Import a survey from Qualtrics, LimeSurvey or SurveyJS.
Bring your survey to Siamang Studio, a survey platform with the analysis built in: crosstabs with significance tests, weighting, MaxDiff, conjoint and exports to SPSS and Stata come with every plan, the free one included, and paid plans start at $25 a month for the whole organization, not per seat. The import shows what it could not carry and changes nothing until you click Import.
On this page
Limits. Each format brings most question types and logic, not all of them, and the import lists what it left out. A file can be up to 2 MB of UTF-8 text, and responses come separately, as a data file.
Formats Studio imports
| Format | What to upload |
|---|---|
| Qualtrics | The .qsf from Export survey (also accepted with a .json extension) |
| LimeSurvey | The structure export: .lss, or the same export saved as .xml |
| SurveyJS | A survey definition (.json) from Survey Creator or Survey Library |
| siamang Python | A questionnaire.py from Export Python, a research bundle or the engine |
| Studio questionnaire | A questionnaire.json from a research bundle, another project or the engine |
Qualtrics, LimeSurvey, SurveyJS and Python files are read on the server and checked by the engine as they load. A Studio questionnaire document is read in your browser, and Check with the engine checks it before you import.
How an import works
- In the Builder, open More, then Import, and drop the file. Studio shows the pages, items and variables it found, what it could not carry, and the engine’s check.
- Import replaces the whole working questionnaire: title, pages, questions, codebook, quotas, theme and scripts. The project’s flows, settings, data and history stay as they are.
- Nothing is saved until you Save, and Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z) undoes the import.
- Responses come separately: upload the data file under Files and read it with a Data file node in a flow.
The full reference is Importing questionnaires in the Studio documentation.
LimeSurvey
Studio reads the XML that LimeSurvey writes for Export survey structure, as .lss or saved as .xml.
Comes across:
- Lists, dropdowns and lists with comment as Single choice; multiple choice, with or without comments, as Multiple choice; yes/no, gender and 5-point choice as Single choice with fixed codes.
- Numerical input as Number (slider settings become a slider, min and max a valid range), multiple numerical input as one Number per subquestion.
- Short, long and huge free text as Open text, multiple short text as one Open text per subquestion, and dates as Open text, with a warning.
- Arrays (5-point, 10-point, yes/no/uncertain, increase/same/decrease, flexible, by column) as Matrix, one variable per subquestion; ranking as Ranking; text display as the page’s text.
- Mandatory answers, Other answers, answer and subquestion order, choice randomization, question and group relevance, and legacy conditions.
- The survey format, group order, welcome and end texts, back button, progress bar and language.
Listed as not imported: array dual scale, array numbers and array texts; equations, file upload and language switch; question randomization groups and group randomization (the order is kept); quotas and assessments; conditions that do more than compare an answer (is empty, regular expressions, arithmetic, functions); validation regular expressions; the comment fields of lists and multiple choice with comments; default answers.
SurveyJS
Studio recognizes a SurveyJS survey definition from Survey Creator or Survey Library by its pages of elements.
Comes across:
- Radio groups, dropdowns and image pickers as Single choice; checkboxes and tag boxes as Multiple choice; booleans as a Yes/No choice; ratings as a Single choice on the rate values.
- Text, number and comment fields as Open text or Number; multiple text as one Open text per item; matrices, and matrix dropdowns with one column of choices, as Matrix; ranking as Ranking.
- Html, expression and image elements as the page’s text; panels, flattened (a randomized panel becomes a block).
- Required, Other and None items, choice and question order, and visible-if conditions on questions, panels and pages.
- The locale, previous button, progress bar, completion HTML and navigate-to URL.
Listed as not imported: file and signature pad questions; dynamic panels and dynamic matrices; matrix dropdowns with several columns or non-choice cells; expression questions, calculated values and triggers; validators other than numeric ranges and text length; conditions with functions, arithmetic, empty or not empty, all of, or references to variables and calculated values; enable-if and required-if; choices loaded from a URL; correct answers (quiz mode).
siamang Python
A questionnaire.py is read, never run. Studio walks its syntax and rebuilds
the questionnaire from the declarative part of siamang code, the part
Export Python writes. Loops, functions, if statements and other calls
are not run: each one is listed with its line number, and reading carries on.
Pages in this section
- Import a Qualtrics survey and its data
Import a Qualtrics .qsf into Siamang Studio: what comes across (questions, recodes, display logic, branches), what to rebuild and how to bring the data.
Frequently asked questions
Is importing free?
Yes. Imports are part of every plan, Free included.
What happens to the questionnaire I already have?
The import replaces it in the Builder, but nothing is saved until you Save, and Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z) brings it back. The project’s flows, settings, data and history are not touched.
Does Studio run the Python file I upload?
No. A questionnaire.py is read, never executed: Studio rebuilds the questionnaire from siamang’s own building blocks and lists everything else with its line number.
Related
Try it on your next study.
Build a survey or bring one in, and the analysis comes with it: crosstabs, weighting and reports on every plan. 30 days of Pro, free.