Overview
This guide provides instructions for creating, branding, and distributing a Qualtrics survey.
Quickstart samples
If you're in a hurry, you can jump to our walkthrough guide for setting up two common types of surveys:
Qualtrics vs. other survey software
Qualtrics is effective for research surveys and detailed questionnaires due to its advanced features and customization options. It can be used successfully for more informal surveys, but the learning curve is on the steeper side.
If you just want a survey tool that is above all fast and easy to use, you might consider using Google Forms or Microsoft Forms instead.
ITS provides the following cautionary note:
Per USC’s agreement with the software provider, Qualtrics cannot be used to conduct commercial OR government-sponsored research. Additionally, you should not use the Qualtrics survey tool to collect personally identifiable information such as health information, social security numbers, drivers license numbers, or credit card numbers (refer to the Data Classification section of the Information Security policy at policy.usc.edu/info-security). If you have questions regarding these information assurance requirements, please send an email to consult@usc.edu.
Source: https://itservices.usc.edu/qualtrics/
Creating a Qualtrics survey
Quick guide
- Go to https://usc.qualtrics.com.
- If you are prompted for your credentials:
- The Shibboleth page appears. Sign in using your USC NetID and passphrase.
- The Duo page appears. Complete the verification.
- Click Create a new project in the lower left.
- Click Survey.
- Click Get started.
- Give your survey a name. In the "How do you want to start your survey?" field, you can leave Create a blank survey project selected or select an existing survey. Click Create project.
- You can now begin adding questions and answer choices to your survey.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://usc.qualtrics.com.
- If you are prompted for your credentials:
- The Shibboleth page appears. Sign in using your USC NetID and passphrase.
- The Duo page appears. Complete the verification.
- Click Create a new project in the lower left.
- Click Survey.
- Click Get started.
- Give your survey a name. In the "How do you want to start your survey?" field, you can leave Create a blank survey project selected or select an existing survey. Click Create project.
- You can now begin adding questions and answer choices to your survey.
Adding and editing survey questions
Organize questions using blocks
Qualtrics uses blocks to organize survey questions. Whether you make use of these blocks depends on how detailed your survey is:
- If you only have a few survey questions: It's easiest to simply add all your questions to the default block.
- If you have a long survey: You can break up your questions across multiple sections or pages by adding blocks. Having multiple blocks also gives you advanced control over survey flow.
To add a block, click Add block.
To edit a block, click the block. Then click the … button and make a selection. When a block is selected, you can also edit the block behavior in the left panel. If you do not see these block options, you may have clicked an individual question instead of the overall block.
Add, duplicate, delete, or reorder a question
To add a question, click + Add new question and select a question type. You can also click an existing question, and then click the + icon that appears to the upper or lower left of the selected question.
To copy or duplicate a question, click the question. Then click the … button and select Copy. (Make sure you are selecting the individual question, not the block.)
To delete a question, click the … button and select Delete. You can also click the question, and then click the - icon that appears to the left of the selected question.
To reorder a question, drag a question above or below its current location.
Change question type and answer type
Click a question to select it. In the left panel, your options appear. If you change the Question type, your options will update.
For instance, if you select Multiple choice, you will have the option of selecting Allow multiple answers, and can select the number of choices you want to offer. On the other hand, if you select Text entry, you will have the option of allowing shorter or longer answers.
Add response requirements
To make a question required (so that respondents do not accidentally skip it), use the Response requirements in the left panel:
- Select Add requirements.
- Select Force response.
Customize question behavior (conditional logic)
You can customize survey content according to respondent answers as they proceed through the survey. For instance, you can:
- Display or hide a question
- Based on a respondent's answer to initial questions, you can use display logic to show or hide questions that appear later in the survey.
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Display logic is located in the left panel under Question behavior.
- Skip questions or blocks
- Based on a respondent's answer to initial questions, you can use skip logic to skip to a later section of the survey. You can bypass questions or blocks, or even skip to the end of the survey.
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Skip logic is located in the left panel under Question behavior.
- Set quota limits
- Limit how many respondents can select a particular answer choice. Once the limit (or quota) is reached, the answer choice is hidden from subsequent respondents using display logic.
- To use quotas, refer to our guide: Setting up quotas and display logic in Qualtrics
Branding and customizing survey appearance
To customize your survey's visual appearance, select the Look & Feel 
icon in the left menu. After making any changes, click Apply in the lower right to save your changes.
Be aware that if your survey has already been published, you will need to republish the survey after making any branding changes.
Select a theme and layout
Using an accessible and mobile-friendly design will make it easier for respondents to navigate your survey:
Quick guide
- Click Theme in the left menu. We recommend leaving the default, USC (dynamic theme), selected.
- Click Layout in the left menu. We recommend selecting Simple.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Click Theme in the left menu. We recommend leaving the default, USC (dynamic theme), selected.
- Click Layout in the left menu. We recommend selecting Simple.
Customize the font
Quick guide
- Click Style in the left menu.
- You can change the font family, the contrast between the text and background, spacing, and font size.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Click Style in the left menu.
- You can change the font family, the contrast between the text and background, spacing, and font size.
Previewing, publishing, and sending a survey
Get survey link
If you set your survey to be available to anyone, you can copy an anonymous survey link from Qualtrics and paste it into Outlook or another application for distribution:
Quick guide
- Click the Distributions tab.
- In the left menu, click Anonymous link.
- Click Copy survey link. To send your survey, paste this link into an Outlook email, an Emma newsletter, your Dornsife website, or any other method of distribution.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Click the Distributions tab.
- In the left menu, click Anonymous link.
- Click Copy survey link. To send your survey, paste this link into an Outlook email, an Emma newsletter, your Dornsife website, or any other method of distribution.
Send survey link as a Qualtrics email
Whether you set your survey to be available to anyone or by invitation only, you can send the survey link as a Qualtrics email:
Quick guide
- Click the Distributions tab.
- In the left menu, click Emails.
- Click Compose Email.
- Prepare the email by filling in all the fields.
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To: Click Select Contacts. To create a new list, select + New Contact List. You can also select an existing contact list from your Qualtrics library.
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When: You can set the email to send immediately or set a delay in the span of hours or days.
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Message: Compose the message directly in this field, or click Load Message to select a saved message from the library. To save a message for future use, click Save As.
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Show Advanced Options: This option allows you to set an expiration date for the survey link. By default, Link Type is set to Individual, which means that each respondent receives a unique URL to the survey.
- Once the email is ready:
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Send Preview Email: Send yourself a preview email.
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Send in [x] hours / days: Schedule the email.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Click the Distributions tab.
- In the left menu, click Emails.
- Click Compose Email.
- Prepare the email by filling in all the fields.
-
To: Click Select Contacts. To create a new list, select + New Contact List. You can also select an existing contact list from your Qualtrics library.
-
When: You can set the email to send immediately or set a delay in the span of hours or days.
-
Message: Compose the message directly in this field, or click Load Message to select a saved message from the library. To save a message for future use, click Save As.
-
Show Advanced Options: This option allows you to set an expiration date for the survey link. By default, Link Type is set to Individual, which means that each respondent receives a unique URL to the survey.
- Once the email is ready:
-
Send Preview Email: Send yourself a preview email.
-
Send in [x] hours / days: Schedule the email.
Re-publish a survey after making an update
Be aware that if you make any changes to your survey, such as adjusting the wording on a question or changing the header logo, you will need to publish the survey again. Try to avoid changing your survey after you publish it: it can be confusing for a respondent who begins the survey but returns to it at a later point to complete it.
Creating a contact list for email distribution
If you want to send emails from within Qualtrics (rather than copying the Qualtrics survey link and pasting it into Outlook or another application), you will need to set up a contact list. You can import an existing spreadsheet or create a list directly in Qualtrics:
Import an existing spreadsheet
Quick guide
- Prepare your list as an Excel file in the CSV format.
- Click the Menu
icon in the upper left, and select Directories.
- In the left menu, select Lists.
- Click Create a list.
- Name your list. You can optionally select the checkbox Make data in this list private. (Even if you do not select this checkbox, other Qualtrics users cannot see your list details.) Then, click Confirm.
- Click Upload a file.
- Click Select a file, and upload the file from your computer.
- Click Next.
- Review the import fields. If everything looks correct, click Upload the file.
- Qualtrics imports the information from the CSV file into the contact list.
Create a list directly in Qualtrics
Quick guide
- Click the Menu icon in the upper left, and select Directories.
- In the left menu, select Lists.
- Click Create a list.
- Name your list. You can optionally select the checkbox Make data in this list private. Then, click Confirm.
- Click Manual input.
- Fill out the information, adding more columns if needed. Then, click Next.
- Qualtrics adds the information to the contact list.
Collaborating on a survey with colleagues
You can collaborate on a Qualtrics survey with colleagues by sharing the survey and determining the amount of editing privileges you want to grant:
Quick guide
- Make sure you are in the Survey tab and have Builder selected. (Select the Builder
icon in the left menu.)
- At the top, click Tools. Select Collaborate.
- Type a collaborator's email address, and click Add Selected.
- By default, the collaborator is added with full editing and report-viewing permissions. To restrict permissions, click the Expand
icon and deselect any checkboxes.
- Repeat steps 3–4 until you've added all collaborators. Click Save.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Make sure you are in the Survey tab and have Builder selected. (Select the Builder icon in the left menu.)
- At the top, click Tools. Select Collaborate.
- Type a collaborator's email address, and click Add Selected.
- By default, the collaborator is added with full editing and report-viewing permissions. To restrict permissions, click the Expand icon and deselect any checkboxes.
- Repeat steps 3–4 until you've added all collaborators. Click Save.
Accessing a Qualtrics survey created by someone else
If you are collaborating on a Qualtrics survey that was created by someone else, and that person departs Dornsife or USC entirely, you can email ts@dornsife.usc.edu to request that the survey be transferred to your Qualtrics account.
Additional resources