Insight Study Creation Wiki

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We recommend creating the study in order of the following steps:

Configure the Study Tab

Name your study by typing a name into the Study Name field. This name will appear at the top of the app home screen.
In the Status Field, select Development while the app is in development, or select Active when the app has been fully developed and you are ready to begin enrolling study participants.
If desired, in the Staff Phone field, type a phone number that participants can click in order to connect them with your research staff. If you use this feature, a Call Staff button will populate on the top right hand corner of the app home screen.
If desired, in the Counselor Phone field, type a phone number that participants use to connect them with a counselor/nurse/doctor/etc. If you use this feature, a Call Counselor button will populate on the Insight application home screen.
In Assessment Timeout Minutes, type the number of minutes that you would like participants to have to complete each assessment. The assessment will automatically end when time runs out. Insight will record the duration of each initiated assessment and this information will be saved in the dataset.
Select study features:

Ecological Momentary Assessment – Insight’s base EMA package
Ecological Momentary Intervention – Insight’s elevated JITAI package
Sensor Data – Insight’s sensor package (e.g., Android Wear devices)
Participant Feedback Graphs – generates summarization of Insight data
Research Assistant Alerts – enables Insight encrypted email and automated phone calls
iCO Carbon Monoxide Sensor – integration of the Bedfont carbon monoxide Smokerlyzer
GPS Tagging – collection of GPS coordinates during assessments
GPS Tracking – collection of GPS coordinates on a schedule (e.g., every 5 minutes)
Call Monitoring – collection of details for study-related phone calls (e.g., date, time, duration)
Facial Recognition – collection and evaluation of image capturing using front-facing camera
Greenphire Payments – participant payments through the Insight platform via Greenphire
Custom Payments – automated computer-generated subject payments
Bluetooth Devices – integration of third-party Bluetooth devices
PHI Collections – collection of Protected Health Information

Create Groups

Allows researchers to provide different content/questions to participants based upon group membership (e.g., Assessment only vs. Assessment + Intervention).

Click the Groups tab.
Click the Add button.
Name the Group by typing inside the Name textbox field; a brief description of the group can be added in the Description textbox.
Select features for the new group.
Click the Save button.

Always click the save button after you make changes to your study. You will lose all work that you do not save.

Create Questions

Do not use spaces for variable names. If needed, use an underscore. For example, “Question 1” will not be acceptable for a field name. Instead use Question1 or Question_1.

Question types and how to create them:

In the Questions tab, click the New Question Template button.
Type a variable name into the Field Name textbox. This will be a labeled column in your dataset.
Choose a Question Type (e.g., radio, slider, check all that apply, time, calendar, date, etc.).
Check the Required button if you would like this question to be answered before participants can move to the next question. If unchecked, participants will be allowed to skip the item.
Type your Question Text. This text will appear on the smartphone screen during the assessment.
Enter instructions on how to complete the question in the Description textbox (e.g., “Slide your finger from left to right to answer this question”). (Optional)
To adjust Font Color and Font Weight of the question, click the add button under Settings (if you do not change the font color or weight, Insight default settings will be used).
Under Responses, click Add for each desired answer response. For example, click Add 5 times for a 5-item Likert-Type scale (e.g., Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree).
1. Type each answer into the Text field as it should appear on the smartphone screen (e.g., Strongly Agree).
2. Type a Value that corresponds to each answer response (e.g., “1” for Strongly Agree). These Values will appear in your dataset.
3. Hover the mouse over the Move ↕ button, click, hold, and move items up and down to reorder responses. The order of the responses here will set the response order in the app.
4. Click the Configure wheel next to each Response if you would like to change the Font Color and/or Font Weight for each answer response.
5. Click the Remove button to remove an answer response.
Click the Save button on the top right hand side of the screen, and always click the save button after you make changes to your study. You will lose all work that you do not save.
Insight allows you to clone Questions. This feature can save considerable amounts of time if your study contains similarly worded questions, or questions with similar/identical answer responses.
1. From the Questions dashboard, click the Clone button for a particular question.
2. Change the Field Name for this new item.
3. Change the Question Text.
4. Modify answer Responses and Settings as needed.
5. Save the new item.

To create a badge that appears within the Insight app that is a consecutive day counter, follow the steps below:

Select Response Summary under the Question Type dropdown box. Fill out the required fields (Field Name and Question Text). Use Question Text to describe the Response Summary of the Badge.
Automatically under Settings, look for the Response Summary setting type.
1. Under the Question Name dropdown box, select the question you want associated with this Response Summary.
2. Under Minimum Goal and Maximum Goal, enter the value(s) associated with the question responses that would trigger the Response Summary Badge streak.
  1. For example, a question picked that asks the participant “if they slept before midnight”. The responses for this question are “Yes” for a value of 1 and “No” for a value of 0. In order to associate “Yes” to the Response Summary, 1 will be entered for both Minimum and Maximum Goal
3. Set additional Settings for the Response Summary. The “Goal Streak“ badge and Streak Count can be enabled or disabled to be shown during the Assessment. The “Goal Met Pie Chart“ with number of Met / Not-Met Responses can be enabled or disabled to be shown during the Assessment.

Setting the values for the associated Question to a Response Summary:

Settings for the Response Summary to be displayed. “Minimum Goal“ and “Maximum Goal“ values are included in the Goals Met for the Response Summary badge. “Show Goal Streak“ and “Show Goal Met Pie Chart“ can be toggled to be displayed or not during Response Summary Question. If the “Show Goal Met Pie Chart“ is enabled, each section of the Pie Chart will display the text entered as the Label Suffix which is input by the CMS user.

The “Streak” counter is a setting to show the Streak – how many times in a row that the requirements for the Response Summary have been met. Once the requirement value is out of the settings range, the Streak sets to 0.

The pie chart shows the total number of times that the Response Summary goal has been met or not met. The colors for the Pie Chart are not customizable at this time.

The Streak Goal and the Pie Chart can be independently shown or hidden from CMS settings.

Calculated fields are a question type that uses formula logic to create new values that can be used for data analysis and branching logic within assessments. To help with designing these formulas, a formula editor is included that allows for experimentation with different values to see how a formula will behave to enter the formula editor, click on the ‘Edit formula button’.

This will bring up the formula editor, which has a number of options. To begin, enter a formula in the top text box. Once one is entered, parse/extract the formula using one of the methods detailed below to test how the formula outcomes.

There are two ways to test formulas, ‘Quick’ and ‘Validated'. ‘Quick’ will allow for any formula fields to be subbed in without regard to what exists in the study and is useful for testing proof-of-concept formulas. ‘Validated’ will attempt to locate questions that are referenced within the formula and allows for testing the specific values associated with other questions as well as making sure that the questions are referenced correctly. An example of the ‘Quick’ evaluation is shown below:

In the CMS, the options for the LineChart appear as shown below.

The first option is to select a Question in the Study. The requirement for the LineChart is that the Responses from the Question have numeric values. If they do not, the Line Chart will show an empty graph.

Valid Question Types for showing Line Charts data: Radio with numerical Values, Dropdown with numerical Values, Slider, Continuous Slider, BT iCO Breath Sample

Question Types that are not for Line Charts: Checkbox, Text Field, Text Area

The default Line Chart for a Question uses all Responses for the Question over the course of the entire Study.

Other options are as follows:

Show Axis Labels - This is an Enable / Disable slider. Data Labels will be visible along the Y-axis at fixed increments.

Y-Axis Increment Label - A typed-in element of units (such as “Drinks“ or “ppm“) will be added to the Y-axis increments if “Show Axis Labels“ is enabled. Does not show if “show Axis Labels“ is Disabled.

Show Threshold - sets a second line on the graph at a fixed Y-value. Displays the graph data value overlaid the Threshold value. If the Threshold is significantly higher than the highest point of Data, the graph is stretched vertically to show both the data and the Threshold.

Threshold Value - If “Show Threshold“ is Enabled, this is a number input for the Threshold Value to be rendered against the data values from the selected Question.

Show Cumulative Sum - The Linear Chart is able to show a linear sum of Question Data over multiple days, as opposed to showing a linear plot of data. Each Response value is summed with the previous data point value, starting with just the first point and ending with the Response value from the last Response.

Number of Days - Line Charts can designate a number of days to use instead of all Responses over the course of the Study. Inputting a positive number of Days, the displayed Cumulative Sum Line Chart will show the Response Data for the last number of allocated Days. Leaving the Number of Days blank will show all of the Responses over the course of the Study.

Single Line Chart Visible Axis labels Data collected > 30 days Y-Axis Label → Ppm	Line Chart w/ Threshold line No Axis label Data collected > 30 days	Cumulative Sum Line Chart Visible Axis labels Y-Axis → test	Cumulative Sum Line Chart with Threshold Line No Axis label

Single Line Chart Visible Axis labels Data collected > 30 days Y-Axis Label → Ppm	Line Chart w/ Threshold line No Axis label Data collected > 30 days	Cumulative Sum Line Chart Visible Axis labels Y-Axis → test	Cumulative Sum Line Chart with Threshold Line No Axis label

Examples and instructions for creating each question type are available here:

Checkbox - Response choices are shown in a list; multiple answers can be chosen.

Continuous Slider - Participants slide their finger from left to right to choose a continuous response (e.g., 1-10 visual analog scale).

Date - Participant uses a calendar to choose a date.

Dropdown - Participants click a box to select from a long list of potential answer responses.

Line Chart - This item type is used as a graphical representation of data collected.

Payment Log - This item type is used to display the number or percentage of surveys completed, requires HTML file. More information can be found here.

Radio - Response choices are shown in a list; only one answer can be chosen.

Rich Text - A block of text that can be used to provide messages or instructions in the app; rich text allows additional formatting that is not available with the Text Only item type. For example, this item type allows you to embed URL links, underlining, highlighting, and bolding into messages.

Do not copy-paste Question Text from a source that generates its own formatting. Rich-Text Question Text that is copy-pasted from a source with formatting provided (i.e. MS Word or MS Outlook) will include all of the hidden formatting.

Slider - Participant slides their finger from left to right to choose a categorical response.

Text Area - Participant uses their keyboard to type a longer response than the text field question type.

Text Field - Participant uses their keyboard to type a short answer.

Text Only - A block of text that can be used to provide messages or instructions in the app.

Time - Participant uses a clock to choose a time.

Timer - Participants see a configurable countdown timer.

Button List - This item type creates a menu of options/buttons. Each button can be linked with specific content (e.g., messages, message bins, videos, websites) set to other questions types (e.g. Core Web View, Video, Text Only) by using branching logic.

Calculated Field - Enables researchers to create formulas by adding / subtracting / multiplying / etc. participant answers to EMA questions (e.g., question 1 + question 2).

Core Web View - Enables the integration of webpages into Insight. When Insight is used to open a webpage, the platform quantifies the amount of time spent on each webpage.

This feature requires an active data plan or WiFi connection to access the internet.

Email - An encrypted email is generated when an established criterion is met (e.g., if question 1 > 3, then automatically email a study staff member that a participant has requested a medication refill).

This feature involves PHI and requires an active data plan or WiFi connection to access the internet.

Face Verification - Used to take a picture of participant, in conjunction with facial recognition.

This feature involves PHI.

Baseline Facial Recognition Photo - allows participants to take and submit a new or replacement Baseline Photo. Facial Recognition must be enabled on the Study and Group level; adding a Baseline Facial Recognition Photo to a Group that does not have the “Facial Recognition” setting enabled can cause the Insight app to crash if the participant attempts to upload the picture. This question type is able to be added to new or existing assessments. When a participant presses “Submit” during the Assessment, the new Baseline Photo is uploaded. The photo will be available to view in the Insight CMS once image processing and syncing are completed.

Image Picker - Uploads any selected image from a device’s Gallery or Photos

This feature requires an active data plan or WiFi connection to upload.

Picture Preview - Allows participants to take a photo from the Insight app to get a preview of what the camera captures. Participants are allowed to take as many pictures as they like, and the image is not saved on the Insight app nor on the CMS. The image does not show on the app until the participant taps on the “Preview Photo” button to take a picture.

Do NOT select the “Required” checkbox for Picture Preview! Selecting “Required” will not allow the participant to move on to the next question in the assessment

Greenphire Payment – AUTOMATICALLY initiates a payment to a Greenphire Mastercard when a participant completes a specific survey.

This feature involves PHI and is currently only available for OUHSC researchers.

iCO - Pairs with the Bedfont iCO device to collect carbon monoxide samples. Requires purchase of specific third party devices.

Message Bin - Enables delivery of unique content when specific criteria are met. One message is delivered from the bin to the participant on each occasion.

Message Bin Repeating - Enables delivery of unique content when specific criteria are met. One message is delivered from the bin to the participant on each occasion. This type of bin resets to the first message after the last message in the bin is delivered.

Pedometer Summary - Shows summary of steps. Can set graphs to show progress, in conjunction with Android Wear.Coming soon.

Random Number Generator - Generates a random number based upon parameters set by the researcher.

Response Summary – Creates a summary button in the app to indicate if the participant has reached a study defined goal and/or the number of days they have met certain criteria; gamification elements.

Sensor Log - Schedules the frequency for Insight communication with Outsight to record data from Android Wear devices. Will present data from a sensor at specified intervals. For example, if steps are to be collected every 2 minutes the log will display number of steps every 2 minutes.

Video - Shows a video file saved within the Insight App.

Video Link Bin - Enables delivery of a video (using a URL) when specific criteria are met. One video is delivered from the bin to the participant on each occasion.

This feature requires an active data plan or Wifi connection to access the internet.

YouTube Video - Links YouTube URLs to play video content in the app.

This feature requires an active data plan or Wifi connection to access the internet.

Create Assessments

This section explains how to create assessments.

Click the Assessments tab.
Click Add to create a new Assessment.
Type a name for your assessment in the Assessment Name textbox.

We recommend that you use face value names to distinguish this assessment from other assessments (e.g., Morning Daily Diary - Intervention Group; Quit Date Morning Daily Diary - Control Group).

Assessment Timeout Minutes allows studies to customize how long a specific assessment can be; when using Add/Edit/Clone Assessment operations, the Assessment Timeout Minutes is defaulted from the Study Level timeout duration.

a. Change the assessment timeout to a preferred duration. (Optional)

i. The field is mandatory and must be greater than zero (0).

ii. An Event with multiple Assessments will be based on the timeout duration at the Study level, not the Assessment level.

Add questions to the assessment:

a. On the left side of the screen, you will find all questions that you have created for this study. On the right side of the screen are the questions that will be included in this particular assessment.

You can reuse questions for multiple assessments (e.g., there is no need to create an item – “I am hungry” more than once because the same item can be used in multiple assessments). However, if you would like to ask the same question twice in a single assessment, you should create two items to differentiate them in your dataset (e.g., “paintime1” and “paintime2”)

i. Use the Filter box as a quicker way to find your questions. Simply type in the variable name.

b. Click to add a question to the top of the assessment.

c. Click to add a question to the bottom of the assessment.

d. You can also drag and drop questions from the left side of the screen and place them in the desired order on the right side of the screen (this drag-and-drop feature can be used after at least 1 item has been added to the assessment using the chevron-up button).

Question Feature Buttons on the right hand side of the screen will enable you to customize your Assessment.

a. Move questions higher or lower in the assessment by hovering the mouse over the Move ↕ button. Then click, hold, and move the question higher or lower in the assessment.

b. Click the Open button to create branching logic and to review information about each question. Branching logic enables certain questions to be skipped or presented based upon responses to other questions. Click here to learn more about branching logic formulas and how to use them.

c. Click the Clone button to add a copy of this item to this assessment.

d. Click the Remove button to remove a question from the assessment.

Click the Save button.

Always click the save button after you make changes to your study. You will lose all work that you do not save.

Type in the formula for branching logic instead of copying and pasting formulas.

Copying and Pasting formulas have the potential to carry over hidden characters or HTML tags that are not seen in web browsers.

If it is a Rich Text question type the question text will be limited to displaying 50 characters.

How to use the last response to a question or a previous survey to direct the current survey

formula example:

The Last Response option is used to pull a participant’s last response to a particular question. This enables researchers to use data from previous surveys to inform algorithms and formulas. See example below.

The example below referencing question “sex” there are two (2) values being shown: 0 = Female, 1 = Male. In this case, the participant has answered this question multiple times. Using the formula “last([sex])” will pull the last response which is one (1) in this case.

last([sex])

Variable: sex

values: [0 = Female, 1 = Male]

Multi Value Field (checkbox)

Not currently supported for last(), will currently match on any prior matching values

How to only show a question if previous response is a given value

Instructions:

Click the Assessment tab, select desired assessment, then open the question that needs to be shown or hidden based upon data from a previous survey. In the “Formula” area, add the desired logic, examples are below.

formula example:

[variablename] == 1

values: [1,3,2]

result: 1

The question will only be asked if the response to this prior question = 1.

Multi Value Field (Checkbox)

formula example:

[variablename(2)] == 1

Check all that apply:

Dog = 1

Cat = 2

Frog = 3

When the second option is closer, this question will be asked

Click Close to return to the Assessments tab where you will see your new assessment.

Create Stages

Insight conceptualizes Stages as periods of time. The Stage feature allows you to present different questions and intervention content and use different Insight features at different time points in your study. You can include as many stages as you like.

Stages are directly linear by default in each Study. Each Participant starts in the top-listed first Stage in the Study, and progresses through each Stage in a linear manner based on the conditions to complete each Stage.

The Stages listed in order in the CMS is the order of the Stages that will progress in the Study.

The additional Setting “Branching Logic → Branch-to-Stage“ is designed to allow Study Stages to progress in a non-linear (sometimes “circular stage“) manner.

Click the Events tab.
Click Add to create a new Stage.
Type a name for your stage in the Name textbox.

We recommend that you use face value names to distinguish stages (e.g., Stage 1; Study Days 1-14; Pre-Quit).

The Type dropdown box allows you to set how this stage will end.

a. Duration – Allows you to set how long (by number of days) a stage will last. The app will automatically move to the next stage (in order) when each stage ends. Type number of days for the stage in the Days Duration textbox.

i. Check the Ends at midnight checkbox if you would like a stage to advance to the next stage at midnight on the last day of the stage. If this box is not checked, the stage will advance at the same time of day as when the participant downloaded the app and started the study (this will result in some participants starting a new stage at 5:00 PM, and others at 8:00 AM). In most cases, the Ends at midnight checkbox should be checked for Duration Stages.

b. Formula – Allows you to end a stage when specific formula criteria are met (e.g., Participant indicates that they have not smoked in the past 7 days; Participant indicates exercising 3 or more days in the past week).

Type in the formula for branching logic instead of copying and pasting formulas.

Copying and Pasting formulas have the potential to carry over hidden characters or HTML tags that are not seen in web browsers.

Stage Settings

a. Branching Logic – Enables movement to any stage based upon a set formula. This feature enables circular stage logic. In other words, a participant can complete stage 1, then stage 3, then stage 2, then stage 1 again.

i. In the Branch-to Stage box, select the stage that you would like the participant to move to when the formula criteria are met

ii. In the Condition box, enter the criteria/formula needed to move the participant to the stage that is selected in the Branch-to Stage box

How to only trigger an event if a response is a given value

Instructions:

Select an event, then add a setting and choose branching logic. In the “Formula” area, add the desired logic. This will trigger if any stored data meet the formula conditions.

How to trigger a stage change on multiple conditions

Instructions:

Click the Events tab, then select a stage, under “type” choose the formula. In the “End Date Formula” field, add the desired logic. This can be simple (e.g., [startstudy]== 1; when the Start Study question is answered yes (1), the app will move to the next stage). This will trigger if any stored data meet the formula conditions, and missing values will default to false (thus not triggering a stage change on those variables).

formula example:

Complex logic: datediff("today",[study_startdate], "d", true,true) >= 1 or [skip_to_next_stage]==1

explanation:

This logic will move to the next stage if the participant has been in the study a number of days is > 0.

use the datediff() method to today’s (Note: the today is a variable that is created by the responder or the variable named skip next steps =1) date to the study start date with parameters set to honor negatives and use local time set to ‘true’, and advance the stage if the days (“d” parameters) are greater than 1, or if the “skip_to_next_stage” variable is set to 1.

How to create a “circular stage” path

Instructions:

To create a circular stage (a stage that can loop back to a previous stage (e.g., Pre-Quit, Post-Quit), add logic to trigger that transition to the “End Date Formula” in Stage. In addition, add a stage setting of “branching logic” type, and add the matching criteria and stage to loop back. The tricky bit is that it will loop directly back if you do not add some logic to the looped stage to prevent that immediate loop.

For a simple example, we’ll have stage A and B.

End Date Formula example for stage A:

last([advance_to_stage_b]) == 1 and 
  (last([return_to_stage_a:0])==0 or 
  datediff(last([advance_to_stage_b_date]),last([return_to_stage_a_date]),"d",true) > 0)

explanation:

Check the user selected to advance, then check to make sure that either the user has never selected to go back to stage yet or if they have, that the date they selected for returning is not greater than the selection to advance. This second part will prevent an immediate loop back.

End Date Formula example for stage B:

last([return_to_stage_a]) == 1 and 
  datediff(last([return_to_stage_a_date]),last([advance_to_stage_b_date]),"d",true) > 0

explanation:

check that the user selected to return, then check to make sure the date of the return selection is greater than the last time the user selected to advance . This second part will prevent an immediate loop back.

Branching logic example for stage B:

last([return_to_stage_a]) == 1 and 
  datediff(last([return_to_stage_a_date]),last([advance_to_stage_b_date]),"d",true) > 0

explanation:

this will use the exact same logic in this simplistic instance for branching back to stage A, but if there were multiple stages to loop to you would only use the specific logic for looping to that stage. If no branching logic matches, then the next stage in order will start or the study will end.

note:

always add last() for stage change formulas if you are not concerned about checking all prior instances. The default is to check all collected data and this may become slow as the user accumulates more data.

When a question type is Dropdown or Radio, the responder should input a series of Responses. Clicking the Add+ button will add an additional row for a Response and its Value.

The image below shows a Dropdown item that has four Responses, with the assigned values 0, 1, 2, and 12.

The numeric Values of each Response should be carefully set because this data is what will be downloaded in the dataset.

Forth, Values for each Response must be assigned in order for the Responses to be used in Formulas.

The image below shows conditional logic that can be used to skip or ask specific questions based on previous answers in a survey may be presented to the participant, based on the answer provided for the Dropdown Question, Test_Dropdown.

If no formula is added to a question, it will always be asked during that survey.

Adding a Formula for a Question conditions for when that question should be shown.

In this example, the Question Test_Dropdown is shown every time the Assessment is taken. The Question Test_Radio will only be presented during the Assessment if the Response to Test_Dropdown = 12.

Equality operators (>, >=, <, <=) can be used to allow multiple answers to a question to trigger a later question.

Changing [Test_Dropdown]==1 to [Test_Dropdown] >= 1 will trigger the question when the answer to Test_Dropdown = 1, 2, or 12.

Creating and Using the Random Number Generator

The Random Number Generator Question, requires a minimum and maximum value (Note: the user can also select decimal places for the random number). An example is shown below for a Random Number Generator Question with Minimum value 0, Maximum value 2, and 0 decimal places. This will generate a number that is 0, 1, or 2.

The randomly generated number can be used to drive intervention content.

The Random Number Generator can be added to the Assessment in order. It is possible to have multiple Random Number Generator Questions within a single assessment.

Checkbox item type

The Checkbox item type is very similar to Dropdown and Radio questions, but more than one answer can be selected. This makes Formula logic slightly different.

Creation of Checkbox questions is similar to Radio and Dropdown Questions (e.g., adding Responses and the associated Values). Formulas that depend on specific answers to check box questions have an additional component. The (N) in the example below represents the Value assigned to a specific response.

[Checkbox_Question_Name(N)] == 1

Example below shows favorite animals.

1 = dog

2 = cat

3 = turtle

If select dog(1)[favorite(1)]=1 then ask text type Follow Up of breed. The “==1” the item was checked; “==0” means unchecked.

b. Payment Schedule – Allows you to define a specific payment schedule to a specific stage.

Click the Save button.

Always click the save button after you make changes to your study. You will lose all the work that you do not save.

We recommend that the first stage of any study be a “Start Study” Stage. The Start Study stage will standardize the study experience for all participants and will set the first day of your study for each participant. The Start Study stage should contain a Start Study assessment that includes the question: “Do you want to start the study now?” (Yes = 1; No = 0). The Formula stage change type should be used to move the participant to the first day of the study (type [start_study]==1 into the End Date Formula field).

You can ask baseline questions during the Start Study stage that can be used to drive question, message, and intervention content. For example, you can ask “What is your sex?” during the Start Study stage and use the answer to this question to select appropriate sex-based questions for the duration of your study – For women: “During the past week, how many days did you drink 4 or more alcohol containing beverages?”; for men: “During the past week, how many days did you drink 5 or more alcohol containing beverages?”

To enable this feature, use the LAST command when creating the skip pattern for a question within an assessment. The participant’s answer to the question the last time it was answered will be used to inform the skip logic – see Formulas section to learn more.

Create Events

Events are Assessments that are embedded within stages. There can be many events within a particular stage (e.g., Random Assessments, Fixed Assessments).

Select a stage for a new event.
Click in the Events section of the stage to create a new Event.
Type a name for the new Event in the Schedule Name textbox (e.g., Pre-Quit Daily Diary-Control Group).

For Participant Initiated Events, the name of the Event will appear in the app home screen. Thus, a concise and descriptive name for this type of event should be used (e.g., Meal Survey; I am about to smoke; Relaxation Videos).

You cannot add two (2) events at the same time because the CMS will not save the group or assessment of the second event. To add two (2) events to the same stage, we recommend the following: save the first event, click out of the Events tab, click back into the Events tab, then create the second event.

Select the particular group(s) that you would like to associate with this event under

Available Groups and drag the group(s) into the Selected Groups box.

In some cases, researchers will assign specific events to specific groups (e.g., Assessment Only Group vs. Assessment + Intervention Group).

If you created an Event you no longer want to appear on the app, you will need to remove the groups from that specific Event. Do not delete the Event as this will result in deletion of previously collected data.

How to only trigger an event if a response is a given value

Instructions:

Select an event, then add a setting and choose branching logic. In the “Formula” area, add the desired logic. This will trigger if any stored data meet the formula conditions.

How to trigger a stage change on multiple conditions

Instructions:

Click the Events tab, then select a stage, under “type” choose the formula. In the “End Date Formula” field, add the desired logic. This can be simple (e.g., [startstudy]== 1; when the Start Study question is answered yes (1), the app will move to the next stage). This will trigger if any stored data meet the formula conditions, and missing values will default to false (thus not triggering a stage change on those variables).

formula example:

Complex logic: datediff("today",[study_startdate], "d", true,true) >= 1 or [skip_to_next_stage]==1

explanation:

This logic will move to the next stage if the participant has been in the study a number of days is > 0.

use the datediff() method to today’s (Note: the today is a variable that is created by the responder or the variable named skip next steps =1) date to the study start date with parameters set to honor negatives and use local time set to ‘true’, and advance the stage if the days (“d” parameters) are greater than 1, or if the “skip_to_next_stage” variable is set to 1.

How to create a “circular stage” path

Instructions:

To create a circular stage (a stage that can loop back to a previous stage (e.g., Pre-Quit, Post-Quit), add logic to trigger that transition to the “End Date Formula” in Stage. In addition, add a stage setting of “branching logic” type, and add the matching criteria and stage to loop back. The tricky bit is that it will loop directly back if you do not add some logic to the looped stage to prevent that immediate loop.

For a simple example, we’ll have stage A and B.

End Date Formula example for stage A:

last([advance_to_stage_b]) == 1 and 
  (last([return_to_stage_a:0])==0 or 
  datediff(last([advance_to_stage_b_date]),last([return_to_stage_a_date]),"d",true) > 0)

explanation:

Check the user selected to advance, then check to make sure that either the user has never selected to go back to stage yet or if they have, that the date they selected for returning is not greater than the selection to advance. This second part will prevent an immediate loop back.

End Date Formula example for stage B:

last([return_to_stage_a]) == 1 and 
  datediff(last([return_to_stage_a_date]),last([advance_to_stage_b_date]),"d",true) > 0

explanation:

check that the user selected to return, then check to make sure the date of the return selection is greater than the last time the user selected to advance . This second part will prevent an immediate loop back.

Branching logic example for stage B:

last([return_to_stage_a]) == 1 and 
  datediff(last([return_to_stage_a_date]),last([advance_to_stage_b_date]),"d",true) > 0