Pauses between questions (case 7724)

Is there any way to speed up the interview with regards to the pausing between items? Newer computers? Faster processors? What can we do to make the transitions faster - there is currently a noticeable delay.

Hi pfreeman,

Could you please provide some more detail about your interview project and exactly where and what kind of pauses you are experiencing? It would be really helpful if you could upload a file from your interviews so that I could take a look at it; just a small file or an example of it.

Cheers.

Jason

I got the entire set of files. The sheer number of individual variable names and the use of a responses.xls file is the most likely reason for any delays. The responses.xls file updates all values each and every time you come to a new variable, hence the delay. The primary way to remove the delay would then be to find some way of not using a responses.xls file, perhaps putting all the individual items into a single, very large questionnaire file with a potentially complex skip pattern.

Jason,
Thank you again for looking at our files. We understand that we would not be able to calculate our needed values using the questionnaire file. Are there any other solutions that others have used as a work around for the problem?

Hi Jason,

I too am having a problem in my program with pauses between questions. I am using .bmp image files to display my questions (since they are in Hebrew and Arabic), and also need to use a complex skip pattern (ie. skip question 3 if the answers to questions 1 and 2 are both No). Finally, I have a lot of items (300), which also seems to apply to Kathryn's original problem.

I see here that you suggest Kathryn removes the responses.xls file and instead uses one large questionnaire file. From reading the users manual, I understood that complex skip patterns (ie patterns based on responses to several questions) are only possible with the use of the responses.xls file. Is this correct or am I misunderstanding your suggestion to put all of the items into a single, large questionnaire file with a potentially complex skip pattern? What are the types of skip patterns possible within a questionnaire file?

If I can execute complex skips without the use of the excel file in order to speed up my interview, I would be delighted.

Hi smithcat,

Any skip patterns that involve something more complex than directing participants to an item in the same questionnaire file based on their choice of a single response option must involve a response.xls file. As such, response.xls files are the tool of choice for the parts of your study that require skips based on situations like participant responses to two or more items. However, as I wrote earlier, response.xls files can introduce delays if large numbers of variables are used in them because excel goes through every item in the response.xls file to see if it can update any variable values every time a participant gets a new item.