KeyIngress is a dedicated survey system in SurveyTester. A project set to KeyIngress (or to Automatic) recognises a KeyIngress survey the moment the browser extension opens it: every page with its questions, answer options, grid rows and text fields - and also the interactive question modules KeyIngress offers, from drag-and-drop rankings and swipe cards to shelf tests, chip games and media evaluations. From there everything else in SurveyTester works as usual - Auto Answer, Auto Complete, SurveyBots, test cases, issues and the Pages & Routing overview.
What a KeyIngress survey looks like to a tester
Every KeyIngress page is a classic web page: the respondent answers, clicks Next and the server sends the next page. Besides the standard question types, KeyIngress surveys often use interactive modules: cards are dragged into boxes, swiped left or right, products are picked from a shelf, a budget is spent, a clip is rated while it plays. Many of these modules have no visible form fields at all - the answers are written in the background when the respondent finishes the task.
Why this is hard to test without SurveyTester
- Interactive modules take time. Dragging ten cards, swiping through a stack or watching a clip to the end is slow to repeat after every change. Auto Answer and SurveyBots complete these tasks like a respondent.
- Rules inside the module. A chip game only accepts a basket within the budget, a shelf test only a certain number of products, a ranking only one card per place. SurveyTester reads these limits and stays within them.
- Rows you never see at once. Carousel grids show one row at a time. SurveyTester records every row and takes a screenshot of each one, so no row is overwritten by the next.
- Answer lists that load on demand. A database question shows its options only after the respondent types or asks for the full list. SurveyTester loads the full list first and then picks an answer from it.
Supported question types
| KeyIngress question type | How SurveyTester records it |
|---|---|
| Single choice, also as dropdown | One option is chosen. |
| Multiple choice, with exclusive options | Several options are ticked; an exclusive option is ticked alone. |
| Star rating | A number of stars is chosen. |
| Database question (search list with "show all answers") | The full list is loaded and one entry is chosen. |
| Open text, e-mail and number fields | A fitting text, an e-mail address or a number within the allowed range is entered. |
| List of text fields with a "none" check box | Either the text fields are filled or the "none" box is ticked, never both. |
| Rating grid, also with several scales per row | Every row gets an answer on every scale; each scale is recorded as a question of its own. |
| Grid with text or number fields per row | Every field is recorded and filled. |
| Carousel rating grid (one row at a time) | Every row is answered in turn, with a screenshot per row. |
| Ranking (click to rank) | Items are ranked up to the number the question asks for. |
| Slider and slider grid | Every slider is set to a value on its scale. |
| Drag-and-drop ranking | Every card is dragged to a place of its own. |
| Card sorting | Every card is dragged into one of the boxes. |
| Like/dislike sorting | Every element is dragged into the like or the dislike box. |
| Swipe cards | Every card in the stack is rated with the like or dislike button. |
| Shelf test | Products are opened and put into the cart, within the number of products the task asks for. |
| Chip game (spend a budget) | Products and quantities are chosen so that the basket stays within the budget. |
| Map (click a region) | One region on the map is clicked. |
| Text highlighter | Passages of the text are marked. |
| Mark on an image | Marks are drawn on the image, or the "no answer" box is ticked. |
| Reaction-time test | The test is started and every stimulus is rated with the answer buttons. |
| Media evaluator (rate a video or audio clip while it plays) | The clip is played and the rating slider is moved during playback, or the "no answer" box is ticked. |
| Video or audio recording | The question is recorded, but not answered automatically. |
| Text-only pages | Recorded as information pages with nothing to answer. |
Errors and end page
- Error messages. When a page refuses to move on, the error KeyIngress shows at a question is stored as the error of the page and of that question.
- End page. The closing page of the survey, with its end text and no questions, is recorded as the end of the run. Complete, screenout and quota outcomes are configured as for any other survey system, with survey end page identifiers on the project. See Survey end pages.
Step by step
- Create the project. Choose KeyIngress as the survey system, or leave it at Automatic - the survey is recognised either way. Paste the survey link.
- Start a test run from the project with the SurveyTester browser extension, or let SurveyBots run the survey. The SurveyTester bar appears above it, and the first page is recorded as step 1.
- Answer the survey by hand, or press Auto Answer and Auto Next to let SurveyTester fill the page and move on. Each page creates the next step.
- Check the result on the Pages & Routing page: every page appears with its questions, every question with its answer options, rows, cards or products.
Good to know
- Modules that move on by themselves. Some modules, such as swipe cards, go to the next page on their own after the last card. SurveyTester waits for that instead of clicking Next a second time.
- Timed modules. Reaction-time tests and media evaluations take as long as the task itself - the countdown, the stimuli or the clip - so these pages take longer to answer than ordinary ones.
- Every module in the table is answered automatically. The SurveyTester browser extension drags cards, draws marks on images and moves the media slider while the clip plays, the way a respondent does. A module built for a single study is still recorded with its fields; if one is not answered as expected, please send us the page.