UW-Madison Qualtrics - Getting Started

This document provides tips for getting started with Qualtrics. It assumes that you are a current UW-Madison student or staff member and have already activated your NetID.

Accessing UW-Madison Qualtrics

You will not be able to access UW-Madison Qualtrics through the default Qualtrics URL. Instead, bookmark the UW-Madison Qualtrics page for accessing your account. 

Log-In

Go to the UW-Madison Qualtrics Service log-in page and enter your NetID and password. If you are using the Survey Service for the first time, an account will automatically be created for you. For more information on logging into your account for the first time, go to UW-Madison Qualtrics - Log-In to Account for First Time

Survey_ID

As you begin creating or sharing surveys it is important to note the Survey_ID associated with your surveys. Qualtrics Brand Administrators can only search for surveys by their ID. Survey_ID is also required information if you are requesting a survey transfer or permanent deletion of a survey.
UW-Madison Qualtrics - Transfer ownership of your survey
UW-Madison Qualtrics - How to permanently delete a Qualtrics survey you own

For more information about how to identify the Survey_ID for your Qualtrics surveys, please see Finding Qualtrics IDs

Survey Resources

Qualtrics Survey Support has numerous resources including online tutorials, research articles and information about survey design. They also have over 300 sample surveys that can be used "out of the box" or questions can be copied and pasted into a custom survey created by you. Visit the UW-Madison Qualtrics - Survey Resources page for more information.

UW-Madison Compliance

Some surveys may be considered human subject research and require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to the initiation of the survey. In general, if your survey data is only being collected for a class project, quality improvement project, departmental evaluation, or social use, IRB approval may not be needed. However, if this survey is for a research project (1) involving a systematic investigation with (2) the goal of creating generalizable knowledge (i.e,. being able to apply the data to a broader population and plan to publish or present the findings), IRB approval may be required. Please contact the UW Institutional Review Board (IRB) for specific information.

Use of the survey service is subject to the same policies and guidelines for the use of UW-Madison computing resources as other services on campus. Please refer to the UW-Madison Qualtrics - Terms of Service for more information.

Simple Basic Steps

Developing a survey that will yield relevant results involves a number of important steps:

  1. Understand and clearly articulate your objective.
  2. Assess the type of information you will need to collect and its relevant importance.
  3. Determine the type of question that is needed to optimally obtain information required.
  4. Write, review and test your questions.
  5. Do a "dry run" of the survey to determine how long it takes to complete and collect feedback.
  6. Revise your survey if necessary.
  7. Execute the survey.
  8. Collect the data.
  9. Analyze your results.

For more information about developing a survey that will meet your needs, including how to construct the survey, write questions, collect the data and analyze the results, review the Qualtrics Support - Survey Basics.