HTML Boxes

Hypertext markup language (HTML) boxes are used in Web-based survey applications and come in all shapes and sizes, but they all allow respondents to

Internet surveys to directly input text into an HTML application, for example, an answer to an open-ended survey question. This is extremely useful in survey research for gathering information, such as a respondent's name, email address, and password, but just like other HTML applications, text boxes can be modified to fit one's needs. Fortunately, they all require the same basic parameters, an input type and a. form action. The input type parameter allows one to specify the HTML box one would like to use, whereas the form action defines what will eventually be done with respondent's information.

A one-line box is the most basic HTML box that can be created, as it constrains respondents to using just one input line. These boxes are useful for information responses that are made up of a word or a few words, but they become more cumbersome when used for longer text entries. If one needed to have a larger input space, then a text area box would be most appropriate, as the size and shape of this box can be customized allowing it to be used for all sorts of things, ranging from a sentence to much longer, open-ended answers.

In addition to these basic text boxes one could use a selection box, which gives the respondent a series of options from which he or she can choose. For online surveys these types of boxes are most commonly used and come in many varieties. For instance, radio buttons allow the users to select only one answer from a provided list; this is useful for survey research, because it prevents respondents from making multiple selections when only one answer is desired by the researcher. Drop-down selection boxes can do the same thing, but they look a little different. With dropdown selection boxes, respondents are allowed to select from a dynamic list of items instead of just clicking on the radio button that stands next to the appropriate response. These types of boxes are particularly useful for variables such as income and education, which require a single choice from a list of many options. If one wanted to allow respondents to be able to select multiple items, a check box is the easiest way to achieve this end, as they allow users to check as many boxes as they wish. This makes check boxes suitable for measuring constructs such as medical illness histories, which require users to provide several pieces of information for the same question.

Once the preferred input type is chosen, one must then define the form action, which is typically initiated by a "Submit" button that appears at the bottomo [Page 319]of the form. Once someone selects the Submit button, a number of things can be done with the form's input, for example, writing the information into a text file and saving it for later use. In addition to a Submit button, often a "Reset" button is added, which allows the user to clear the form's input fields. Even though a Submit button is required to complete the HTML box and a Reset button can be omitted, the Reset button is usually added for user convenience.

...