TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What are (embedded) data fields?
• Setting up data fields
  • 1. Create the data field
    • Value: Retrieved on
    • Value: Data source
    • Value: Source configuration
  • 2. Activate the data fields
    • Duplicating & Renaming
• Using a data field in Canvas
  • Custom text
• Using an embedded data field in Qualtrics

What are (embedded) data fields?

A Qualtrics survey response is capable of receiving 'Embedded Data Fields' and using them in various ways. For instance, an Embedded Data Field can be used as Piped Text within a survey's questions or as a data point for analysis purposes.

A survey's Embedded Data Fields can be manually defined, or linked to an external tool such as Qualtrics LTI.

The power of Qualtrics LTI allows you, as a user, to configure and add a variety of Embedded Data Fields to enrich your surveys and responses with data from Canvas.

Setting up data fields

In Qualtrics, an Embedded Data Field is comprised of two things: a name and a value.

There are two things you need to do in Qualtrics LTI in order to leverage the power of Qualtrics' Embedded Data Fields in your surveys:

1. Create the 'data field'.
   • This sets the name and allows you to choose where the value will eventually come from.
   • This is only possible on the Institute level.
2. Activate the 'embedded data field' on the survey.
   

✏️ Note: To avoid confusion, we make a distinction between 'Data fields' and 'Embedded data fields' within the app.

'Data fields' refers to the data field as it exists within Qualtrics LTI (see § Create the data field).

'Embedded data fields' refers to the eventual Embedded Data Field on the Qualtrics survey (see § Activate the data field).

1. Create the data field

⚠️ Institute admins only.

Users with access to the 'Institute level' of the app (typically installed on the root account) can create a data field and configure it with the data source of their choosing.

Navigate to the <Institute level> → Data fields → + Create data field:Fig 1. A screenshot of the '+ Create data field' modal. Elements include the 'Value' sub-header, within which are the 'Retrieved on' and 'Data source' radio buttons and a 'Source configuration' sub-header, within which is shown the Custom field's 'Field name' input box.

With this interface, you define the name of the data field and the means by which the value that will be sent to Qualtrics is determined. After the data field is created, it can be activated on any user's survey on the Institute, Department, or Personal Surveys level of Qualtrics LTI.

Value: Retrieved on

Some data fields have their values set when the student launches the surveys (e.g. when data is fetched from the launch for a 'Custom field'). Others have their values set when the assignment is being set up in the 'External tool' window. For example, a 'name' value that the instructor must select from a dropdown that is populated by a response from the Canvas API.

The option that you choose will determine the data sources that are available for those locations.

Value: Data source

After selecting a 'Retrieved on' option, the new UI will show you the data sources that are available to that retrieval location. This is important, as some things are unavailable to some locations. For example, the student's 'Custom field' data is unavailable in the assignment setup window.

The option that you choose will determine the data sources that are available for those locations.

Value: Source configuration

Each data source needs to be configured so that Qualtrics LTI knows how to interact with the data source to retrieve the value. This can be as simple as supplying a fixed test value, or building a custom list of text options to select from, or specifying which Canvas API endpoint to call.

2. Activate the data fields

Now that you have determined the name of the data field and how Qualtrics LTI will retrieve its value, you or any Qualtrics LTI user at your institution can 'activate' that data field on a survey. This creates an Embedded Data Field in Qualtrics.

Navigate to the <Institute/Department/Personal Surveys level> → <Survey> → Activate data fields:

Fig 2. A screenshot of the ‘Activate data fields’ modal in Qualtrics LTI. Shown are a list of data fields that were previously created through the ‘+ Create data field’ modal. Shown also is ‘Custom text’, which is always available.

When you select a data field and click Activate and sync, Qualtrics LTI will create an Embedded Data Field in the survey flow of your Qualtrics survey with the name of the data field that you chose:Fig 3. A screenshot of a Qualtrics survey’s ‘survey flow’ in Qualtrics. Shown are a list of Embedded Data Fields within an Embedded Data block, including ‘Student name’.

In essence, this means that the Embedded Data Field is now synchronised with the data field you defined in Qualtrics LTI and is ready to be used!

✏️ Note: Whenever a data field is activated, deactivated, renamed, or duplicated on a survey within Qualtrics LTI, we re-sync the survey flow, making sure that all of your data fields exist as Embedded Data Fields on the survey. See this article for more details.

Duplicating & Renaming

There are cases where you may want the Embedded Data Field to have a different name than the one defined when it was created. In which case, you can rename it in the <Survey> → Embedded data fields table.

? Tip: This is useful if you want to have two embedded data fields with the same configuration but different names. For example, two copies of an ‘Instructor name’ data field called ‘Instructor name’ and ‘Instructor name 2'.

Canvas: Using a data field

As seen in Fig 1, data fields have two ‘Retrieved on’ locations: student launch, and assignment setup. All of the Data source types will automatically retrieve the value for the embedded data field at the specified location — so all you need to do is set up the assignment in Canvas and wait for the student to take it.

When the Data source type is either Text selection or API selection, then the value must be set in the chosen location.

For Assignment setup data fields, this occurs in Canvas’s ‘External tool’ window during assignment setup:Fig 4. A screenshot of the ‘External tool’ window in Canvas. Shown is a table of embedded data field names and a corresponding ‘Set value’ cell. Only one data field, the ‘Assignment setup → API selection’ data field with the name ‘Instructor name’, shows a dropdown list of values. The other, ‘Student launch’ data fields have corresponding text explaining that their values will be set later.

For Student launch data fields, this occurs after the student has opened the assignment but before the Qualtrics survey is loaded:

Fig 5. A screenshot of a created assignment in Canvas. Shown is a dropdown list in Qualtrics LTI for a Student launch → API selection data field called ‘Instructor name 2’. The option ‘Jane Smith’ is selected and a ‘Next’ button is present, which takes the student to the Qualtrics survey when clicked.

Custom text

There is a special type of data field that is not first created in the <Institute level> → Data fields area. It is always available for all surveys. This is the ‘Custom text’ data field, which sets the value of the Embedded Data Field to a text string that is defined in 1 of 2 locations:

1. The 'External tool' window (see Fig 4).
2. The bulk survey wizard (for bulk surveys only).

Custom text data fields can be duplicated and renamed if you wish to have many such Embedded Data Fields on the survey.

Qualtrics: Using an embedded data field

You can use Embedded Data Fields in Qualtrics in a number of ways. Here are the two aforementioned uses: Piped Text and Data & Analysis.

For more examples, see Qualtrics' own Embedded Data Field article here.

Piped TextFig 6. An animation showing a sequence of edits in the Qualtrics survey editor: a question block’s label is edited with the cursor at the end of the partial question ‘What do you think of ‘, the ‘Piped Text…’ button is clicked, the ‘Embedded Data Field’ dropdown option is selected, and the ‘Instructor name 2’ option is selected. Subsequently, a code fragment is generated and inserted after ‘think of ’.

When the student opens a survey in Canvas, this piped text fragment is then replaced with the value of the Embedded Data Field that Qualtrics LTI provides:Fig 7. A screenshot showing a Qualtrics survey loaded inside Canvas via Qualtrics LTI. Shown are two questions, both starting with ‘What do you think of ‘ and ending with the selected names ‘Joe Bloggs’ and ‘Jane Smith’, respectively.

Data & AnalysisFig 8. A screenshot of the Data & Analysis area of a Qualtrics survey. The ‘Column chooser’ is open, and the ‘Embedded Data’ dropdown list is expanded. The ‘Instructor name’ and ‘Instructor name 2’ Embedded Data Fields are both checked.Fig 9. A screenshot of the Data & Analysis area of a Qualtrics survey. A single row of the ‘Data table’ is shown, with columns showing the question labels with corresponding values; and the Embedded Data Field names ‘Instructor name’ and ‘Instructor name 2’ with corresponding values ‘Joe Bloggs’ and ‘Jane Smith’, respectively.

Use case exampleFig 10. An animation showing the new ‘+ Create data field’ modal. New elements include the ‘Value’ sub-header, within which are the ‘Retrieved on’ and ‘Data source’ radio buttons and a ‘Source configuration’ sub-header, within which is shown the Custom field’s ‘Field name’ input box.

I want an Embedded Data Field in my Qualtrics survey called 'Assignment name'. I want it to contain the name of a Canvas assignment which the student selects:

1. I navigate to <Institute level> → Data fields → + Create data field.
   • Reminder: You cannot create data fields on the department of 'Personal Surveys' level.
2. I fill in my desired name for the data field, "Assignment name".
3. I want the data field's value to be set when the student takes the survey, so I click Student launch.
4. I want the data field's value to come from the Canvas API, so I click API selection.
5. I want the student to choose from a list of assignments, so I select Endpoint → Student's assignments within the course.
6. I want the data field value to be the chosen assignment's name, so I select Attribute sent to Qualtrics → name.

See Fig 10 above.