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Importing Instruments into Qualtrics and REDCap

Source: vignettes/articles/import-instructions.Rmd
import-instructions.Rmd

Each instrument’s download page offers ready-to-use import files for the two most common survey platforms, Qualtrics and REDCap. This page collects the step-by-step instructions for importing those files, so you only have to learn the process once.

Two different Qualtrics file formats are distributed, depending on the instrument:

  • Survey file (.qsf) — a complete Qualtrics survey, including any skip/display logic. The HiTOP-HSUM ships as a .qsf because it relies on complex display logic. See Importing a Qualtrics survey file.
  • Questions file (.txt) — a Qualtrics Advanced Format text file containing the questions, imported into a survey you create. The PID-5 (Full/SF/BF), HiTOP-SR, and HiTOP-BR ship as .txt. See Importing a Qualtrics questions file.

REDCap always ships as an instrument .zip. See Importing a REDCap instrument.

Importing a Qualtrics survey file (.qsf)

A .qsf file creates a whole new survey, complete with its display logic. Do not open or edit the .qsf file before importing — editing it can corrupt the contents so that Qualtrics can no longer read it. You may rename the file if you wish.

From the Projects page (creates a new project):

  1. Log in to Qualtrics and go to your Projects page.
  2. Click Create project, then choose to create a project from a file.
  3. Select Import a QSF file and click Choose File to browse for the downloaded .qsf.
  4. Click Create project.

From within an existing survey (Survey tab):

  1. Open a survey and go to the Survey tab.
  2. Click Tools, then Import/Export, then Import survey.
  3. Click Choose File and select the downloaded .qsf.
  4. Choose a Project Category (Research Core applies to most surveys) and click Import.

After importing, review the survey and run a quick preview to confirm the skip/display logic behaves as expected.

Importing a Qualtrics questions file (.txt)

A .txt file uses Qualtrics’ Advanced Format to add the instrument’s questions to a survey. Keep the file exactly as downloaded — it must stay in plain tab-delimited text; re-saving it as UTF-16 will prevent it from uploading.

  1. Log in to Qualtrics and create (or open) the survey that will hold the instrument.
  2. Go to the Survey tab, click Tools, then Import/Export, then Import survey.
  3. Click Choose File and select the downloaded .txt.
  4. Click Import. The instrument’s questions are added to your survey.
  5. Review the imported questions for accuracy and preview the survey.

Importing a REDCap instrument (.zip)

The REDCap .zip is a packaged data collection instrument that you upload into an existing REDCap project.

  1. Log in to your REDCap account and navigate to the desired project.
  2. Click on the Designer link in the left menu bar under “Project Home and Design”.
  3. In the main page, under Data Collection Instruments, look for the Upload instrument ZIP option and click the Upload button.
  4. Click Choose File, navigate to where you have the measure saved as a ZIP folder, and select the ZIP folder containing your instrument.
  5. Click the Upload instrument ZIP button to begin the import process.
  6. Find the imported instrument in your list of measures and review it for accuracy.
  7. Test the instrument to ensure proper functionality within your project.

Qualtrics import steps follow the official Qualtrics support article, Import & Export Surveys. Platform interfaces change over time; if a menu name differs, consult that article for the current wording.