> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.voxdash.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Question Metadata

The **Question Metadata** panel allows you to configure the technical properties of an individual question. These settings do **not** affect how the question appears to respondents, but they determine how the question is represented when exported to statistical software such as **SPSS**.

Question metadata is useful for researchers and data analysts who need clean variable names, consistent data types, and standardized missing values.

To access the Question Metadata panel:

1. Open the questionnaire in the **Editor Panel**.
2. Click the question you want to configure.
3. Open the **Question Metadata** section from the right-side panel.

## Label Preparation

The **Label Preparation** section controls how the question is identified in exported datasets.

## Question Full Text

Displays the complete text of the survey question.

This text is used as a reference when generating documentation and variable labels.

### Example

Question shown to respondents:

> **How satisfied are you with your recent online shopping experience?**

### Variable Label

The **Variable Label** is the descriptive label assigned to the variable in exported files such as SPSS.

Choose a short, meaningful label that clearly describes the question.

### Example

| Question                                                           | Variable Label        |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------- |
| How satisfied are you with your recent online shopping experience? | Customer Satisfaction |

In SPSS, analysts will see:

```
Variable Name : Q5
Variable Label: Customer Satisfaction
```

### Bytes Counter

Displays the number of bytes used by the Variable Label.

This helps ensure the label does not exceed the limits of the export format.

### Example

Variable Label:

```
Customer Satisfaction
```

Bytes Counter:

```
21 / 255 bytes
```

## Advanced SPSS Settings

These settings control how the selected question is stored in SPSS.

Most users can keep the default values unless their organization has specific data formatting requirements.

### Read Only

Prevents accidental changes to the metadata.

### Example

If enabled, the SPSS settings cannot be edited until Read Only is disabled.

### Numeric Width

Specifies the maximum number of digits that can be stored.

**Default:** 10

### Example

Question:

> How many products did you purchase?

Possible value:

```
125
```

Width:

```
10
```

This allows values up to ten digits long.

### Numeric Decimals

Defines how many decimal places should be stored.

**Default:** 0

### Example

Question:

> How many hours did you shop online?

| Stored Value | Decimals |
| ------------ | -------- |
| 5            | 0        |
| 5.5          | 1        |
| 5.75         | 2        |

### Numeric Format

Defines how numeric values appear in SPSS.

**Default:** F (Fixed Numeric)

### Example

| Value | SPSS Format |
| ----- | ----------- |
| 25    | F10.0       |
| 82.35 | F10.2       |

### String Width

Defines the maximum number of characters allowed for text responses.

**Default:** 255

### Example

Question:

> Please describe your shopping experience.

Maximum response length stored:

```
255 characters
```

## SPSS Format

This section summarizes the formatting applied to the selected question.

Available settings include:

* Format
* Width
* Decimals
* Configuration Level
* Admin Defaults

### Example

| Setting             | Value          |
| ------------------- | -------------- |
| Format              | F              |
| Width               | 10             |
| Decimals            | 0              |
| Configuration Level | Admin Defaults |

If your administrator has defined default settings, they will automatically be applied unless you override them.

## Missing & Special Values

Sometimes respondents cannot or do not want to answer a question.

Instead of leaving the response blank, you can assign predefined **Missing & Special Values**.

These values are recognized by SPSS as missing data rather than valid responses.

Common examples include:

* Don't Know
* Refused to Answer
* Not Applicable

### Add a Missing Value

Click **+ Add Missing Value** and enter:

* **Code**
* **Label**
* **Configuration Level**

### Example

Question:

> What is your annual household income?

Configure the following values:

| Code | Label             |
| ---- | ----------------- |
| 97   | Not Applicable    |
| 98   | Don't Know        |
| 99   | Refused to Answer |

When exported:

| Respondent | Stored Value |
| ---------- | ------------ |
| John       | 65000        |
| Sarah      | 98           |
| David      | 99           |

SPSS treats **98** and **99** as missing values instead of actual income values.

### Reset Missing Values

Click **Reset Missing Values** to restore the administrator's default missing value definitions.

Use this option if you have customized the values and want to return to the system defaults.

## Data Type Information

This section displays how the selected question will be stored in exported datasets.

### Measurement Level

Defines the statistical measurement level of the question.

Common levels include:

* Nominal
* Ordinal
* Scale

### Example

| Question           | Measurement Level |
| ------------------ | ----------------- |
| Gender             | Nominal           |
| Satisfaction (1–5) | Ordinal           |
| Age                | Scale             |

### Data Type

Shows the type of data stored for the question.

Possible data types include:

* Numeric
* String
* Date

### Example

| Question      | Data Type |
| ------------- | --------- |
| Age           | Numeric   |
| Customer Name | String    |
| Purchase Date | Date      |

## Complete Example

Suppose you create the following survey question:

> **How satisfied are you with your recent online shopping experience?**

Respondents answer using a 1–5 rating scale.

You configure the metadata as follows:

| Property          | Value                  |
| ----------------- | ---------------------- |
| Variable Label    | CUSTOMER\_SAT          |
| Numeric Width     | 10                     |
| Numeric Decimals  | 0                      |
| Numeric Format    | F                      |
| Measurement Level | Ordinal                |
| Data Type         | Numeric                |
| Missing Value     | 98 = Don't Know        |
| Missing Value     | 99 = Refused to Answer |

When the questionnaire is exported to SPSS, the variable appears similar to:

| Variable Name | Variable Label        | Type    | Missing Values                          |
| ------------- | --------------------- | ------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Q5            | Customer Satisfaction | Numeric | 98 = Don't Know, 99 = Refused to Answer |

This allows analysts to immediately understand what the variable represents and ensures that missing responses are handled correctly during statistical analysis.

## Best Practices

* Use clear and descriptive **Variable Labels** so exported datasets are easy to understand.
* Keep the default SPSS settings unless your organization requires a different format.
* Define consistent **Missing & Special Values** across all questionnaires.
* Use standard missing value codes (such as **97**, **98**, and **99**) throughout your organization.
* Review the metadata before exporting to SPSS to ensure variables are correctly configured.

## Summary

The **Question Metadata** panel controls how each question is represented in exported datasets, especially **SPSS** files. You can configure variable labels, numeric formatting, string length, missing value codes, and data type information without affecting the respondent experience. Properly configuring metadata produces cleaner datasets, reduces post-processing work, and makes your survey data easier for analysts to understand and analyze.