Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

(1) What is FlashQ?
FlashQ is a user friendly Flash application for performing Q-Sorts online. FlashQ can handle all kinds of distribution and as many statments as you want. For more information about the underlying Q Methodology please visit our bibliography.

(2) Does FlashQ support other languages?
Yes, FlashQ supports other languages. Each phrase or sentence used in FlashQ is stored in external XML-files, which can be edited with any text editor like notepad.

(3) What are the requirements for FlashQ?
The requirements depend on the operating mode. If you are using FlashQ in the offline mode, the user needs a PC with an internet connection, an offline version of FlashQ and an e-mail program like Microsoft Outlook. The data is submitted via email, which is created by the user's e-mail program. A web-based e-mail service like Hotmail or Gmail does not work.

The online mode is a little bit more difficult to set up, but much more convenient for the user. For using FlashQ in the online mode, you need a web server with PHP, to which FlashQ must be uploaded. The key advantage of this concept is that the user only needs a web browser to take part in your survey. The data is submitted to the web server, which either creates an e-mail or writes the data directly to a database or text-file. The PHP-backend can be downloaded from this site. A step-by-step installation wizard will be available soon.

If you are familiar with programming, FlashQ can also be operated in a hybrid mode or with other server based languages like ASP.

(4) How do I set up FlashQ?
To set up your own survey, you have to customize FlashQ first, which is quite easy and does not require any programming skills. After downloading your own copy of FlashQ you'll find four XML-files in a folder called "settings". In order to adjust the help texts, to add statements or to modify the layout of the score sheet, just edit these XML-files with a text editor like notepad. Do not use Microsoft Word.

The next step depends on the operating mode. If your are using the offline version of FlashQ, it's advisable to zip all files including the subfolders and the main exe-file. The created zip-file can be send afterwards via email to the participants. If you using the online version of Flash, you have to upload all files including the subfolders onto your server via FTP. If your are using our PHP backend, please read the enclosed READ ME file.

Please do not hesitate to contact us, if you have any problems with the setup!

(6) Does FlashQ cost anything?
No, everyone is free to use FlashQ for commercial or non-commercial purposes. But if one publishes scientific or non-scientific articles you are obligated to refer to us in the common manner. We also ask you to notify us, so that we get an idea how many researchers are using our program.