Use the result of one variable into another in the same page

Question

Gentlemen, good afternoon.

Currently using Sawtooth Software, version 8.4.8.

I have two variables in a Free Format page. One of them captures the sum of responses on different pages (say Page_Sum) and the other is supposed to categorize the result of Page_Sum (say Page_SumCategory). How can I use the updated results from Page_Sum into Page_SumCategory? How hard is JavaScript coding in this case?

Thanks a lot for your time!

Best,

Mauricio.

Comments

What do you mean by "to categorize the result"?  What is Page_Sum and Page_SumCategory and how do you want them to interact?

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Zachary,

Page_Sum, for example, is the result of the sum of response values in a previous page, say SocioEconomicClass. Page_SumCategory is the categorization of Page_Sum results (for example, the range between 0 and 20 is 'Category 1', between 21 and 40 is 'Category 2', and so on...).
Does this description help?

Thanks again for your attention!

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Are either of these questions the respondent actually sees?  It sounds like these are just calculations that need to be ran behind-the-scenes based on responses to other questions.

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Zach,

Page_Sum is not seen, it is a hidden input field, which is a "behind-the-scenes" calculation. However, the fieldwork provider, who will run the survey, will need to see the result from Page_SumCategory. I tried putting them in the same page, but Page_SumCategory does not update according to the results from Page_Sum, that's the point.

Answer 1

While it is possible to have fields on the same page interact with each other using JavaScript, I don't think this is necessary for the behavior you are after.

Instead of fields in a free format question, you could add these two variables as pass-in fields to your questionnaire.  Then, on the page where you want to run the calculations and display the category, place code like this:

[% Begin Unverified Perl
my $sum = GETVALUE('Q1_1') + GETVALUE('Q1_2') + GETVALUE('Q1_3');
SETVALUE('pif1', $sum);

my $category;
if ($sum <= 20) {
    $category = 1;
}
elsif ($sum <= 40) {
    $category = 2;
}
SETVALUE('pif2', $category);

return $category;
End Unverified %]

"pif1" and "pif2" must be replaced with the names of your two pass-in fields.  Line 2 can be updated to reflect the names of the fields you want to sum together.  Lines 7 through 12 can be updated and repeated to reflect the rules of your categorization.

Does that suit your needs?

Comments

Zach,

I have tested this alternative, and it has worked nicely! Thanks a lot for the patience!

Best Regards,

Mauricio.