Label Construction when Question Numbers Repeat within Questionnaire

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Some questionnaires repeat question numbering from section to section. In order to construct unique labels for the elements of the questionnaire a section identifier needs to be added to the labels. If the section identifier in the questionnaire is numeric, an ‘s’ is added before the section number in the label. If the section identifier contains text only, i.e. no number or letter, then the label is made up of the section name (all lower case and words run together) followed by an underscore and the question reference.

Numeric section identifiers

Question numbering in a questionnaire may include a numeric section identifier followed by numeric question number. To facilitate question reference clarity, for elements where the question reference is collapsed in the label (loops, conditions, statements), the letter ‘s’ is added before the section reference in the label and a ‘q’ before the question reference. For example, the label for a statement related to question 1.1 would be entered s_s1q1. Without the ‘s’ and ‘q’, the statement label for question 1.1, which would then be entered as s_11, could be interpreted as a statement related to question 11.

For most elements where the question reference is not collapsed (question constructs, question items, question grids), an ‘s’ is added before the section reference in the label. A ‘q’ is not added before the question reference. So the question item label for question 1.1 would be entered as qi_s1_1.

For code lists, even though the question reference is not collapsed in the label, a 'q' is added before the question number. The label for the code list for question 1.1 would therefore be cs_s1_q1.

Example 1 Questionnaire: BCS Student Self-Completion Health Questionnaire 1986

Questionnaire layout:

Label construction:

Question	Element	Label	Related Text
1.6	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_6	Have you felt anxious/depressed/unhappy for more than a day during the past 12 months?
	Code list	cs_YES_NO_DK	YES; NO; DON’T KNOW
	Condition	c_s1q6	If YES, please answer 6(a), 6(b), 6(c), 6(d) and 6(e).
1.6a	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_6_a	Why did you feel like this? Describe your feelings
	Text answer	Long text
1.6b	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_6_b	How often have you felt like this in the past 12 months?
	Code list	cs_s1_q6_b	Most of the time; Often; Some of the time; Occasionally only
1.6c	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_6_c	Have you been seen by a doctor?
	Code list	cs_YES_NO	YES; NO
	Condition	c_s1q6c	If YES,
1.6d	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_6_d	Who was it?
	Text answer	Generic text
1.6e	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_6_e	What did he/she tell you was the matter?
	Text answer	Generic text

Example 2 Questionnaire: BCS Student Self-Completion Health Questionnaire 1986

Questionnaire layout:

Label construction:

Question	Element	Label	Related Text
1.9	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_9	Have you in the past 4 weeks taken any medicine/ tablets/medicinal product (a) prescribed by your doctor, (b) got direct from the chemist/supermarket and (c) got from other source?
	Code list	cs_s1_q9	YES, prescribed by my doctor; YES, something bought over the counter; YES, got from other source; NO, not to my knowledge; UNCERTAIN
	Condition	c_s1q9	If YES, please answer 9(a)
1.9a	Question construct/grid	qc/qg_s1_9_a	Please list all medicines, tablets, medicinal products etc. you have bought/taken/been prescribed in past 4 weeks Tell us for each one where you got them, the reason, the name and brand, and how/often/many you took.
	Code list grid Y-axis	cs_s1_q9_a_Y	First medicine, tablet etc.; 2nd medicine, tablet etc.; 3rd medicine, tablet etc.
	Text answer	Generic text	How often have you felt like this in the past 12 months?
	Statement	s_s1q9a	Please continue on page 2 if necessary

Example 3 Questionnaire: SWS 12 Month Infancy Questionnaire

Questionnaire layout:

Label construction:

Question	Element	Label	Related Text
1.1	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_1	Was he/she breast fed after the age of 6 months?
	Code list	cs_No_Yes	No; Yes
	*Condition	c_s1q1_i	No; go to 1.10
1.2	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_2	Are you still breast feeding?
	Code list	cs_No_yes	No; Yes
	Condition	c_s1q2_i	Yes
1.3	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_3	*What is the main reason for continuing to breast feed?
	Code list	cs_s1_q3	Enjoyment; Best for baby / prevention of allergies; Cheaper; Baby prefers it or refuses other feeds; Convenience; Any other / multiple reasons, e.g. help lose weight, so sleeps through night
	Statement	s_s1q3	go to 1.5
1.2	Condition	c_s1q2_ii	No; go to 1.4
1.4	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_4_i	How old was your baby when he/she last had a beast feed?
	Numeric answer	Months	mths
	Numeric answer	Weeks in month	wks
	Numeric answer	Days in week	days
	Question construct/item	qc/qi_s1_4_ii	or On what date did he/she last have a breast feed?
	Datetime answer	Generic Date
	Statement	s_s1q4	If not breast fed in past 4 wks go to 1.9

* Note: Condition c_s1q1_ii occurs later in the questionnaire and therefore isn't part of the example.

Text only section identifiers

In questionnaires where question numbering repeats, and section headings do not contain an identifying number or letter, the name of the section needs to be added to the labels for the various elements. The label is made up of the section name (all lower case and words run together) followed by an underscore and the question reference.

Example 4 Questionnaire: NCDS Interview Health section 1981

Questionnaire layout:

Label construction:

Question	Element	Label	Related Text
	Sequence	HEALTH	HEALTH
	Statement	s_health_i	I want to talk now about your health.
Q.1	Question construct/item	qc/qi_health_1	How would you describe your health generally? Would you say it is ... READ OUT ...
	Code list	cs_health_q1	excellent; good; fair; or poor?; (Don't know)
Q.2	Question construct/item	qc/qi_health_2	Can I just check, do you have any longstanding illness, disability or infirmity which limits your activities in any way compared with people of your own age?
	Code list	cs_Yes_No_Dk	Yes; No; Don't know
	Condition	c_health_q2	Yes; ASK Q.3
Q.3	Question construct/item	qc/qi_health_3	What is it? PROBE FOR: Name of condition. IF NOT KNOWN, OR UNCLEAR, PROBE FOR DESCRIPTION OF CONDITION.
	Text answer	Long text