Problems with Logic

[jdill]

I'd been having some issues regarding conditonal logic some time ago. I think that I've figured out what logical forumulas are needed to do what I'm intending but I'm still having trouble. I'm trying to create a skip pattern based on participant ratings. Particiants make ratings on ten different prompts. The prompts are labelled numerically and I've figured out how to manipulate Excel into focusing on certain ones (for this experiment I want to look at either the even or odd numbers), pull out the highest ranking and then identify the prompt that merited the highest rating. Since the prompts were labelled numerically I've used the IF, then function of Excel to try and skip to a set of instructions corresponding to the prompt. I must be doing something wrong, however, as the skip does not occur. I was wondering if you could look at the files I've attached and help me to find the mistake that I'm making.

I even tried to do the same sort of thing, with a more simplisitc version of the same experiment. In this attempt I was going to have participants rate the various prompts in a "pre-test" experiment and have a number presented back at the end that indicated which conditon out of five that individual should be assigned to. In doing things this way a skip wouldn't be necessary. Again, I tried to use a helper table, but I can't get MediaLab to present a number back to me.

In both cases when I look at the report for the current session the numbers are being manipulated, and the formulas seem to be working. I've attached a file called "actint" this was my first attempt; all prompts and instructions are contained within a single que file. The pretest file was an attempt to avoid using a skip because of the problems I've been having. I included a single response.xls file that includes the helper table that I would need to use regardless, as well as my attempt to use a skip pattern and my attempt to present a numeric value to the participant to assign a conditon. I just put them in the same response file to save time and space.

Any assistance that you could give would be greatly appreciated. I've been working on this a while, a kept thinking that if I plugged away at it it would eventually make sense. As of now I'm feeling frustrated and distressed and I'm sure my supervisor is too. Thanks again.

[Trevor Newell]

jdill,

I apologize for the trouble you've had with the software!
Perhaps the problem may be the value you're using in the 'variable' column. If you use the exact variable names that your questionnaire has within this column, the values should record themselves. Have you tried taking a look at the sample file relating to this issue?

I want to make sure this issue gets solved - it seems it's causing quite a bit of trouble!
The variable naming used in the responses.xls file is the only thing I noticed that could be off.

Regards,
Trevor