Add a Custom Question to a Survey

Learn how to add a custom question to a survey in PEARS.

If the Question Library does not contain a suitable question, you can create a custom question directly within a survey. Custom questions can include formatted text, images, and configurable response options.

TIP: The PEARS Team recommends using existing library questions when possible to save time and ensure consistency.

1

Navigate to Surveys

From the PEARS homepage, hover over the Plan menu and click Surveys.

2

Open the survey

Click the survey title to open it. If your survey is not active, click the x next to the Status filter to show all surveys.

3

Go to the Questions page

Click Questions in the progress panel to open the questions page.

4

Click Add Question

Click the Add Question button. The Question Library opens.

5

Click Custom Question

Below the search results in the Question Library, click the Custom Question link to open the custom question form.

6

Choose Question or Text

Select whether the item is a Question (collects responses) or Text (provides instructions or supplemental information without responses).

7

Select a Question Type

Choose the type of question from the dropdown:

• Text-based types — Open-ended text responses.

• Graphable types — Multiple choice, rating scales, and other types that can be charted in reports.

• Demographic types — Automatically generate answer options and must use corresponding question types for proper PEARS calculations.

TIP: Graphable question types allow PEARS to generate visual charts and summary statistics from the response data.

8

Enter the question text

Type the question text in the text box. Use the formatting tools (Bold, Italic, Underline) as needed.

• Optionally add an image by clicking the image icon. Include alt text so screen reader users can understand the content.

• For pre/post surveys, add alternate question text to change the tense (e.g., "Now that you have finished the program...").

• Optionally set a Field Name to control how the question displays in exports.

9

Add response options (if applicable)

For multiple choice or rating scale questions, configure the response options:

• Enter the option text.

• Optionally assign a numeric value to each option for scoring purposes.

• Optionally upload an image for visual response options.

• Optionally mark the correct answer for knowledge-based questions.

Click Add new option to create additional response options.

10

Link to indicators (if applicable)

If your organization uses SNAP-Ed indicators, tag individual questions with the indicators they measure. Include exactly one "Unique Identifier" question type if using the "Responses by Matched ID" export feature.

11

Save the question

Click Save Question to add the custom question to your survey.

CAUTION: Custom questions should be edited immediately after creation. Once a custom question has been added to other surveys, editing may become unavailable.