SMDS Help Desk

The SMDS system allows you to collect responses electronically, by setting up what the system calls a Distribution.  Once you have an activated evaluation with a tool in it that you want to share with respondents, you can set up a distribution. This will allow you to then generate a list that you can send via email, or by printing and distributing a hyperlink or QR Code

Setting Up a Distribution

• You will find the distribution function in one of two places, depending on whether your organization has set up sharing capabilities in your SMDS space - either at the Distribution tab, or under the More tab.  Because there is a limit to the number of tabs that can display at the top of the page, if your organization has a tab labeled Sharing then you will find the Distribution function under the More tab.

OR,

Whichever place you find it, 

• Select New Distribution, and a new page will open where you will name your distribution and select the evaluation and data collection tool that will be used.

• Name your distribution (required) and write a brief description (optional).
• Select the appropriate Evaluation from the dropdown list, and then select the Data Collection Tool.
• Once you name the distribution and select the evaluation and data collection tool, a new button will appear at the bottom of the page named Continue to Next Step.
• Click the green Continue to Next Step button at the bottom.

When you click the green Continue to Next Step page the system will take you to the Survey Link set up page where you will be able to set parameters for what respondents see when they click on the hyperlink (or use the QR Code).  If you click the blue Save and Exit button instead, the system will take you back to your Distribution landing page. 

At the Survey Link set up page:

• You can decide if respondents will be asked for their First & Last Name, to create a unique ID for themselves, or if they can respond anonymously. You can also indicate if they will be asked for their email address.

• You can also decide if there will be a custom message sent to respondents with the survey link. You have the option to include your message in each language that your tool uses. In this example the survey tool has both English and Spanish versions.

• If you want to send the link through an email to respondents directly through SMDS, click the Continue to Next Step button to be taken to a page where you can create your email message.

• If you want to share the survey link yourself outside of SMDS, click the Save and Exit button at the bottom of the page and the system will take you to your Distribution Landing page.

The Distribution Landing Page

The Distribution landing page is where you can see the details for the distribution by clicking on the name of the distribution you’re preparing to send out. You will see the system generated hyperlink in the middle section under Survey Link.

Use the Edit Settings button to make any changes to what the respondent will see and what identifying information they need to provide. You can also make edits after the distribution has started to alter what future respondents will see and need to provide.

Options for Disseminating the Hyperlink

You can preview what a respondent will see and test the survey link prior to sending it out by clicking on the link at the Distribution landing page. 

• If the survey is available in more than one language, the respondent will first be asked to select what language they want to use to complete the survey.  

Once the language is selected, the respondent is taken to a Welcome page. The welcome page will either display the custom welcome message you’ve created for the survey or the generic message (as shown below). It will also prompt them for their respondent ID (if you’ve set that requirement) before taking them into the survey.  

Copying Hyperlinks and Creating a QR Code

Once you have set up a distribution, you can copy the hyperlink to send it out via email, social media, on flyers, or convert it to a QR Code for a flyer and mailing.

To make a copy of the live hyperlink, go to the Distribution Details page, and click the blue Copy Link to Clipboard button:

The system will give you a pop-up screen with two choices - You can choose to Copy Link or Send Link (if you want to email it to one person)

If you click Copy Link you will get a pop-up:

• Type Ctrl+C and hit Enter to copy the link.  

You can then paste that into a Word document to hold for later, paste it into an email you are sending from your desktop, or paste it into a URL-shortener site such as TinyURL.com.  

Below is an example of what you get when you copy the link from SMDS:

http://smdsv2.successmeasures.org/distributions/manipulatedistribution?key=AlIblklvcqFPfNY9c3Z9qduUEP4FYiJLwqM9kU79TRL5uIp8zZNheyrU0OhoYQam

This version of the link is not user-friendly, so we recommend you paste it into either TinyURL or Bitly, to get a shortened, more user-friendly version.  (Which one you use is a matter of personal preference.)  Either one can make it easy to create a customized shortened version that includes an alias, such as https://tinyurl.com/SheltonGardens

This shortened hyperlink can then be sent by email, posted to social media where it will be a live link, or printed onto flyers or into a letter where it will be relatively easy for the respondent to type the words into their computer or phone browser to access the survey.

This shortened hyperlink can also be converted to a QR Code, which is easier to put onto printed materials so that a respondent can use their smart phone camera to open the survey.  Simply open any QR Code Generator websites/apps, such as https://www.qr-code-generator.com/ and paste the link URL. The site will generate a QR Code that you can take a screen shot of and place in a Word document for use in printed materials, or you can save it to your desktop as a jpg.

NOTE: Generally, it makes sense to use the shortened hyperlink when the platform/medium is electronic so the link can be live and people can click on the link to open the survey. This works best if you’re planning to email or text the survey for a respondent to open on their computer or their phone or for posting to the organization’s website. Use the QR Code when the medium is print, such as postcards, flyers, etc., so respondents can use the camera on their smartphone to open the survey. 

Sending the Link Out via Email from SMDS

At the Distribution Landing page, in the section below the Survey Link, you will find a section for Email Distribution Settings.  This section provides you with the ability to send the evaluation hyperlink directly to any number of potential respondents, via the SMDS system using their email addresses.

• You can draft your email message, as well as a reminder message within SMDS. You can also set the email subject line and who the email will go from as well as who the respondent can send questions to.

• The system allows you to create three email messages:

1. The first email message typically explains the evaluation and encourages the person to click the hyperlink and respond.
2. The second email is typically used as a reminder message that you can set to go a certain number of days after the first email, if the person has not initiated a response.
3. The third email is typically used as a Response Incomplete message, that the system will send if the respondent starts to answer the survey but does not finish and submit their response. 

• You can insert your email address into the Reply To box, so that it appears the email comes from your organization, and so that if a person has any questions, they can reply to you directly to ask for clarification.

• Once you have settled on the wording of those messages, click the green Continue to Next Page button at the bottom.

• The system will take you to a page for Scheduling the Email Distribution.

You can set the date and time that the initial email will go out, as well as decide if you want the reminder message to go and if so, how frequently. We recommend no more than 2 or 3 reminders, spaced 4-7 days apart.  Too many will start to feel like harassment by the recipients.

Once you have written the email messages, selected the date and time for the email, and established how many reminders the system will send, you can Click Save and Exit which will take you back to the Distribution Landing page.

Import Email Addresses for Distribution

If you are going to send the link via emails from SMDS, the last step in scheduling it is to create the list of respondents.

Before you set the Distribution to go you need to import your list of respondents’ email addresses into your distribution.

At the Distribution Landing page, at the bottom, below the Email Distribution Settings section, you will see a section headed Respondents.   This is where you will add the respondents’ email addresses.

You can either:

• Click the green +Add New button OR 
• Click the blue Click Here link to add a new respondent.

Either one will take you to a pop-up window where you can select either to:

• Use an existing Distribution list (if you have previously sent out a distribution to this same population)

• Create New

• Import Respondents

Use an Existing Distribution List will allow you to use a list from a previous distribution that you or your organization had sent to this same population. This makes sense if you have a cohort which did a pre-program survey, and you now want them to complete a post-program survey.

Create New will take you to your organization’s respondents list and if the person you want to send this survey link to exists in your SMDS system you can find them there and put a checkmark by their name so they will be added to the distribution. This makes sense if there are only a small number of respondents you want to add to the distribution, and their email address is already attached to their respondent information.  If you do not see a specific respondent in your organization’s list of respondents, you can click the green New Respondent button and create that respondent using their email address, and then add them to the distribution.

Import Respondents is the quickest and easiest way to add multiple respondents and their email addresses to the distribution. If you select that option and click the green Go button, the system will open a page where you can upload an Excel list of the respondent IDs and their email address.  At this page you can download an Excel template to fill in, and then be able to upload it via this page.

• Select Click here to download the sample Excel template and fill it in with the needed details for your respondents.

1. The system allows you to fill in as much info as you want, but the minimum requirement is that you provide the Primary Email (Column E), and either the AlternateID (Column C) OR the First and Last Name (Columns A and B)

• Once you have the Excel populated, return to the Import page for your Distribution, and click Browse to find the Excel that is saved on your desktop and upload it into the system.

• When you have selected the Excel file and clicked the blue Upload button, the system will generate a list showing any errors in your data.

• If there are any errors indicated, return to your Excel spreadsheet and address them. The system will indicate if an email address is not accurate, if there is a typo etc. If will also tell you if there are any duplicates in your list; each respondent needs to have a unique email address. 
• If there are no errors, then you can click the little check box to the left in the blue band, and then click the blue Import button at the bottom of the list.

• Once the system has completed the upload, it will return you to the Distribution Landing page, and you will see your list of potential respondents there with their email addresses.

• You are now ready to make any final changes to the email messages, and then click the green Distribute on Schedule button.  

Once your Distribution has begun, the system will track each respondent’s status on this page, below the Respondents tab at the bottom of the page. As respondents complete their survey the system will change the status from Email Not Sent à Email Sent à Response Initiated à Response Submitted.  Actual response data will be deposited into the specific evaluation, and you will be able to find it there.