Questionnaires

The Additional Information step in the submission process allows a publication to display a set of custom questions to be answered by the submitting Author. These questions may be used to gather helpful information about the submission and/or about the Authors. The questions and responses can be configured to display on the PDF cover page, Details page, and transmittal form. (For publications using EM's Conference Submissions functionality, questions/responses can also be configured to display in the Search/Manage Conference Submissions report.

Publications can create two kinds of questionnaires for use in the EM system: Submission questionnaires and Author questionnaires. Submission questionnaires are presented only to the Author submitting the manuscript. Author questionnaires can be configured to be presented to all Authors related to the submission. Both types of questionnaires are associated with Article Types and can be presented for new submissions and/or revised submissions.

(In addition, publications using ProduXion Manager can create Production Task questionnaires. These questionnaires are associated with Production Tasks. For details, see the ProduXion Manager section of Help.)

Publications create a master list of questions and then create questionnaires to which one or more questions is assigned. Questions may be assigned to more than one questionnaire.

Create custom questions

There are six different response types for custom questions: Text, Date, Integer, Decimal, Notes, and List. A default value for the response may be identified.

Text responses allow the Author to enter any combination of characters and numbers. A maximum number of characters may be set from 1-200.

Date responses must be entered in the mm/dd/yyyy format. The calendar icon feature is displayed for the Author to use to select a date.

Integer responses must be a whole number.

Decimal responses must contain only numbers and a decimal point. Up to five digits are allowed following the decimal point.

Notes responses allow the Author to enter any combination of characters and numbers. A maximum number of characters may be set from 1-20,000.

List responses require the Author to select from a list of pre-configured choices. These may be presented in several different ways, depending on the number of responses expected:

• Drop-down list allows for one (or no) selection.
• Radio buttons allow for one selection (default value required).
• Checkboxes allow for multiple selections (good for 1-5 values).
• Scrolling selector allows for multiple selections (good for more than 5 values).

Custom questions of the List type may be configured with multiple levels, allowing for one or more follow-up questions to be presented, depending on the answer selected for the initial question.

Once created, custom questions can be copied in order to use configurations to create new questions.

to configure:

To create and manage questions, go to PolicyManager > Questionnaire Policies > Create Custom Questions.

The Create Custom Questions page displays the publication's master list of configured questions. The Action column displays five links: Edit, Copy, Hide, Restore, and Remove.

• Edit: Allows a system administrator to edit the question. (To preserve the integrity of data for past submissions, editing is recommended only to make minor changes, such as correcting typographical or grammatical errors.)
• Copy: Creates a copy of a question's configurations to be used to create a new question. All elements are editable. (The link opens the Add Custom Question page populated with the existing question; all elements are copied except for Custom Metadata IDs and Submission Flags.)
• Hide: Hides a question whether or not it is currently associated with a questionnaire. (A hidden question associated with a questionnaire is excluded when new copies of the questionnaire are presented to users, but it remains in the history of previously presented questionnaires.)
• Restore: Appears only when a question is hidden; used to return a question to the list of active questions.
• Remove: Permanently deletes a question; can only be used if a question has never been presented to a user.

Click the Add Question button (or Copy link next to an existing question) to create a new question. On the Add Custom Question page fill in the fields:

1. Question text: Enter the text (question or statement) to be presented to the Author.
2. Instructions for Author response: Enter any directions to be presented to the Author with the question.
3. Response type: Select from the drop-down list (Text, Date, Integer, Decimal, Notes, and List). If desired, enter a default value.
   1. For Text or Notes questions, enter a maximum field length (if desired).
   2. For List questions, use the drop-down list to choose a list type (Drop-down, Radio buttons, Checkboxes, Scrolling selector).
      1. In the appropriate text boxes enter the response Value and Description (optional) and click Save Item. (After saving, a new line to enter an additional item appears.)
      2. The list items can be reordered by entering numbers in the Display Order column and clicking the Update button. An item can be edited or removed from the list by using the links to the right.
4. Integration options: Check the box next to the transmittal method(s).
   • Include in Editorial Transmittal: Checking the box includes the question/response in the transmittal to the production system.
   • Include in Production Task Transmittal: Checking the box includes the question/response in the production task transmittal metadata XML file.
   • Transmit as Author Note/Footnote: Checking this box transmits the question/response as an Author note/footnote. (This setting applies only when using the JATS 1.1A (Aries Custom) Production Task Export method.)
5. Custom Metadata ID: Enter the ID in the text box or use the Select Custom Metadata ID link to choose. For details, see Define Custom Metadata IDs.
6. Select additional location(s) for the question/response to appear by checking the applicable box(es):
   • PDF cover page: To display this question/response on the PDF cover page, check the Display box. "Additional Information" must also be selected to display in the settings for PDF cover page layout. For details, see Customize System PDF Files.
   • Manuscript Details: Questions/responses are displayed on the Manuscript Details page by default. If you do not want the question/response to display on the Details page, deselect/uncheck the Display checkbox. If the question/response is configured to display, you may also enter Help text (available via a Help link located next to the Question and Answer on the Details page) to provide related information/instructions to Editors.
   • Transmittal Form: These settings dictate how the information is displayed on the transmittal form. (Settings in the Integration Options section, described above, apply to the conditions for exporting data during the transmittal process.) Questions/responses are displayed on the transmittal form by default. If you do not want the question/response to display on the transmittal form, deselect/uncheck the Display checkbox. Checking the Editable box allows users (with appropriate RoleManager permission) to edit the value on the transmittal form. Checking the Required box dictates that a value must be entered before the submission can be released to production. You may also enter Help text (available via a Help link located next to the Question and Answer on the transmittal form) to provide related information/instructions to Editors/staff.
7. When finished, click Save and Close (or Save and Add Another Question).

Create multi-part custom questions

Questions of the List type can be configured as multi-part questions with follow-up questions triggered by particular responses. Up to three levels of questions can be included, and each available response can generate a follow-up question. For example: In the illustration below, the initial question presents three possible responses. Each response can trigger a second level follow-up question. Each response to those follow-up questions can trigger a third-level question. (The third level is shown only for one of the follow-up questions.)

Only questions of the List type can generate follow-up questions.

To configure:

Follow the instructions in the section above to create a custom question of the List type. Enter the response Values and Descriptions for the Primary level.

Choose the response to configure the second-level Follow-up Question ("If user selects:"). The mechanism to select the response(s) is the same as the List type option (Drop-down list, Radio buttons, Checkboxes, Scrolling selector). Clicking the Add Follow-up Question button causes the page to regenerate and present fields for entering a new question. The first level is labeled Initial Question, the new level is labeled Follow-up Question x.

1. Create the question (as described above). If this is also a List response, another level of follow-up may be created (labeled Follow-up Question x.1).
2. When finished, click Save and Close (or Save and Add Another Question).

Create questionnaires

Once questions are created, they must be associated with questionnaires to present to users. All three types of questionnaires (Submission, Author, and Production Task) are configured using the same steps.

To configure:

Go to PolicyManager > Questionnaire Policies > Create Questionnaires. A link to this page is also available from the Create Custom Questions page and from individual Edit Custom Question pages.

The Create Questionnaires page displays all existing questionnaires. Questionnaires may be edited or removed by using the corresponding links next to the questionnaire name. Inactive (Hidden) questionnaires appear in gray italic text at the bottom of the list. To create a new questionnaire, click the Add button (which opens the Configure Questionnaire page).

The Configure Questionnaire page includes these settings:

Questionnaire Name: Enter a name in the text box.

Hide: Checking this box makes a questionnaire unavailable for use. Unchecking the box returns the questionnaire to active status.

Question Display Order: This section dictates the questions and order in which they are displayed.

• Click the Add Custom Questions button to open the Select Custom Questions for Questionnaire page. Check the box next to the desired question(s) and click Add to Questionnaire. The chosen questions appear on the Configure Questionnaire page.
• To reorder the list enter numbers for the preferred order in the Order column on the left and click the Update Item Order button.
• To remove a question from the list, clicking the Remove link to the right.
• To require an answer to a question, check the box in the Required column.
• To include the question in the merge field %AUTHOR_QUESTIONNAIRE_SUBSET%, check the box in the Include in Merge Field column. (This setting applies to Author questionnaires only.)

When finished, click Submit.

To associated a questionnaire with an Article Type, go to PolicyManager > Submission Policies > Edit Article Types, and click the Edit link next to the applicable Article Type. For details, see Configure Article Types.

Note: Changes to configuration of an existing Article Type are not applied retroactively. New configurations will not affect submissions in process. They will apply only to submissions initiated after the configuration change.

Associate flags with submission question responses

Submission flags can be associated with the responses to custom submission questions and automatically turned on when a Corresponding Author enters a specific response to a question.

Note: These flags can be applied only with custom questions associated with submission questionnaires. The questions may also be used in Author questionnaires or Production questionnaires; however, the responses to these questions on an Author questionnaire or Production questionnaire will not turn the associated submission flag on or off.

TO CONFIGURE:

Several steps are required to create (or edit existing) a custom question and to associate responses with submission flags.

First, define submission flags (Editorial type) to use. For details, see Configure Flags for Submission Records.

Then, go to Questionnaire Policies > Create Custom Questions. Click the Add button to create a new question or click the Edit link next to an existing question. An Associate with Flag link appears next to each response field; clicking the link opens a pop-up window displaying available defined submission flags. Select the appropriate flag and click Submit on the popup. The chosen flag appears next to the response with a Remove Flag link. Repeat (as needed) for each response. When finished on the Edit Custom Question page, click Save and Close.

Submission flags can be associated with responses to any question type. There are certain rules for how flags can be applied to responses of each type. The rules are:

• Text/Notes: A flag can be triggered by a blank response or by a non-blank response.
• Integer/Decimal/Date: A flag can be triggered by a blank response, triggered by a non-blank response, or triggered by a response that falls within a given "flag filter" parameter.
• List: Any response can be configured to trigger a flag. A blank response can also trigger a flag (if possible for the given list type).

Flags added to existing questions are not retroactively enabled for existing submissions. The flag is enabled for that question for new submissions made after the flag is enabled and for previous submissions when the questionnaire is edited by an Author or Editor via the Edit Submission interface.

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