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Course and User Metadata Functionality

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The following article provides an overview of Metadata in Course Evaluations & Surveys and how to use it to unlock new ways of exploring evaluation data.

Introduction to Metadata

  1. Metadata is data that helps describe other data.
  2. In Course Evaluations & Surveys, metadata can be thought of as tags, or useful descriptors related to courses, students or respondents, or instructors.
  3. Metadata is a way to attach characteristics (I.e. A tag about a respondent, instructor, or course), which can then be used in the Course Evaluations & Surveys reporting features to filter results on characteristics outside of the evaluation.
  4. The following are all ways to think about the function metadata can serve: Tags, characteristics, segmentation data, data describing data, keywords.

Example Scenario

  1. A CES Administrator adds metadata to user profiles indicating the year in school of a University student (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior).
  2. Then, using the Report Builder 2.0 metadata filter function, they create a report which only includes respondent data from Juniors.

How to Add Metadata to Users

IMPORTANT: Column headers "MDU_FirstName" "MDU_LastName" or "MDU_UserName" should not be uploaded with user metadata as these headers conflict with our system and will negatively affect some reporting features.

In Course Evaluations & Surveys, metadata can be added to user profiles via the following methods:

  1. Manually
  2. User Metadata Upload File
  3. API
  4. FTP

Manually

In Course Evaluations & Surveys:

  1. Access the respective project.
  2. Click on the Users tab.
  3. Click on the pencil icon of the desired user, located at the end of the row, to enter edit mode.
  4. Click on Optional Metadata to expand.
  5. Click on Add Optional Metadata.

An optional metadata section showing a list of metadata entries and an Add Optional Metadata link highlighted.

NOTE

  • Name corresponds to the category of metadata (I.e. Year in School).
  • Value corresponds to the desired metadata (I.e. Junior).

User Upload File

In Course Evaluations & Surveys:

  1. Access the respective project.
  2. Click on the Users tab.
  3. Click on Data Import > Excel, to access the Upload Excel File page.
  4. Select User File Type: Select User Metadata File.
  5. Click on Choose File and select the appropriate Excel file.
  6. Click on Upload.

User Upload File Format: Column Headers

  1. Username
  2. MDU_(metadata name / category): I.e. MDU_Accommodation

NOTE

  • The metadata column header name / category must contain the MDU_ prefix.
  • Only one metadata value can be used for each metadata category per user.

Example username and metadata name/category values:

A spreadsheet showing usernames paired with accommodation types, including entries for preferential seating, extra test time, and screen reader.

Add Metadata to a Course

In Course Evaluations & Surveys, metadata can be added to a course via the following methods:

  1. Manually
  2. Course Metadata Upload File
  3. API
  4. FTP

Manually

In Course Evaluations & Surveys:

  1. Access the respective project.
  2. Click on the Courses tab.
  3. Click on the pencil icon of the desired course, located at the end of the row, to enter edit mode.
  4. Click on Optional Metadata to expand.
  5. Click on Add Optional Metadata.

An optional metadata section showing fields to enter a metadata name and value, along with a highlighted Add Optional Metadata link.

NOTE

  • Name corresponds to the category of metadata (I.e. Course Status).
  • Value corresponds to the desired metadata (I.e. Online).

Course Upload File

In Course Evaluations & Surveys:

  1. Access the respective project.
  2. Click on the Courses tab.
  3. Click on Data Import > Excel, to access the Upload Excel File page.
  4. Select Course File Type: Select Course Metadata File.
  5. Click on Choose File and select the appropriate Excel file.
  6. Click on Upload.

Course Upload File Format: Column Headers

  1. CourseUniqueID
  2. MDC_(metadata name / category): I.e. MDC_Course Status

NOTE

  • The metadata column header name / category must contain the MDC_ prefix.
  • Only one metadata value can be used for each metadata category per user.

Example CourseUniqueID and metadata name/category values:

A spreadsheet showing course unique IDs paired with course status values such as Online and On Ground.

How to Use User Metadata and Course Metadata to Filter Data in Report Builder 2.0

CES Admins can toggle a Metadata Filters section to allow CES Admins, Admins, Instructors, and/or TAs to filter results using manually-uploaded metadata. This toggle can be found by navigating to Account > Results Settings > Report Builder (tab)
A results settings page showing access options for Report Builder and Report Builder 2.0, with checkboxes for roles such as CES Administrator, Administrator, Instructor, and Teaching Assistant, and a metadata section for Report Builder 2.0.
Prerequisite: Create a Metadata Survey.

  1. In Report Builder 2.0, Respondent, Instructor, and Course Metadata Surveys provide the framework to filter and segment user and course metadata.
  2. Once created, Metadata Surveys are automatically attached to the Report Builder 2.0 Metadata Filter function.
  3. Metadata Surveys are the source of the Metadata Filters. To use the Report Builder 2.0 Metadata Filter functionality, Metadata Surveys are required.

Illustration: Metadata Survey prerequisite to Create Report Builder 2.0 Metadata Filters

A Report Builder 2.0 page showing project type options, course evaluation project selections, question and grouping settings, benchmark options, and metadata filters, alongside a Create New Survey panel showing available survey types.

How to Create a Metadata Survey

  1. In Course Evaluations & Surveys, click on Surveys, located on the top navigation.
  2. Click on the Create New Survey to open the Create New Survey window.
  3. Select the desired Metadata survey type: Metadata Course, Metadata Instructor, or Metadata Respondent.
  4. Click on Begin.
    A survey creation page showing survey type options including Course Main Survey, Course Targeted, Item Bank, General Survey, Metadata Course, Metadata Instructor, and Metadata Respondent, with Metadata Respondent highlighted.
  5. On the Create New Survey page, enter the survey Title (required) and Description (optional).
  6. Click on Save New.
  7. Click on the Select Question Type drop-down menu, select the desired question type (Single Selection or Numeric Selection), and click on +Add.
  8. Metadata Name text-area: Enter the Metadata Name / Category that corresponds to the Metadata Name / Category in the Excel file column header excluding the prefix (I.e. MDU_ or MDC_).
  9. Metadata Option Name: Enter the corresponding Metadata Name / Category values attached to a User or Course.
  10. Metadata Option Value: The value assigned by Course Evaluations & Surveys to the adjacent Metadata Option Name.
    A metadata setup page showing a Metadata Name field labeled Accommodation, instructions for creating metadata option names and values, and text boxes listing metadata option names with corresponding option values.
  11. Match on Option Name: If the metadata added to Courses or Users is a text-based value, select this option.
  12. Match on Option Value: If the metadata added to Courses or Users is a value corresponding to the Metadata Option numeric value in the Metadata Survey (I.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), select this option.

Overview: Metadata and Metadata Survey Connection to Report Builder 2.0

Workflow

  1. Add Metadata to Course or User.
  2. Metadata attached to Course or User matches values entered in Metadata Survey.
  3. Metadata Survey creates Metadata Filters for Report Builder 2.0.

Illustration: Relationship of Metadata Survey to Metadata Upload

A metadata setup page showing the Metadata Name field labeled Accommodation and metadata option names with corresponding option values, with the Metadata Name field and spreadsheet values highlighted.

Illustration: Relationship of Metadata Survey to Report Builder 2.0

A metadata setup page showing the Metadata Name field, metadata option names with their values, and an example of how these metadata options appear as filter options in Report Builder 2.0.

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