Before we begin, it’s important to understand how Qualtrics survey links differ and how these links can be customized to include embedded data. Here are the basics:

A standard Qualtrics survey link looks like this:  https://illinoisstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abc123xyz 
 
Every survey you create using Qualtrics will begin with https://illinoisstate.qualtrics.com, followed by /jfe/form/ and will be followed by a random string of numbers and letters. This seemingly random string of numbers and letters is what will direct someone to a specific survey. 
 
You can edit this URL to embed even more data and ensure that specific responses are associated with the right course and instructor. To pass embedded data into the survey – which adds course-specific information to the link – we include relevant information at the end of the base URL. It then looks like this:  
https://illinoisstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abc123xyz?course_code=ENG101&section_number=001&instructor_name=Smith  
 
Notice that each piece of course-specific data is represented with what Qualtrics calls a key-value pair. The key is the category of information, and the value is the specific detail. Each key-value pair in the URL is separated by &. For example, based on the URL above, the following are key-value pairs you'll see at the end the URL above:

• course_code=ENG101 
• section_number=001 
• instructor_name=Smith

Each of these key-value pairs helps to organize the data you will receive from the survey into course code, section number, and instructor. These key-value codes will be used to ensure that the course evaluation data are associated with the correct instructor for the correct course and section.

Before you can generate personalized links, you’ll need a Qualtrics survey to link to. You can start with a blank survey — it just needs to exist so you can retrieve the base URL to use in step #3. You will need to go in at a later time to add your survey items to this blank survey. 

1. Go to: https://illinoisstate.qualtrics.com  
2. Log in with your Illinois State University credentials  
3. Click “Create new project” > Survey > Get Started From Scratch  
4. Give your survey a name (e.g., “Fall 2025 Course Feedback”) and click Create Project  
5. After it loads, go to the Distributions tab > Web > click “Anonymous Link”  
6. Copy the link — it will look something like: https://illinoisstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abc123xyz  

This is your base URL, and you will use it in the Excel sheet (Step 2).  

The following video is a demonstration of these directions:

Open Microsoft Excel and create a new worksheet that will be used to organize the course-specific data you plan to embed in your Qualtrics survey links. This sheet will serve as the foundation for generating your personalized links – and therefore should include the relevant key-value pair data.  

 Create columns for each key-value pair you want to use to organize your data, using an underscore instead of a space.  

 Important Note: When naming your columns, using underscore instead of spaces is important for compatibility with Qualtrics, which does not recognize spaces in embedded data field names.  

 We recommend that you use the following headers: 

• course_code 
• section_number 
• instructor_first_name 
• instructor_last_name 

 Once your headings are added, populate the spreadsheet with appropriate course information in each column. Each row should represent a unique course section, and the data should align with corresponding key-value headers. For example: 

If you'd like to use other columns to categorize data (i.e., instructor_ID_number, instructor_name, etc), you'll need to adjust the formula used in step #3 to incorporate those headers. 
 
Note: The base_url column will be the same in every row — it's simply a placeholder for the beginning of your Qualtrics link before personalized information is added. You don’t need to type it repeatedly: just type or paste the base URL into the first cell of the column, then select and copy it down into all rows at once. This will ensure that the formula we use in step #3 works correctly across all entries.  

Note: If Excel automatically updates the formatting of entries in a cell (for example, removing the zeroes at the beginning of a section number – 001 becomes 1), click the "Home" tab. Then, click the dropdown menu that displays the term, "General" and select "Text". 

The following video is a demonstration of these directions:

In a new column (e.g., column F), label the header survey_url (see example in Step 2). Then, copy and paste this formula in the first row under that column (cell F2): 

=E2&"?"&"course_code="&A2&"&section_number="&B2&"&instructor_first_name="&C2&"&instructor_last_name="&D2&""

Important Note: This above code must be entered without any spaces.

This formula combines the base Qualtrics link from column E with your course information.  

Important Note: URLs cannot contain certain special characters, including spaces. If you need or want to include the instructor’s full name, you must use an underscore like “Reggie_Redbird” or make a separate column for the first name, and add it into the embed data formula. If there are multiple instructors with the same surname, you can also add their first initial with an underscore, i.e. Smith_A and Smith_B, so that you’re later able to run reports by instructor. Alternatively, you may determine it necessary to assign a numeric code to instructors at this stage to assist in the process of anonymizing information during the data sharing stage.

Then drag the fill handle down to apply the formula to all rows. Now column F will contain full, unique URLs for each course section. For example:

The following video is a demonstration of these directions:

Return to Qualtrics and open your survey.

Before your personalized link can work correctly, you’ll need to complete one setup step in Qualtrics. This only needs to be done once for the survey.

1. Navigate back to the survey you created in Step 1. 
2. Go to Survey Flow by selecting from the left side navigation. 
3. Click + Add a New Element Here > Embedded Data  
4. In the "Create New Field or Choose From Dropdown..." box, enter in each of the fields you want added to the URL based on the Excel spreadsheet (the column headers you added in Step 3). You will need to select Add a New Field to add each element. You do not need to enter anything where it says "Set a Value Now."   
   1. course_code  
   2. section_number  
   3. instructor_first_name
   4. instructor_last_name  
5. If you chose to create different column headings, such as just using last name or assigning a numeric code, please enter these alternate column headings.
6. Click the Move link to move this block to the top of the Survey Flow.  
7. Click Apply at the bottom right of the page. 

If you create a copy of this survey, these steps do not need to be repeated. The survey flow will be copied along with the rest of the survey.

Once this is complete, Qualtrics will automatically store those values with each response.  This ensures that all data collected are accurately attributed to the correct course and instructor. In other words, each time a student completes the survey, their response will be tagged with the relevant course-specific information and stored in Qualtrics. This allows for efficient data retrieval and analysis without requiring students to manually enter those details. It is important to note that this occurs only when respondents use the personalized URL created in step #3. 

The following video is a demonstration of these directions:

When you are ready to distribute your survey, you can now:  

• Share the links in Canvas
• Turn them into QR codes 
• Paste the full links from Column F into emails 
• Create a mail merge to send personalized messages to instructors or students. For more information on how to create a mail merge, see this article:  https://help.illinoisstate.edu/technology/support-topics/email/mail-merge#accordion-auto-01
• NOTE:  Email, utilizing either direct messages or mail merge, should only be used for groups of 1500 students or less

There are two main options for distributing the links: 

Option 1: Send links to instructors

• Provide each instructor with the personalized survey link(s) for their sections from Column F in your spreadsheet. 
• Prompt them to share the link(s) with their students through email, Canvas, and/or in class.  

To automate the process of getting links to instructors:

• Add a new column to your spreadsheet with each instructor’s email address.  
• Use a mail merge in Word or Outlook to send each instructor their link(s).  

Option 2: Send links directly to students 

This method requires that you have the student roster for each section.  

• Copy the sheet you have created in Excel. In this new sheet, enter your unit’s student roster, listed again by course, instructor, and section, and use a look-up function to find the right URL based on the course information. 
• Use mail merge in Word or Outlook to send each student their personalized survey link.  
• Each time someone clicks their unique link, Qualtrics will capture the course_code, section_number, instructor_first_name, and instructor_last_name (and any other information you are tracking via the additional data you embedded in step #4) you included. 

The following video is a demonstration of these directions:

Data & Analysis Tab

After the survey has been sent, respondents will submit responses to the survey. Use the Data & Analysis tab to view the responses to your survey.

After opening the tab, all responses received can be seen here. Qualtrics contains a feature to filter results so that you see student responses for a certain department, professor, or class.

The Data & Analysis tab contains extra subtabs at the top of the screen. These tabs can be used for additional data analysis:

Filter Survey Results

You may find that you want to view or export results limited to a certain department, instructor, or class. Follow these directions to filter your results:

1. Open your survey.
   
   
2. Select the Data & Analysis tab at the top of the screen.
   
   
3. This will open your Data Table. This table contains all responses to your survey that have been received. A limited number of questions are displayed in this table.
   
   
4. (Optional) If you would like to see the responses for a certain question that is currently not displayed in the table, hover over the columns and click the “+” (plus) button that appears.
    
   
   In the menu that displays, select the question whose responses you wish to see.
   
   
5. To filter your results so that only responses for a certain question are displayed, first select Add Filter at the upper left above the table, 
   
   
6. This will display a Select Choice dropdown menu below. Click Select Choice and select the question or embedded data for which you would like to filter the received responses.
   
   For example, if you had asked the question, “What class did you take?” and wish to only view responses for English 100, first select the question, “What class did you take?”
   
   
   If you had created and used embedded data in the Survey Flow area (such as in Step 4: Embed Course Specific Data into Qualtrics) and you would like to filter by (for example) course code (course_code), first click the Select Choice button ("1" in the figure below). Next, select Embedded Data ("2" in the figure below), then select the embedded data (ex: course_code. "3" in the figure below).
   
   
   Once your filter has been selected, Qualtrics will filter the responses in the table so that only the responses that apply to the filter will be displayed.
   
   
7. If you are filtering by a question (ex: “What class did you take?”), another down arrow will appear. Click this arrow and select the qualifier (ex: is, is not, equal to, etc.). For this example, select “Is”.
   
   
8. Another down arrow will display. Click this arrow and select the answer choice that you would like to filter.
   
   For example, if you selected “What class did you take”, “is”, and you wish to filter to view students in “English 100,” select English 100.
   
   
   After selecting your filter, you can further filter your results. For example, if you selected “What class did you take?”/is/English 100, you can further filter the responses to only show results for English 100 students who had Reggie Redbird.
   
   
9. First, click the “+” button next to the newly created filter.
   
   
   
   
10. The Add Filter window will appear. In this window, click the Select Choice dropdown menu under “What class did you take?”.
    
    
11. Select the question, “Who is your professor?”
    
    
    
    
12. Click the dropdown arrow next to the question. Select the qualifier (ex: is, is not, equal to, etc.). For this example, select “is”.
    
    
    
    
13. Click the next dropdown arrow that appears. Select “Reggie Redbird”.
    
    
    
    
14. Click the Apply and Save Filter button. This will close the window and display only responses submitted by students who took English 100 with Reggie Redbird as their professor in the table.
    
    
15. Continue these steps until you have all filters set in place so that you are only viewing the responses you wish to see.
    
    

    For more information on filtering Qualtrics, select the following link: Filtering Responses

Export Qualtrics Data

After receiving responses, you can export your data to store onto your computer, a secure site, or send the data to someone who is interested in viewing the responses.

1. To export your results, click the Export & Import button at the upper right above the table.
   
   
2. Select Export Data.
   
   
   
   
3. The Download a data table window will display. Select the tab of the format you would like to export your data (ex: Excel, CSV, SPSS, etc.).
   
   In this window is the Download all fields checkbox, which is selected by default. This checkbox will download all responses to every question.
   
   If you deselect this checkbox, this will only export the answers to the questions that are currently displayed in the table.
   
   
   
   
4. Click the Download button. This will download your data.

Results Tab

The Results tab can be used to create graphs that visually represent your collected data. This tab takes all the data in the Data & Analysis tab and generates graphs based on the data you have received.

After selecting a graph on this tab, use the menu options on the right side of the screen to change the graph type (bar, pie, etc.), colors of the graph, and labels, among other options.

After creating the graph, export the graph by selecting the Share Report button on the right side of the screen and selecting the format you would like to export your graph(s) (ex: PDF, Word, PowerPoint, etc.).