When set to anonymous, questionnaire saves responses into database.
When teacher reviews answers, questionnaire gives responses, and for each it writes out name: Anonymous.
But (!) when teacher deletes one by one response, questionnaire asks is it OK to delete response of user (WITH fullname).
This makes anonymous function unusable. It isn't possible to use this module for anonymous surveys.
So, Moodle doesn't have ANY tool for this (anonymous surveys).
Any hack/fix fot this? Any other tool/module? Preferably in Moodle...
Thanks in advance.
Hi Vedran,
Thanks for mentioning this bug. I have fixed in in Questionnaire for Moodle 1.8 and 1.9. and committed it via CVS to contrib.
When deleting a response in an anonymous questionnaire, the message is now (as it should be):
Are you sure you want to delete the response by - Anonymous - ?
Please be aware however that if a teacher (or admin) has access to a moodle site database it is always possible to do a sql query to find out the username of any response. If total anonymity is important to you, then you should probably use other tools than Moodle.
Joseph
PS.- In the moodle forums community we tend to prefer it when people enter a brief description of themselves, besides an avatar or photo. This has nothing to do with being an "object", quite the contrary.
Thank You for this fix, it works great!
But then again... other possible bug is when teacher makes an anonymous survey in Questionnaire, it records and shows everything as it is anonymous.
But if teacher edits that survey and makes it non-anonymous (fullname) and saves it, he or she can see names for all responses.
Is this also possible to fix, making the anonymous type anonymous for already entered responses?
Thank You in advance.
But then again... other possible bug is when teacher makes an anonymous survey in Questionnaire, it records and shows everything as it is anonymous.
But if teacher edits that survey and makes it non-anonymous (fullname) and saves it, he or she can see names for all responses.
Is this also possible to fix, making the anonymous type anonymous for already entered responses?
Thank You in advance.
Vedran > But if teacher edits that survey and makes it non-anonymous (fullname) and saves it...
Sorry, I do not understand what you mean. Could you please explain the exact scenario you want for a "totally anonymous" questionnaire. Who creates the questionnaire? Is it for only one course or to be shared among various courses on a moodle site? Will anyone be able to see the respondents' identity or no-one? Why is anonymity so important? etc. Then maybe I can find a solution.
Joseph
Totally anonymous means that no-one can see respondents' identity. This can maybe be a new type, fullname, anonymous, fully anonymous?
Totally anonymous questionnaire creates Admin and Teacher, and nobody can join responses with identities (preferably not even in database).
That makes saving (resuming) impossible, but that functionality isn't necessary to us...
It would be nice to have possibility to make totally anonymous survey for one course and also shared ones...
This is used for various surveys for evaluating courses in Croatia. Now is possible to make it only as paper survey, or with external applications (LimeSurvey etc.).
Survey module that exists in Moodle isn't suitable for Croatia.
We need:
Best regards,
Vedran Mušica
Totally anonymous questionnaire creates Admin and Teacher, and nobody can join responses with identities (preferably not even in database).
That makes saving (resuming) impossible, but that functionality isn't necessary to us...
It would be nice to have possibility to make totally anonymous survey for one course and also shared ones...
This is used for various surveys for evaluating courses in Croatia. Now is possible to make it only as paper survey, or with external applications (LimeSurvey etc.).
Survey module that exists in Moodle isn't suitable for Croatia.
We need:
- total anonymity (no-one can idetify respondent)
- modularity (possibility to add custom questions with predefined set(s), already possibility of Questionnaire)
- ease of use (which Questionnaire already have)
- preferably integrated into Moodle (also possible with Questionnaire, but only if it can be totally anonymous)
Best regards,
Vedran Mušica
Vedran > Totally anonymous questionnaire creates Admin and Teacher,...
As for no-one (including admin) being able to "join responses with user id" in the database, it would involve some changes in the way responses are stored into the questionnaire tables at the moment. I am not sure this is possible, but I will have a look. Of course, as you are aware, it would make "saving and resuming" impossible.
Joseph
I suppose you mean: Admin or Teacher can create totally anonymous questionnaires.
What about this scenario for a "totally anonymous" questionnaire option.
- Teacher creates a new questionnaire named "Questionnaire 01".
- Teacher selects the Respondent Type: Anonymous.
- Teacher then creates some questions and saves "Questionnaire 01".
- Teacher wants to Edit/Modify "Questionnaire 01". He clicks on Update this Questionnaire button.
- He can NEVER change Respondent Type.
- He cannot change Respondent Type if respondents have already started answering the Questionnaire
As for no-one (including admin) being able to "join responses with user id" in the database, it would involve some changes in the way responses are stored into the questionnaire tables at the moment. I am not sure this is possible, but I will have a look. Of course, as you are aware, it would make "saving and resuming" impossible.
Joseph
Hi.
Sorry, my English isn't so good, and sentences like the one above are more than possible.
Yes, You supposed correct
. Again, sorry for my bad English.
Solution 4.2. looks better to me.
Thank You in advance.
Best regards,
Vedran Mušica
Sorry, my English isn't so good, and sentences like the one above are more than possible.
Yes, You supposed correct
Solution 4.2. looks better to me.
Thank You in advance.
Best regards,
Vedran Mušica
Hi Vedran,
Sorry, been busy on other things. Will look at this solution as soon as possible.
Joseph
Sorry, been busy on other things. Will look at this solution as soon as possible.
Joseph
Thank You very much!
Best regards,
Vedran Mušica
Best regards,
Vedran Mušica
Hi.
Me again with question about some progress... is there any?
Thanks in advance!
Best regards,
Vedran Mušica
Me again with question about some progress... is there any?
Thanks in advance!
Best regards,
Vedran Mušica
Any news? 
Sorry, Vedran, I am still quite busy with (amongst other things) current improvements to the questions editing interface in the Questionnaire module. The Anonymous pb will have to wait.
Joseph
Joseph
Hi Joseph,
absolutely anonymous surveys were great (we live in germany...).
In addition: If a teacher exports the results of a "anonymous" survey in a textfile he exports also the email addresses...
Anonymous means anonymous - doesn't it? (
Michael
absolutely anonymous surveys were great (we live in germany...).
In addition: If a teacher exports the results of a "anonymous" survey in a textfile he exports also the email addresses...
Anonymous means anonymous - doesn't it? (
Michael
Michael > If a teacher exports the results of a "anonymous" survey in a textfile he exports also the email addresses...
This is not true of current text export for anonymous surveys in moodle 1.8 and 1.9. Which versions (of Moodle and Questionnaire) are you using where you are getting this data? Here is an extract from a text export of a 1.9 questionnaire:
Response Submitted on: Institution Department Course Group ID Full name Username
289 15/05/2007 23:15 Questionnaire module Demo Anonymous
As you can see, the email address is not exported, ID and Username are empty and Full name is set to Anonymous.
Joseph
Hi Joseph,
I could reproduce it:
1) Make a new questionnaire with "Respondent Type" = anonymous and "view all responses" = always. Then collect some responses.
2) Look (as teacher) for responses and export the textfile: all is anonymous. Good.
3) Now: edit the questionnaire (while collecting more responses ore later) and put "Respondent Type = fullname.
4) Look (as teacher) for responses (view by responses) and export the textfile: you get the full names!
Maybe it's the same problem like Vendran wrote above?
Michael
I could reproduce it:
1) Make a new questionnaire with "Respondent Type" = anonymous and "view all responses" = always. Then collect some responses.
2) Look (as teacher) for responses and export the textfile: all is anonymous. Good.
3) Now: edit the questionnaire (while collecting more responses ore later) and put "Respondent Type = fullname.
4) Look (as teacher) for responses (view by responses) and export the textfile: you get the full names!
Maybe it's the same problem like Vendran wrote above?
Michael
Michael > Maybe it's the same problem like Vendran wrote above?
Yes, exactly. Of course if you change the Questionnaire settings from anonymous to full name, you get the details about respondents.
I think that eventually the solution to this problem will come from the new Roles capabilities which are being worked upon at the moment for moodle 2.0 (and will hopefully be backported to 1.9).
Joseph
Not to add to the mix of everything, but if you mouse over the individual results while viewing the questionnaire results, it shows who submitted it as well... also problematic for keeping things "anonymous". Thanks.
I am not a moodle programmer but had the same problem i have made a fix that i belive works. I seems to work in my lab enviroment.
I have changed the file:
mod/questionnaire/locallib.php
The line i changed was:
$ruser = fullname($user)
someware around line 2208
I'we changed it to:
if ($this->respondenttype == 'anonymous') {
$ruser = 'anonymous';
}
else {
$ruser = fullname($user);
}
maybe it's completly wrong but it seems to work after a short test. Maybe someone whit grater knowledge aorund this can correct me i i'm wrong.
My enviroment is moodle 1.9 and the questionnaire 1.9 module downloaded today.
I have changed the file:
mod/questionnaire/locallib.php
The line i changed was:
$ruser = fullname($user)
someware around line 2208
I'we changed it to:
if ($this->respondenttype == 'anonymous') {
$ruser = 'anonymous';
}
else {
$ruser = fullname($user);
}
maybe it's completly wrong but it seems to work after a short test. Maybe someone whit grater knowledge aorund this can correct me i i'm wrong.
My enviroment is moodle 1.9 and the questionnaire 1.9 module downloaded today.
Vastuses Patrik lindahl
Re: Questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaires AREN'T anonymous
HI,
I've been testing the Questionnaire module, and this thing about being able to change an anonymous questionnaire back to fullname and so see the individual responses is a problem for our platform too. Among others, we want to use the questionnaire so students can give feedback about the course and their teacher. We should of course be able to guarantee that it remains anonymous, at least for the teachers. I've tried various settings by overriding permissions, but the teacher can still update the questionnaire.
Patrik, I've tried your solution, but it doesn't seem to work on my local testsite.
Now, I've only just started looking into PHP so I may have done something wrong.
The thing is that I find two instances of $ruser = fullname($user)
Do I change both, or just one?
I also have Moodle 1.9 and the latest stable Questionnaire 1.9
Also, to go back to Mr Rézeau's suggestion, I would also go for option 4.2 - that would be the best. But I understand the're are other priorities
Also, in order for a survey to be totally fair, you shouldn't forget to override the role allowing the teacher to delete responses (
I'm trying to get a friend (who's quite a good programmer) to have a look at this for me. If he comes up with a solution I'll post it here.
JiëL
I've been testing the Questionnaire module, and this thing about being able to change an anonymous questionnaire back to fullname and so see the individual responses is a problem for our platform too. Among others, we want to use the questionnaire so students can give feedback about the course and their teacher. We should of course be able to guarantee that it remains anonymous, at least for the teachers. I've tried various settings by overriding permissions, but the teacher can still update the questionnaire.
Patrik, I've tried your solution, but it doesn't seem to work on my local testsite.
Now, I've only just started looking into PHP so I may have done something wrong.
The thing is that I find two instances of $ruser = fullname($user)
Do I change both, or just one?
I also have Moodle 1.9 and the latest stable Questionnaire 1.9
Also, to go back to Mr Rézeau's suggestion, I would also go for option 4.2 - that would be the best. But I understand the're are other priorities
Also, in order for a survey to be totally fair, you shouldn't forget to override the role allowing the teacher to delete responses (
I'm trying to get a friend (who's quite a good programmer) to have a look at this for me. If he comes up with a solution I'll post it here.
JiëL
Vastuses Jean-Luc Delghust
Re: Questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaires AREN'T anonymous
Jean-Luc - While it may not help you with the questionnaire module, I did help work on some patches for the feedback module that I have used on a production server for course evaluations which allowed for anonymity (from the teachers side). Someone with access to the database could go in and trace back who submitted a response (especially an inappropriate one) which could be important when working with minors. I'm not sure if you have looked at the feedback module or not. Both feedback and questionnaire modules provide similar functionality. In fact, I am preparing to compare and contrast them tomorrow at the MoodleMoot in Oklahoma. Peace - Anthony
Vastuses Anthony Borrow
Re: Questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaires AREN'T anonymous
Hi!
thanks a million!
Looks like it covers most of our needs! I feel a bit stupid for not checking it out earlier.
To be honest, I knew about the feedback module, but somehow I only had pre-defined question sets in the version that was installed on our servers - I took over the project after our former "moodleman" changed jobs and left us, and I couldn't edit the questions...
We'll be upgrading to Moodle 1.9 during the holidays, I'm going to test out Feedback Module.
Obviously, I won't be able to attend the Oklahoma MoodleMoot, but if you could send me your conclusions about the differences between the two modules, it'd save me a lot of time and I'd be able to better inform my boss. If you can't, no worries!
Thanks anyway
Still, it'd be nice if the questionnaire module could be truly anonymous.
thanks a million!
Looks like it covers most of our needs! I feel a bit stupid for not checking it out earlier.
To be honest, I knew about the feedback module, but somehow I only had pre-defined question sets in the version that was installed on our servers - I took over the project after our former "moodleman" changed jobs and left us, and I couldn't edit the questions...
We'll be upgrading to Moodle 1.9 during the holidays, I'm going to test out Feedback Module.
Obviously, I won't be able to attend the Oklahoma MoodleMoot, but if you could send me your conclusions about the differences between the two modules, it'd save me a lot of time and I'd be able to better inform my boss. If you can't, no worries!
Thanks anyway
Still, it'd be nice if the questionnaire module could be truly anonymous.
I have fixed this long-standing request. See CONTRIB-2273.
Joseph
Joseph
Vastuses Joseph Rézeau
Re: Questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaires AREN'T anonymous
Hello Joseph,
is there an update/patch for the problem with the anonymous problem?
We actually need a solution for this
Thanks in advance
Thorsten
is there an update/patch for the problem with the anonymous problem?
We actually need a solution for this
Thanks in advance
Thorsten
Vastuses Thorsten Bieser
Re: Questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaires AREN'T anonymous
Thorsten,
I'm afraid I have not made any progress on this anonymity issue. I lack the incentive. Sorry,
Joseph
I'm afraid I have not made any progress on this anonymity issue. I lack the incentive. Sorry,
Joseph
When we want the results of a questionnaire to be anonymous, participants do not login. They enter the site as guests and complete the questionaire as such. This requires a couple of guest role overrides for Questionnaire, but it works.
Hi Neil,
That sounds good. Could you please specify exactly which over-rides you make?
Joseph
That sounds good. Could you please specify exactly which over-rides you make?
Joseph
Vastuses Joseph Rézeau
Re: Questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaires AREN'T anonymous
Hi Joseph,
I am a professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa ( http://www.fct.unl.pt/ ) where we use Moodle intensively, with more than 10K users.
I followed this track because we need, for research purposes, to conduct anonymous surveys with the Portuguese IT industry, namely in the realm of several of my PhD and MSc students works.
Maybe the solution for solving this problem of identity is indeed not making Moodle authentication a pre-requisite for answering a questionnaire. Moodle pages can be accessed by non-authenticated visitors. Why not allowing those anonymous visitors answering questionnaires? Currently (we have version 1.9) that is not possible, but I suspect it would be easy to change that, no?
If we would like that questionnaire to be answered only by a closed set of truly anonymous respondents (but known as a whole, like for instance a course’s attendees), then we can set up a password for visitors (which is currently possible to do in the course configuration options) and discard that password collectively to the expected group of respondents.
I thank in advance your reply.
Have a pleasant Easter time!
Fernando Brito e Abreu
Vastuses Neil Johnson
Re: Questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaires AREN'T anonymous
Hi Neil,
After my previous posting I looked again at the thread and it looks like what I asked Joseph is exactly what you proposed beforehand
Therefore, I really look forward knowing what you did to allow visitors to answer Moodle questionnaires.
Best regards
Fernando
Vastuses Fernando Brito e Abreu
Re: Questionnaire: Anonymous questionnaires AREN'T anonymous
Hello Fernando - guests/visitors can answer questionnaires without logging in, if that is what you meant? You need to put your questionnaire on a guest access page and set it to respond many and then change the role permissions for guest so they can respond to a questionnaire.