services can only be accessed if the user owns a Google account and is signed in. This can stop the learning process in its tracks. In my experience, there is also a real risk that students will be denied access even if you adjusted the settings of the survey to ensure anyone with the link can access it.

Design

In the "Look and Feel" menu option of Qualtrics, you can adjust the theme, layout, colours, buttons, page transitions and backgrounds. This means you can customize the branding and adjust it to a design brief. Similarly, Google Forms has plenty of design options.

Learning Curve

Qualtrics has a steeper learning curve than Google Forms. It has deep menus and the flow and placement between page menu options can be improved. However, that isn't to say it requires a lot of time to master. The preview option opens up in a separate browser window to allow you to check regularly on your progress without disturbing your workflow. The platform is not that intuitive when it comes to updating a link when you've made changes to a previously published survey - I was a bit frustrated here.

The Final Score

I have years of experience designing on eLearning platforms and don't mind being self-taught when tackling new technology. After a day or two, I had the hang of Qaultrics and rate it highly for its functionality, stability and wide range of options. As a bespoke product, it delivers in select areas where a free product like Google Forms can't reach. But for a quick, everyday design need you can't go much wrong with Google Forms.