Description
A text question expects an answer to contain
alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9), basic punctuation, symbols, and
spaces. The structure of the answer can be defined using a pattern. This
may be used for phone numbers, id codes and flight numbers.
The picture below displays a default text question on a tablet that accepts alphanumeric characters with no specific pattern defined.
The picture below displays a text question on a tablet with a specific pattern defined.
Creating a text question
In Questionnaire Designer,
- Click on the Question Type box.
- Select Text.
How a text question appears on a tablet
To answer the question the enumerator has to tap on the question box for the keyboard to display. The keyboard automatically shows alpha characters, but the enumerator can navigate through the keyboard to select numeric characters and basic punctuation symbols.
 |  |
Click on  to change the display of the keyboard. | Click on  to change the display of the keyboard. |
Once the enumerator enters the answer the text is shown in the answer field.
Options
**Pattern **
If you know the format of the expected answer use the ***Pattern ***field to define a specific format for the answer, otherwise leave this field blank.
To define a pattern, add a sequence of characters which defines the specific format. This sequence can contain fixed letters, fixed numbers, and symbols representing alpha, numeric or alphanumeric characters.
| Patterns | Represent | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ~ | One alpha character (A-Z,a-z) | ||
| # | One numeric character (0-9) | ||
| * | One alphanumeric character (A-Z,a-z,0-9) | ||
| ##/##/#### | Date | ||
| (###)-###-#### | Phone number | ||
| AA#### | Flight number | ||
| ~*-###-~### | Id code |
For example, for a question asking for the national id of a household member we will add the following sequence in the pattern text field:
On the tablet the question’s answer field displays the specific format that the enumerator must follow, as shown in the pictures below.
 |  |
Export
A text question’s answer is exported as a text variable in a tab-delimited file. The name of this variable is the question’s variable name that was defined in the Questionnaire Designer.
Below are two examples that illustrate the export of a text question for an open answer, and a specified answer format.
Text question without a pattern
Unanswered question exported in tab-delimited file
Answered question exported in tab-delimited file
Text question with a pattern
Unanswered question exported in tab-delimited file
Answered question exported in tab-delimited file