Qualtrics Research Suite
Qualtrics Research Suite (Qualtrics) is a cloud-based service which provides a comprehensive suite of tools to create web surveys and analyze collected data. Qualtrics has been licensed by the College and unlimited access is available at no cost to all Weinberg faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students.
In March 2021, Weinberg College Qualtric users are being migrated to the Northwestern instance of Qualtrics managed by Northwestern IT. If you cannot login using the Weinberg Qualtrics link below, please try the Northwestern Qualtrics link.
Qualtrics Support
Phone and email support:
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM CST, Sunday-Monday
800-340-9194 or support@qualtrics.com
Other tools:
Access to Qualtrics
Who can use Qualtrics?
All Northwestern faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students are authorized to use Qualtrics via NetID login. You do not need to request an account.
Who in my department can create and manage accounts?
How do I get to Qualtrics?
Creating Surveys
What types of questions can I ask?
Qualtrics supports over 100 different question types, including:
- Multiple choice
- Matrix table heat map
- Slider
- Text entry
Are there tools to help create a survey?
Qualtrics provides a library of surveys and answers that you can modify and add to your own survey library.
Can my library contain anything else?
Yes, your library can contain messages and media.
Does Qualtrics lock my survey into a template with rigid formatting requirements?
No. Qualtrics allows you to easily change the layout, position, and answer choices. You also have freedom to modify your text in a word processor-like interface. Additionally, you can create your own survey templates with a CSS editor.
Can I design surveys to only show some questions?
Qualtrics has several mechanisms to create a survey which displays new questions based on previous answers. Options include:
- Skip Logic skips questions based on previous answers;
- Display Logic allows you to select questions to display based on a matrix table;
- Branch Logic enables the survey to skip or display sections of the survey and have multiple termination points;
- Question Blocks allows grouping questions together in blocks which can then be shown or hidden based on the logic you put into the survey.
You mentioned multiple termination points within a survey, what can that do?
Multiple termination points enables you to end your survey with different ending questions, redirect participants to another website, or finish with a custom thank you message, among other options.
Can surveys be created to save participant's information so that they can save and continue later?
Yes. Additionally, surveys can be designed to store respondent data, disassociating personal information and allowing users to log in at a later time to complete additional surveys that maintain the association.
Is Qualtrics limited to English?
Via Google Translate, questions, messages, and emails can be translated into 48 languages.
For more information about creating surveys in Qualtrics, please visit Qualtrics' site.
Distributing Surveys
Does my Qualtrics account have a list of my contacts?
Qualtrics allows you to create Panels by uploading a CSV file with your contact information or manually entering the data. You can create multiple Panels to target different groups.
If I use the Qualtrics Mailer application, how will people know that the email is from me?
The Qualtrics Mailer allows you to define the reply-to address so you can use any email address you would like for participants to reply to. Additionally, the email is sent from Northwestern servers unless you specify otherwise.
Can I tell who has completed a survey?
If you have sent email to people with the Qualtrics Mailer you can see which of them have responded. Additionally, when creating your initial message you can schedule Qualtrics Mailer to send follow up reminders to anyone who has not completed your survey.
Can I see historical participation information?
If participants login with a unique identifier, you can see their participation history.
Can a survey be incorporated into my website?
You may build a survey into your website as Qualtrics can automatically generate the necessary HTML code.
For more information about distributing surveys in Qualtrics, please visit Qualtrics' site.
Analysis and Reporting
I have previously collected data. Can I incorporate it into my Qualtrics data?
You can integrate existing data with the import data feature.
When are survey results updated?
Survey data is seen in real time via a dashboard.
Can I track completion percentages or dropout rates?
Completion percentages, dropout rates, average response time per question, and more can be tracked.
Can survey data be filtered within Qualtrics or do I need to export my data?
You can do either. Qualtrics allows you to filter data based on your criteria, including completion status, date range and subgroup in addition to exporting your data.
I've developed analysis tools on my own. What formats can I export data to?
You can download raw data to SPSS and Excel. Additionally, data can be exported as HTML or XML, or you can use an API to transfer your data to a database.
Will I be able to graph my data within Qualtrics?
Yes, Qualtrics provides over 30 types of graphs to display your data.
Can I make side-by-side data comparisons?
Qualtrics allows you to perform drill downs and view data side by side.
I collaborate with peers both internal and external to Northwestern. Can I share my surveys, data and reports with them?
For your peers with access to Qualtrics, you can control access to surveys, data and reports via the Collaborate feature.
I want to distribute reports I've developed in Qualtrics. What options do I have outside of Qualtrics?
Reports can be exported to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF formats.
For more information about analysis and reporting in Qualtrics, please visit Qualtrics' site.
