Skip to content
Uspeech Documentation

📁​ Templates & Codes Guide

This guide explains how to create and use templates and predefined codes to standardize your survey analysis workflow.

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Templates and Predefined Codes help you maintain consistency across survey analysis projects:

  • Survey Templates — Save analysis settings, questions, and configurations for reuse
  • Predefined Codes — Create standardized category codebooks that can be applied across projects

These features are essential for:

  • Tracking studies — Ensure consistent coding across survey waves
  • Team collaboration — Everyone uses the same categories and settings
  • Efficiency — Save time by reusing configurations
  • Quality control — Standardize your analysis process

⏩ Quick How-To

Section titled “⏩ Quick How-To”

How to Create a Survey Template

Section titled “How to Create a Survey Template”
  1. Navigate to Templates from the main menu
  2. Click New Template
  3. Enter a name and optional description
  4. Configure your settings:
    • Add questions (manually or import from CSV)
    • Set default analysis settings
    • Link predefined codes (optional)
  5. Click Save

How to Create Predefined Codes

Section titled “How to Create Predefined Codes”
  1. Navigate to Templates from the main menu
  2. Switch to the Codes tab
  3. Click New Codes
  4. Enter a name and optional description
  5. Add your codes:
    • Enter each code number and description
    • Or import from CSV
  6. Click Save

How to Apply a Template to Analysis

Section titled “How to Apply a Template to Analysis”
  1. Upload your survey file
  2. In the analysis settings, select your template from the dropdown
  3. Settings and codes from the template are automatically applied
  4. Adjust any settings if needed
  5. Run your analysis

Survey Templates

Section titled “Survey Templates”

What Templates Store

Section titled “What Templates Store”

A survey template can include:

SettingDescription
NameDescriptive name for the template
DescriptionNotes about when/how to use this template
QuestionsQuestion IDs and text (for multi-question surveys)
Default CodesLink to a predefined codes set
Analysis SettingsDefault values for all analysis options
Output Column PatternNaming convention for result columns

Template Settings Reference

Section titled “Template Settings Reference”

Analysis Type

Section titled “Analysis Type”
OptionDescription
survey_open_ended_analysisGeneral open-ended response coding
survey_brand_analysisBrand name identification and coding

Freeze Codes

Section titled “Freeze Codes”
SettingBehavior
Off (default)AI uses predefined codes as a starting point but can create new ones
OnAI only uses predefined codes; all other responses go to “Other”

Use “Freeze Codes: On” when:

  • You have a complete, validated codebook
  • Strict consistency is required across studies
  • You’re replicating a specific analysis framework

Other Threshold

Section titled “Other Threshold”

Controls when small categories are merged into “Other.”

ValueEffect
0.01Categories with <1% responses → Other
0.04 (default)Categories with <4% responses → Other
0.10Categories with <10% responses → Other

Small Categories Threshold

Section titled “Small Categories Threshold”

Minimum number of responses required to keep a category.

ValueEffect
1 (default)No minimum — all categories kept (subject to other threshold)
5Categories with fewer than 5 responses → Other
10Categories with fewer than 10 responses → Other

Categories Count

Section titled “Categories Count”

Maximal number of categories per answer.

ValueEffect
Blank (default)AI determines optimal count based on response (typically 1 - 3)
Specific numberAI does not add more categories than this number

Answer Column Name

Section titled “Answer Column Name”

Default column to look for responses in uploaded files.

ValueEffect
__USE_SHEET_NAME__ (default)Uses the Excel sheet name to identify the question
Specific column nameAlways looks for this column (e.g., “Response”, “Answer”)

User ID Column Name

Section titled “User ID Column Name”

Default column for respondent identifiers.

Output Column Pattern

Section titled “Output Column Pattern”

Controls how result columns are named in the output file.

Available placeholders:

  • {QUESTION_ID} — The question identifier (from sheet name or question mapping)
  • {CODE_NUMBER} — The category code number

Examples:

PatternExample Output
Code{CODE_NUMBER} (default)Code1, Code2, Code3

{QUESTION_ID}_Code{CODE_NUMBER}Q1_Code1, Q1_Code2

{QUESTION_ID}_{CODE_NUMBER}Q1_1, Q1_2, Q1_3


Managing Questions in Templates

Section titled “Managing Questions in Templates”

Why Add Questions to Templates

Section titled “Why Add Questions to Templates”

Questions in templates help when:

  • Your survey has multiple open-ended questions
  • You upload Excel files with one question per sheet
  • You want consistent question text across analyses

Adding Questions Manually

Section titled “Adding Questions Manually”
  1. Open your template for editing
  2. In the Questions section, click Add Question
  3. Enter:
    • Question ID — Short unique identifier (e.g., “Q1”, “P5”, “Brand_Aware”)
    • Question Text — The full question as asked in the survey
  4. Repeat for additional questions
  5. Save the template

Importing Questions from CSV

Section titled “Importing Questions from CSV”

For surveys with many questions, import from a CSV file:

  1. Prepare your CSV with two columns:
    • First column: Question ID
    • Second column: Question Text

Example Excel file:

| Q1 | How satisfied are you with our service? | | Q2 | What did you like most about your experience? | | Q3 | What could we improve? | | Q4 | Would you recommend us to others? Why or why not? |

  1. In your template, click Import Questions from file
  2. Select your file
  3. Review imported questions
  4. Save the template

Matching Questions to Excel Sheets

Section titled “Matching Questions to Excel Sheets”

When uploading an Excel file with multiple sheets:

  1. Name each sheet with the Question ID (e.g., “Q1”, “Q2”)
  2. The template matches sheet names to question IDs
  3. The correct question text is automatically applied

Example Excel structure:

  • Sheet “Q1” → Contains responses for “How satisfied are you
”
  • Sheet “Q2” → Contains responses for “What did you like most
”

Predefined Codes

Section titled “Predefined Codes”

What Predefined Codes Are

Section titled “What Predefined Codes Are”

Predefined codes are category codebooks that you create in advance. They define:

  • Code numbers — Numeric identifiers (1, 2, 3
)
  • Code descriptions — What each code means (“Very Satisfied”, “Price too high”, etc.)

When to Use Predefined Codes

Section titled “When to Use Predefined Codes”
ScenarioBenefit
Tracking studiesSame codes across multiple waves
Team projectsEveryone uses identical categories
Regulatory requirementsStandardized coding for compliance
Academic researchReplicable, documented coding schemes
Client deliverablesMatch client’s existing framework

Creating Predefined Codes

Section titled “Creating Predefined Codes”

Manual Entry

Section titled “Manual Entry”
  1. Navigate to Templates → Codes tab
  2. Click New Codes
  3. Enter a name (e.g., “Satisfaction Codes”, “Brand Categories Q3 2024”)
  4. Add codes one by one:
    • Code number: 1
    • Description: “Very Satisfied”
    • Click Add
  5. Continue until all codes are entered
  6. Click Save

Import from Excel file

Section titled “Import from Excel file”

For larger codebooks, import from Excel:

Excel Format:

CodeDescription
1Very Satisfied
2Satisfied
3Neutral
4Dissatisfied
5Very Dissatisfied
6Other
  1. Click Import from Excel file in the Codes section
  2. Select your Excel file
  3. Review imported codes
  4. Save

Predefined Codes Best Practices

Section titled “Predefined Codes Best Practices”

Code numbering:

  • Use sequential numbers (1, 2, 3
)
  • Reserve specific numbers for special categories (e.g., 99 for “Other”)
  • Be consistent across related code sets

Descriptions:

  • Keep descriptions clear and concise
  • Avoid ambiguous terms
  • Include examples in template description if helpful

Special categories:

  • Include “Other” for uncategorizable responses
  • Include “None” or “N/A” if needed
  • Consider “Don’t Know” or “Refused” for certain surveys

Linking Templates and Codes

Section titled “Linking Templates and Codes”

Attaching Codes to a Template

Section titled “Attaching Codes to a Template”
  1. Open your template for editing
  2. Find the Default Predefined Codes setting
  3. Select your codes set from the dropdown
  4. Save the template

Now, when this template is applied to an analysis:

  • The predefined codes are automatically used
  • Settings like “Freeze Codes” control how strictly they’re applied

Using Different Codes for Different Questions

Section titled “Using Different Codes for Different Questions”

If different questions need different codes:

  1. Create separate code sets for each question type
  2. Don’t attach codes to the template
  3. Apply codes at the file/sheet level when configuring analysis

Applying Templates and Codes

Section titled “Applying Templates and Codes”

When Creating Projects

Section titled “When Creating Projects”
  1. Create a new Survey Analysis project
  2. Select a template during project creation
  3. All questions added to the project inherit template settings

Per-Question Overrides

Section titled “Per-Question Overrides”

Even with a template applied, you can override settings for individual questions:

  • Select the question
  • Modify settings as needed
  • Changes apply only to that question

Managing Templates and Codes

Section titled “Managing Templates and Codes”

Editing

Section titled “Editing”
  1. Navigate to Templates
  2. Find your template or code set
  3. Click Edit
  4. Make changes
  5. Save

Note: Changes to templates don’t affect already-completed analyses.

Duplicating

Section titled “Duplicating”

To create a variation of an existing template:

  1. Open the template
  2. Click Duplicate
  3. Rename the copy
  4. Modify as needed
  5. Save

Deleting

Section titled “Deleting”
  1. Navigate to Templates
  2. Find the item to delete
  3. Click Delete
  4. Confirm

Warning: Deleting templates or codes doesn’t affect completed analyses, but removes the option for future use.

Team Sharing

Section titled “Team Sharing”

Templates and codes are shared within your team:

  • All team members can view and use templates
  • Templates are not shared across teams

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Template Not Applying

Section titled “Template Not Applying”
  • Verify the template is selected at project creation
  • Check that you saved the template after editing
  • Refresh the page and try again

Codes Not Being Used

Section titled “Codes Not Being Used”
  • Ensure “Freeze Codes” is set appropriately
  • Check that codes are linked to the template
  • Verify code format is correct (number → description)

Wrong Question Matched

Section titled “Wrong Question Matched”
  • Check that Excel sheet names match question IDs exactly
  • Question IDs are case-sensitive
  • Remove extra spaces from sheet names

Import Failing

Section titled “Import Failing”
  • Check CSV is properly formatted (UTF-8 encoding)
  • Ensure no extra columns or rows
  • Verify no special characters in codes

Frequently Asked Questions

Section titled “Frequently Asked Questions”

Q: Can I edit a template after using it? A: Yes, but changes only affect future analyses. Past results are unchanged.

Q: Can I share templates with other teams? A: Currently, templates are team-specific. Export your codes as CSV to share with others.

Q: How many codes can I have? A: There’s no hard limit, but 50-100 codes is typical. Very large codebooks may impact performance.

Q: Can I use the same codes for multiple templates? A: Yes, code sets can be linked to multiple templates.

Q: What happens if my Excel sheet names don’t match question IDs? A: This sheet will be skipped.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”