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Qualtrics Disclosures

Qualtrics Overview

Qualtrics is a web-based survey research software which offers many advanced but user-friendly features such as:

  • Easy survey design with point-and-click editing
  • Comprehensive list of question types including pick, group & rank, drill down, rank order, heat map and hot spot
  • Capability to personalize emails and survey content to individual subjects
  • Complex skip patterns and branching
  • Randomization of question order or response categories
  • Authentication for linkage to other databases or preventing “ballot box stuffing”
  • Capability for respondents to stop in mid-survey and resume later where they left off
  • Online generation of simple reports, graphics, and cross tabulations of survey results
  • Simple data download to spreadsheet, SPSS, or other file formats

Qualtrics is completely browser-based, so researchers can access it from any location with internet access.  No software is installed on the user’s computer.

Eligibility and Acceptable Use

Qualtrics is available free of charge to all UNC Chapel Hill faculty, staff, and students with Onyens. This does not include UNC Healthcare or UNC General Administration. Our license allows for unlimited use of the software for legitimate UNC Chapel Hill related research and educational activities. Qualtrics use is restricted to university-related work. Conducting research or surveying students, club members or administrative units is acceptable. Using Qualtrics on behalf of outside organizations is not, nor is personal use not related to the university.

Research Using Human Subjects

Any survey conducted for research purposes must be approved by a UNC Institutional Review Board prior to contact with subjects.  See the Office of Human Research Ethics website.

Data Storage and Security

Data collected through Qualtrics are stored on Qualtrics’ servers unless/until downloaded by the researcher.  The UNC Information Security Office has approved Qualtrics for collection and storage of Private Health Information (PHI) and a Business Associates Agreement (BAA) is in place between UNC Chapel Hill and Qualtrics.  If data containing PHI are downloaded from the Qualtrics servers to local devices or networks, the researcher bears full responsibility for protecting PHI in accordance with University policy.

Creating an Account

Use your UNC Onyen and password to Login or Create an Account Here. In order to create an account, you must have an email address with an @unc domain in the primary email field and an affiliation with a UNC main campus department in the UNC Peoplesoft/ConnectCarolina database. Once created, the account will be immediately available to create and distribute surveys. If your Onyen is associated with a UNC department or school that has an identified division within Qualtrics, you will be automatically assigned to that division.

Do NOT create an account at the Qualtrics site, as you will not have access to any surveys or data you create there.