Navigation among conditional questions and answers in computer and network based questionnaires

• US 6,795,828 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2001
• Issued: 09/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ricketts, John Arthur
• Primary Examiner(s): AMSBURY, WAYNE P
• Application Number:
  US09/813,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20020138462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: 707/102
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A method and system for operating a questionnaire. One embodiment of the method comprises the steps of providing a plurality of questions, associating at least one condition with each of at least some of the questions, and storing each of the questions in an associated computer file. For each of said some of the questions, the at least one condition associated with the question is stored in the same computer file in which the question is stored. In accordance with this method, satisfied conditions are identified, the stored conditions are parsed and questions whose associated conditions are all satisfied, are identified, and the identified questions are presented to a respondent.

Claims

1. A method of operating a questionnaire, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of questions in one or more questionnaires;

parsing statements including conditions governing said questions to translate language containing conditions into stored conditions, said stored conditions being stored in an associated computer file;

accessing a question in a questionnaire;

retrieving said stored conditions when said question is accessed;

providing an answer to said question;

determining the value of said conditions in response to said answer to said question; and

navigating to a second question from said plurality of questions in response to said value of said conditions.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

each question is stored on an associated computer file; and

all of the conditions governing each question are stored in the same computer file in which the question is stored.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

each question is stored in an associated computer file; and

the computer file in which each question is stared also stores either (i) all of the conditions governing the question, or (ii) a pointer to where all of the conditions governing the question are stored.

4. A method of operating a questionnaire, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of questions;

parsing statements including conditions governing at least some of the questions to translate language containing conditions into stored conditions associated with said at least some of the questions, said stored conditions being stored in an associated computer file;

storing each of the questions in an associated computer file;

identifying satisfied conditions;

parsing the stored conditions to identify questions whose governing conditions are all satisfied; and

presenting the identified questions to a respondent.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the step of storing the questions includes the step of storing the questions in a series of nested levels.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein the conditions include answers to questions.

7. A method according to claim 4, further including the step of selectively activating some of the questions, and wherein the step of identifying questions includes the step of identifying only activated questions whose associated conditions are all satisfied.

8. A method according to claim 4, wherein the step of parsing statements includes the steps of:

keeping track of nesting levels for each questions; and

concatenating conditions each time another nesting level is encountered.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the step of parsing statements includes the further step of:

negating conditions each time an else leg of a conditions is encountered.

10. A system for operating a questionnaire, comprising:

means for providing a plurality of questions;

means for parsing statements including conditions governing each of at least some of the questions to translate language containing conditions into stored conditions associated with said each of at least some of the questions, said stored conditions being stored in an associated computer file;

at least one computer file, and wherein each of the questions is stored in an associated computer file;

means for identifying satisfied conditions;

means for parsing the stored conditions to identify questions whose governing conditions are all satisfied; and

means for presenting the identified questions to a respondent.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the questions are stored in a series of nested levels.

12. A system according to claim 10, wherein the conditions include answers to questions.

13. A system according to claim 10, further including means for selectively activating some of the questions, and wherein the means for identifying questions includes means for identifying only activated questions whose associated conditions are all satisfied.

14. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for operating a questionnaire, said method steps comprising:

providing a plurality of questions;

parsing statements including conditions governing each of at least some of the questions to translate language containing conditions into stored conditions associated with said each of at least some of the questions, said stored conditions being stored in an associated computer file;

storing each of the questions in an associated computer file;

for each of at least some of the questions, storing the at least one condition associated with the question in the same computer file in which the question is stored;

identifying satisfied conditions;

parsing the stored conditions and identifying questions whose associated conditions are all satisfied; and

presenting the identified questions to a respondent.

15. A program storage device according to claim 14, wherein the step of storing the questions includes the step of storing the questions in a series of nested levels.

16. A program storage device according to claim 14, wherein the conditions include answers to questions.

17. A program storage device according to claim 14, wherein said method steps further include the step of selectively activating some of the questions, and wherein the step of identifying questions includes the step of identifying only activated questions whose associated conditions are all satisfied.