Create

Survey Content

Survey Basic authoring

• Title:

  This is the name of your Survey activity as students will see it.Use a clear, meaningful title that reflects the purpose of the activity. For example: “Reflecting on Bridge Design Decisions”

• Instructions This is where you provide context and guidance to students.

  Use this space to:

  • Explain what the survey is about

  • Clarise why students are completing it

  • Set expectations for reflection and honesty

  A well-written description helps students engage more thoughtfully with the questions.

Survey questions list

This section is where you create and manage your survey questions.

Question Types

Each question can be configured in different ways:

• Single choice (radio button) Students select one answer only → Useful for decisions or preferred options

• Multiple choice (checkboxes) Students can select more than one answer → Useful for identifying influencing factors

• Open-ended (text response) Students write their own answer → Ideal for reasoning, justification, and reflection

Optional vs Required Questions

You can decide whether a question is optional or compulsory.

• Use required questions when you need consistent data

• Use optional questions when you want to allow flexibility or deeper reflection without pressure

Question Management Options

For each question, you can:

• Edit → Modify the question text or settings

• Duplicate → Quickly reuse a question structure

• Delete → Remove the question

You can also reorder questions to control the flow of the survey.

Adding questions

Single and multiple answer questions

• Add question → Adds structured question types (e.g. multiple choice)

Adding a multiple choice question

This is where you write the main question prompt that students will respond to.

• Keep it short, clear, and unambiguous

• Make sure students understand exactly what is being asked

• If there is a single best answer, you can make that explicit in the wording

Example: “Which design approach did you choose?”

Optional answering

This toggle allows you to decide whether the question is mandatory or optional.

• ON (Optional) → Students can skip the question

• OFF (Required) → Students must answer before submitting

Use required questions when you need complete datasets, and optional ones for reflective or exploratory prompts.

Answers

This section is where you define the response options students can choose from.

Answer Options

• Add at least two options for the question

• Each option represents a possible response

Example:

• Truss

• Beam

• Arch

Reordering Answers

You can drag and reorder the options.

Allow multiple answers

When enabled, students can select more than one option.

• Turns the question into a multi-select (checkbox) question

• Useful when several answers may apply

Allow ‘Other’ text entry

When enabled, students can enter their own response if none of the provided options fit.

• Adds flexibility and inclusivity

• Captures unexpected or nuanced answers

Use this when:

• You want to avoid restricting student thinking

• You expect diverse or creative responses

Practical Tip

A strong multiple choice question should:

• Have clear, well-defined options

• Avoid ambiguity or overlap between answers

• Use “Allow multiple answers” only when appropriate

• Include “Other” when student responses may go beyond predefined categories

Open-ended Questions

This question type allows students to provide a free-text response in their own words.

Add open-ended question → Adds a free-text response question

Adding a open-ended question

In Question, write the prompt students will respond to.

• Keep it short, clear, and focused

• Be explicit about what kind of response you expect (e.g. explanation, reflection, justification)

Example: “Explain one key decision you made in your design.”

Well-crafted prompts lead to more meaningful and analysable responses.

Use the toggle to select whether the question should be mandatory or optional.

Practical Tip

Effective open-ended questions:

• Focus on one idea at a time

• Encourage explanation, not just description

• Avoid vague prompts like “What do you think?”

Advanced Settings

These options control how students experience the survey and how data is handled.

Show survey on one page

When enabled, all questions are displayed on a single page.

• ON → Better for short surveys, easier overview

• OFF → Questions may appear step-by-step, reducing cognitive load

Show answers from other students

When enabled, students can see aggregated responses from their peers after submitting.

• Encourages comparison and reflection

• Helps students understand different perspectives

Use this when you want to promote discussion and peer insight.

Anonymise answers

When enabled, student identities are hidden and replaced with fictional names.

• Encourages honest and unbiased responses

• Protects student privacy

This setting cannot be undone after submission, so decide in advance

Notify instructors when a student submits an answer

When enabled, you receive a notification each time a student submits the survey.

• Useful for monitoring participation in real time

• Particularly helpful in synchronous sessions

Lock when finished

When enabled, students cannot change their answers after submission.

• Ensures data integrity

• Useful for formal feedback or research data collection

If disabled, students may be able to revise their responses.

Learning Outcomes

Mapping learning outcomes to activities is very useful for curriculum mapping.

Add learning outcomes to the activity

As with all activities in LAMS, you can map your learning outcomes to this activity. If you want to add a learning outcome, just search for the particular outcome or type a new one it will be added to your list of learning outcomes for the future.

You can search Learning Outcomes by code or name.