How do I let respondents add more than one entry?
Use a repeating group so respondents can fill in the same set of fields once for each item, such as each activity or each household member.
Some questions have a list for an answer: every activity someone ran, every person in a household, every course a student took. A Repeating group lets respondents fill in the same set of fields once per item, adding as many entries as they need, all in a single response.
Add a repeating group
- Select a block, click Insert, then More question types.
- Choose Repeating group.
The new group starts with two fields, Name and Description, so you can see how it works. Rename or remove them to suit your survey.
Set it up
Group name. At the top, type what the group is about, for example "Activities you ran this term". Respondents see this as the question.
One entry is called. Type a singular word for one item, such as "activity", "person" or "course". Surbee uses it in the entry headings (Activity 1, Activity 2) and on the button respondents click to add another (Add another activity).
Fields. Under Add a field, click a type to add it to every entry:
- Short text
- Long text
- Dropdown
- Single choice
- Multiple choice
- Number
- Date
- Scale
Type a label for each field. To remove a field, use the bin icon next to it.
Entries at start is how many entries respondents see when they reach the group. It is also the fewest they can have, so they can't remove entries below this number. It is at least 1.
Most allowed caps how many entries a respondent can add. When they reach it, the add button disappears. The default is 10.
A repeating group can't contain another repeating group.
What respondents see
Respondents see the first entry with all of your fields. When they finish it, they click Add another (with your item name) to get a fresh copy of the fields. Each extra entry has a remove button, so they can delete one they added by mistake. Screen reader users hear when an entry is added or removed.
Making it required
If you mark the group Required, respondents must fill in at least one field in at least one entry before they can move on. If they leave it empty, they see "Add at least one entry".
How the answers come back
Each response holds one record per entry, with an answer for every field.
- In your results, Surbee pools the entries from every respondent and summarises each field like a normal question. A dropdown inside a group shows the same breakdown as any other dropdown.
- In exports, each entry gets its own set of columns, numbered by entry, such as "Q3.1 Name" and "Q3.2 Name". The number of columns follows the most entries anyone actually submitted.
Scoring
If you score a field inside a group, it is worth its points once, however many entries the respondent adds. It counts as correct if any entry has the right answer. See Quizzes and scoring.