Using Survey 123 to Gather Survey Data

Background
The portable phone has come a long way. In a few short decades, it has gone from just being able to make calls to functioning as a personal computer, GPS unit, and field collection device in addition to serving as a primary means of communication. AS proof of this, the primary function of this lab was to introduce and demonstrate Survey123, an Esri designed application for gathering survey based field data either from a computer or a personal smartphone. To due this, a sample survey would be constructed. This sample survey would focus on collected data for the 9 "Fix-its", as determined by Challenging Risk, complete in order to better prepare a household in the event of an earthquake or other similar disaster. The surveyor would be answering a series of questions as to whether or not their home has these safety precautions in place. If this survey were to be actually be used, HOA would use it to determine the preparedness of its members in the event of a disaster.
Methods
First, a new survey was created in the "From Survey123 Web" selection of the Survey123 Website. After titling, tagging, and creating a proper summary for the survey, "Create" was selected. The first question that was added was a required Date question requesting the date of the survey completion date, with it defaulting to the submission date. A Singleline, required question asking for the participant name was then created. A Singleline question and Geopoint question were created, asking for the participant's address. A series of questions were created (Figure 1), asking for: the participant's type of residence, levels of the residence, a picture of the residence, number of people who live in the residence, and age of people living in the residence.

Some of these questions only appeared as part of a rule if other questions were answered a specific way. For example, the question asking for the levels of the residence only appeared if the previous question asking for the type of the residence was answered as Single family (house). From here, the nine safety check questions were created (Figure 2):

Safety check 1: Are televisions in the home secured?

Safety check 2: Are computers in the home secured?

Safety check 3: Are bookcases secured to the walls?

Safety check 4: Are large cabinets secured to the walls?

Safety check 5: Are any objects placed above sofas and beds?

Safety check 6: Are all exits (doorways to outside) clear of obstruction?

Safety check 7: Are functioning smoke alarms present in each room?

Safety check 8: Are there fire extinguishers in the home?

Safety check 9: Verify there are no overcharge plugs in the home

Four more rule based questions were created depending on if the surveyor answered yes to specific questions:

• 1: Yes. How are they secured?
• 2: Yes. How are they secured?
• 7: Yes. When were they last tested to be in working order
• 8: Yes. How many extinguisher units?

A few final questions were added, asking if anyone in the household was trained in First-Aid, inquiring on if certain items which could be used in an emergency were in the house, asking if the surveyor has an up to date emergency contact list, inquiry to the existence of evacuation and community disaster plans, and one final Multitext question asking for any additional comments. After previewing the survey, it was published.

Once the survey was completed, it was shared with every member of the linked organization. Afterwards, the survey was opened and completed as an initial trial run on a computer browser. While this is one way to complete the survey, the most effective way to distribute and gather data on a survey like this is through a mobile device. The Survey123 mobile app was downloaded, and the survey was completed again using a mobile device (Figure 3).

In order to vary up the survey results, a previous residence was used as the source of the survey data. A third trial of the survey was completed on a mobile devise, using the residence data of a nearby relative. In order to analyze the survey data, at least eight surveys needed to be collected. A fourth survey was completed, using a previously lived in residence hall as the survey point, then four students were asked to complete the survey, as to provide surveys that were not randomly generated. However, the main purpose of this activity was to introduce survey construction through Survey123, not to build an accurate dataset and deeply analyze it. As of such, the students were instructed to not worry if they did not know the answer to a required question on the survey.

In the "My Survey" section of the Survey123 Website, it is possible to analyze the data retrieved from the survey. A multitude of options exist for analyzing the data. It can be viewed in various graph formats (Figure 4), numerical, or as data points on a map (Figure 5).

Afterwards, the data export options were explored.

The survey data can be exported as a CSV file, a shapefile, or as a File Geodatabase. To test it, the survey data was exported as all three. Finally, the data was shared as both a map and a custom web map with members of the joined organization. A map was constructed using the provided ArcGIS map viewer. The map displayed the survey points, as well as the answers from most of the questions in survey as a pop-up window when selecting a point. A question omitted from pop-up display was the survey question asking for the participant's name. Afterwards, the map was saved, with the finished map being properly title, tagged, and summarized. The map was shared as both a map and a Basic Viewer Web App with all members of the organization (Figure 6).

Results
All of the results were taken from college students, with the majority being about their college residence. Out of all the surveys completed, six were in the Eau Claire area. The other two were taken of a home residence and from the information given about a relative's residence. From the survey data, several clear patterns are distinguishable regarding whether residences do or do not follow the nine guidelines given by Challenging Risk, in the event of a disaster. Only one of the eight residences has secured televisions, only three have secured computers, only two have secured bookcases, only three have secured cabinets, and five have objects placed above the sofas and beds. In contrast, six of the residences have clear paths to exits, six have functioning fire alarms, and five have fire extinguishers. Half the residences also have overcharged outlets. These patterns seem indicative of students who live in dorm rooms. Much of the furniture is provided. However, due to restrictions placed by the university, furniture can often not be secured to the wall. Its designed for ease of movement in mind as students rearrange their rooms often. However, the benefit of living in the dorm is that the university provides and maintains fire extinguishers and smoke alarms while keeping exists being blocked.

Figure 6: An interactive map display, HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey Results. showcases the survey data of each of the collected survey points. This map was distributed as a Basic Viewer Web App and was shared with all member of the UWEC ArcGIS organization. This map is available for viewing by all members of the organization at https://arcg.is/1G8SHb.

Conclusion
Survey123 is a valuable tool for the field survey analyst. With it they can take data collection on the go and submit it for easy and effective analysis late.An ecologist could be seen  using this to collect plant health data from various vegetation ecology zones, use it to collect and submit soil sample data from fields and forests, or even collect population samples of fish taken from different segments and tributaries of a river system. The ability to take and submit electronic survey data in the field also elliminates potential sources of error generated when digitizing the data, as the collected survey can be downloaded afterwards in a number of formats. In addition, it allows for a level of direct data analysis. Survey123 may not contain the complex statistical algarithms required to perform proper statistical anlysis on ecological and and population data, but it does allow for the viewing and distribution of base level greographical patterns. 

Sources
Krismer, J. (2017) HOA Emergency Preparedness Survey Results. Retrieved 3/8/2017, from https://arcg.is/1G8SHb

Hupy, J. (2017). Using Survey 123 to gather survey data using your smart phone. Eau Claire, WI.

Get Started with Survey123 for ArcGIS. In Learn ArcGIS. Retrieved 3/7/2017, from https://learn.arcgis.com/en/projects/get-started-with-survey123/