protected field versus using noinput

[AriSilva]

I´ve never used the protected property, I always use the noinput when I need to have a variable that is not shown to the interviewer.
For example, to set some fields at the beginning of a form, the technique I´m using is to have a dummy variable with the noinput.
What is the difference between the protected property versus using the noinput in the onfocus?
If the interviewer hits the left arrow and the control returns to this first variable in the form, and this field is protected, what will happen? The control returns to a previous variable in another form that had the control?
(I´m not sure I presented this problem properly).

[Gregory Martin]

I almost never use noinput for CAPI surveys. For my purposes, noinput is useful while keying from paper. Imagine a situation where you can automatically fill in a variable. Let's say you have date of birth and age; after you get the DOB, you can prefill AGE and noinput, moving to the next field. The keyer would be trained to look up at the screen, compare the prefilled AGE with what's on the paper questionnaire, and then only go back if it's different. The idea here is to save the keyer some keystrokes, but still allow for entry of data.

If you want to prefill a value and never allow it to be edited (say you're filling in geocodes from a menu program), then you should protect them. If you use noinput, it allows the operator to modify the value, which you often don't want. CSEntry will never let you enter a protected field, so if you try to move backwards into it, it will move to whatever field preceded it (on the same or a different form). If the protected field is the first in your program, then moving backwards will just keep you where you are and the backwards action will be dismissed.

If you are filling variables that aren't shown to the operator, you can also leave them off your form and then assign them in logic without having to worry about whether or not the operator can modify them.

[AriSilva]

The idea of having a dummy variable with noinput at the beginning of each form is to standarize the jumpings from one form to the next: you always skip to this dummy variable, you do not have to think which is the first variable in the form, and if you do change the variables in the form for whatever reason, the dummy variable will always be the first one.
As for this dummy variable being noinput or protected, I thought that having it as protected, as you said, jumping backwards would bring the control to the previous form, which we would not like to happen: our strategy is never jump backwards between blocks. If the interviewer wants to go to another form, even if it is the previous one, it has to choose the form from the list of forms presented to him/her using a function in the program.

[Gregory Martin]

If you reenter the protected control field, it will move to the next field on that form (not go back to the previous form).

Instead of using control fields, you can also skip to / reenter using the form name, but I understand that in some cases it's nice to use control fields.

[arkagwa]

Dear ALL!

With my experience in CSPro 7.3.1, if you set geocodes, such Latitude and Longitude to "Protected" field, will crush the form when the interviewer tries to edit and pass through the variable geocode. This is because the there is preproc which turns ON location and searches for the new geocodes.
Unless there is another way to handle it when the interviewer tries to edit the case.

[josh]

CSPro will fail if you have a protected field and you leave it with a value that is not valid. So if your GPS reading fails and you try to put blank or default in a protected field you will get an error.

For latitude and longitude one way to handle it is to check if the GPS reading failed and if it does put a value like -9999 in latitude and longitude. Alternatively you can allow blank in those fields and set them to notappl on an error.

My preferred option is to add a control field that is not protected with options like "1- read GPS, 2 - keep existing coordinates, 3 - skip GPS". I put this field on the form rather than putting the latitude and longitude themselves on the form. Since latitude and longitude are in the dictionary but not on the form, you don't have to worry about making them protected.

[arkagwa]

Dear Josh

It will not solve the problem because when you repeat the entry/case, they will pass through the same question/GPs and when 1 is selected (1=read GPS) the GPS values will be updated which I don't like to happen.

Many enumerators are fast and do not care about the quality. I don't like to rely on them rather than to rely on my system. I need to control if we read already GPS, never read again.

[josh]

In the preproc of the field if the GPS coordinates have already been captured set the value to "keep existing coordinates" so that when the interviewer goes back through the field they don't trigger the capture a second time. Look in the workshop materials under "Setting field values only once" on page 51 and also look at the example for taking photos on page 55. https://www.csprousers.org/resources/CS ... rkshop.pdf

[AriSilva]

Josh,
I liked very much of this workshop material. Is it possible to have access to the files?

[Gregory Martin]

They're on the page: https://www.csprousers.org/resources/. Look for "CSPro Mobile Workshop Materials."