Option codes are used as alias for your the choices in a choice question. They make your data analysis simpler and faster. 

Ex: For a gender question, with options "Male", "Female", and "Other", the option codes can be "M", "F", "O" or "1", "2", "3", or anything you want.


Here are some ways in which they can help you:

  1. Same question in multiple forms: In case of multiple forms, you may have the same question repeated across forms with different labels. For instance, the options for gender may be “Male/Female” in Form A and “M/F” in Form B. In such cases, you should create option codes and keep them constant to ensure standardisation.
  2. Change in option labels: In the course of your survey, there can be a scenario where your option labels need to be changed (for instance, if your field personnel do not understand the existing labels). To avoid any data discrepancy, option codes must be used because they would remain constant even if the labels change and reporting will not be hampered.
  3. Multiple languages: If you are running a survey in multiple languages, keeping option codes in one common language throughout helps in conducting data analysis without facing language issues.


Adding Option Codes on Collect:


Step 1. Open your form on Collect web dashboard and then click on the choice question you want to add option codes to.

Step 2: Click on the slider before "Show option codes"

Step 3. In the screen you can see a text boxes to add option codes against each option label



Pro Tip:


While adding option codes may seem cumbersome to begin with, the advantages will be evident as you scale. So it is always a better practice to use them.