eQuest – electronic Questionnaires

eQuest or eQuest-Web is an application from Statistics Austria that creates form-based electronic web questionnaires for various statistical surveys and makes them available to respondents. The questionnaires have a standardized structure and standardized operating and help functions. However, depending on the requirements of the respective survey, the range of functions of the individual eQuest questionnaires may vary (for example, some questionnaires offer the option of importing data into the questionnaire, or questions are displayed or hidden depending on previously entered answers), so not all of the functions described below are always available.

The layout of eQuest-Web is based in essential points on the “E-Government - Style Guide for E-Formulare (Version 3)”, with particular attention to accessibility in the design of the questionnaires.

To complete an eQuest Web questionnaire, you will need a current browser, such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. Since many statistical questionnaires are very extensive and often contain tables with many columns, we recommend using a desktop PC or laptop with a sufficiently large monitor. By following the principles of responsive web design, most eQuest questionnaires can also be completed using smartphones or small tablets.

After launching eQuest-Web, a list of questionnaires that have not yet been submitted by the respondent is displayed (page “Fragebogen Auswahl” (questionnaire selection)).

By clicking a button in the “Erhebung” (survey) column, you can open the corresponding questionnaire for editing.

Once a questionnaire has been submitted to Statistics Austria (see section Report Questionnaire), it will no longer be listed. In most surveys, you have the option to generate and save or print a PDF file of the completed questionnaire within 14 days after submitting it. To do this, click the button “Druckversion gemeldeter Fragebögen erzeugen” (generate printable version of submitted questionnaires).

An eQuest web questionnaire consists of several pages (in exceptional cases only one page), with each page consisting of the following sections:

The header displays the survey name, the Statistics Austria logo, the current page, and the total number of pages in the questionnaire (in the format “page x of y”). Depending on the survey, additional information may be visible, such as the language selection, the questionnaire type, the respondent ID, the name of the survey unit, the survey ID, the survey version (always a year), and the survey implementation date (e.g., the month or quarter). 

Important information is displayed here, for example the time of an upcoming system maintenance.

You can use the buttons in this area to access the individual pages of the questionnaire. The button for the page you are currently on is highlighted. See the section Page Selection.

If you have enabled input validation on the current page or in the entire questionnaire, the validation results will be presented in this area. See the section  Input Validation .

This is the area of ​​the eQuest page where the questions to be answered are displayed—often divided into several blocks, each with a heading. In addition, explanatory text, buttons for activating certain functions, and other elements can also be displayed. See the section  Form content.

Using the buttons in this area, you can operate the questionnaire and trigger certain functions, such as saving your entries, exiting the questionnaire, or submitting the completed questionnaire to Statistics Austria. See section Function Buttons.

At the bottom of each questionnaire page, you will see a copyright notice, the current page, and the total number of pages in the questionnaire (in the form “page x of y”).

The following figure shows the page areas using the example of a page of a questionnaire from the “Import Price Index.”

An eQuest questionnaire consists of several pages (or, in exceptional cases, a single page). Each page is represented by a button in the page selection area, with the currently visible page highlighted. If there isn't enough space in the browser window to display all page selection buttons in one row, the buttons will be displayed in multiple rows.

You can access another page at any time by clicking the corresponding button. Alternatively, you can also go to the next or previous page using the “Next page” and “Previous page” buttons at the bottom of the page.

The labels of the page selection buttons consist of the following components:

• Page title
• In most surveys: page number
  Note: The page numbers may change as you complete the questionnaire if questionnaire pages are shown or hidden based on your input.
• The verification result in the form of an icon if you have activated the verification of your entries on a page (see section Input validation)

  • A check mark in a green circle means that no errors or notices were found when this page was last checked:
    

  • An exclamation mark in a yellow triangle means that one or more clues were found the last time this page was checked. The background of the button changes to yellow:
    

• • An exclamation mark in a red circle means that one or more errors and possibly one or more notes were found during the last check of this page. The background of the button changes to bright red.
    The questionnaire cannot be submitted to Statistics Austria until the errors have been corrected:
    

In the smartphone view (which also becomes visible when you narrow the browser window on a desktop or laptop), only the page title of the current page is displayed by default. You can show or hide the other page selection buttons using the “Show Pages...” and “Hide Pages...” buttons.

The form content of eQuest questionnaires (especially the questions to be answered) depends on the specific statistical survey. Nevertheless, there are some commonalities that are independent of the survey, which are described below.

Each questionnaire page consists of one or more blocks (sections). At the end of each block are two internal links that allow you to jump to the top of the page or the bottom of the page if the top or bottom of the page is not visible in the browser window.

In most eQuest questionnaires, the first page contains information about the survey, the respondent, and important instructions for using eQuest, but no questions to be completed.

The second page often includes contact information for the survey unit (usually the contact person's name, telephone number, and email address) for any follow-up questions. In many surveys, changes of address can also be reported here. A text field for any messages to the Statistics Austria staff responsible for the survey is also often located on this page.

Some surveys may ask you to indicate the time spent collecting data and completing the questionnaire. Answering this question is voluntary.

The following input and interactive elements may occur:

In a single-line text field, enter either a whole number, a decimal number (with a comma as the decimal separator), or a sequence of any characters. The maximum number of characters and decimal places depends on the specific question. Commas are not permitted for numbers. 

Longer text (including multiple paragraphs) can be entered in a multi-line text field. The maximum number of characters is indicated in the text field label.

A date field is used to enter a date in the format DD.MM.YYYY, for example, 06.06.2025.

If you click the icon to the right of the input field, a window opens in which you can select a date from the calendar and enter it into the input field:

 A checkbox is used to enter or display logical values ​​(yes/no or true/false). If a question has multiple checkboxes, several or all of them can be selected.

 Radio buttons always appear in a horizontally or vertically arranged list of at least two items. Only one of the radio buttons can be selected. Once a selection has been made, it is no longer possible to deselect it (but you can select a different option).

As with the radio button list, only one option can be selected in the radio button list with a text field. If the last option with the text field is selected, more information should be written in it.

In the drop-down box, you can select one of several options. The options become visible when you click the arrow on the right side of the field (the appearance of which depends on the browser you are using and the operating system of your input device).

By clicking a button within the questionnaire, you can call up a function specifically programmed for it, for example updating the results of a calculation or calling up a page for uploading a file.

Clicking the file selection element's button opens a dialog window where you can select a file. The name of the selected file (sometimes including the path) is then displayed to the left or right of the button. The appearance of the file selection element and the button's label depend on the browser you're using and the operating system of your input device.

Array repetitions (see below) are displayed as subpages (sections) if the number of repetitions is large. The section selector element displays the number of sections and the number of the currently visible section, allowing you to access another section. If the number of sections is less than 8, they are displayed as buttons; otherwise, they are displayed as a selection box.

Other elements that may appear in the form content of a questionnaire are:

If there is an asterisk (*) to the left of an input element, then it is a mandatory field that must be filled in.

A green “i” on a light green background indicates a link to the survey's helpline. See the section  Information about the survey.

An exclamation mark in a red circle indicates an error with the value of the corresponding field. See section Input Validation.

An exclamation mark in a yellow triangle indicates a hint about the value of the corresponding field. See the section  Input Validation.

The items described above can be displayed either as individual questions but also as part of a table.

Elements can also be part of lists. A list is an area within the form in which questions are repeated. A list entry is displayed either as a row in a table or as a group of individual elements. By clicking a button or selecting codes from a classification (see section Classifications), you can add additional empty table rows or empty groups. Often, there is also a button within a list entry that allows you to remove that entry again. In some questionnaires, there are checkboxes that let you select multiple list entries in order to remove them all at once using a button.

Depending on the number of entries, the list entries may be displayed across several subpages (sections). In such cases, above and/or below the list you will find section selection elements that show the number of sections and the number of the currently visible section, and that allow you to navigate to a different section.

Most eQuest questionnaires offer additional information to assist you in completing them. This information can refer to a single question, a block of questions, a group of questions within a block of questions, a table cell, a table row, or a table column. It is indicated by the icon displayed. If you click on this icon, a new browser page with the help text will open.

For further information (which will also be displayed in new browser pages) about the survey or eQuest, click the buttons in the grey block on the first questionnaire page:

The “Information about the survey” button displays information about the statistical survey to which this questionnaire belongs. Depending on the survey, this opens up a page with specific information, a page in the Surveys section of the Statistics Austria website, or a topic in the eQuest questionnaire for the current survey.

The “Privacy Information” button provides access to the data protection information (in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)) for the current survey. A link leads from there to the general eQuest data protection information, which you can also access on the questionnaire selection page and (if available) on the respondent selection page.

The “Contacts” button provides you with options for contacting the contact person responsible for the respective survey with questions about the survey, the questionnaire or eQuest.

The “Help with eQuest” button takes you to this help page (which you are currently reading), which informs you about how to use eQuest, independent of a specific survey.

Help texts may also be included in the form content of a questionnaire , for example, with explanations or notes for a question, several or all questions on a questionnaire page, or with a brief description of the functionality of a button. Some questionnaires also perform calculations based on your input and display the results (please click the corresponding button to update the calculation results). The help texts are usually highlighted in color. Below are some examples from eQuest questionnaires:

In some surveys, there are questions where you must select a code from a comprehensive code list (a classification). Typically, next to or below the text field where the code is to be entered, you will find a button that opens the classification dialog. If the classification allows selecting multiple codes that are then inserted into array repetitions (see section Form Content), the button for opening the classification dialog may be located elsewhere in the questionnaire.

Note: Depending on the statistical survey and the classification, the classification dialog may not only return codes to the questionnaire, but also additional information (e.g. code description, unit of measure).

The classification dialog consists of three pages: “Strukturansicht” (structure view), “Suche” (search) and “Favoriten” (favorites). Clicking one of the buttons at the top of the page navigates to the corresponding page.

The page “Strukturansicht” (structure view) contains a table with all codes in the classification. Because some classifications are very large, there may be headings – possibly across several hierarchy levels. Rows with headings are identifiable by the icons and . Clicking such an icon expands or collapses the corresponding level.

The number of columns in the structure-view table depends on the classification. The first column always contains the codes to be inserted into the questionnaire as well as (if present) the codes of hierarchical headings.

Regarding functionality and the display of codes, two variants must be distinguished:

1. Single code selection: In this case, the codes are shown as buttons. Clicking a button inserts the corresponding code into the questionnaire and closes the classification dialog.
2. Multiple code selection: In this case, each code is preceded by a checkbox. Clicking “Übernehmen” (apply) transfers the selected codes into the questionnaire, inserting them into fields within array repetitions. The dialog then closes.

Note: In some surveys, codes previously inserted into the questionnaire may already be selected when reopening the classification dialog. If the selection of such a code is removed, this will cause the corresponding array repetition to be removed from the questionnaire when changes are applied.

The second column of the structure-view table allows you to add or remove individual codes from your favorites by clicking the star icon. Favorites are marked with the icon ; all other codes with the icon .

Additional columns in the table depend on the classification – for example, product code descriptions, country names, or relevant units of measure.

If the icon appears in any row of the structure-view table or in the tables on the “Suche” (search) or “Favoriten” (favorites) pages, clicking it opens an information row below with additional details about the code, such as alternative search terms. Only one info row can be shown at a time. It collapses when you click the same icon again or another icon. JavaScript must be enabled in the browser for this feature.

Note: In exceptional cases, additional details about a code are displayed in a new browser page instead of in an information row.

The “Suche” (search) page of the classification dialog allows full-text search within the classification. Enter the search term (case-insensitive) in the “Suchbegriff” (search term) field and click “Suchen” (search).

The search term is matched against all visible texts in the structure-view table (including any expandable info rows). The resulting codes are displayed in a table. If there are more than 15 results, they are shown across multiple sections, which you can navigate using a section-selection element (see section Form Content).

Note: Full-text searches may return unexpected results. For example, in the business cycle survey for the manufacturing sector, searching for “PC” in the ÖPRODCOM classification will also return code 3299540000 – “Kerzen (Lichte) aller Art und dergleichen”. This is because one of that code's search keywords is “Illuminationslämpchen”, which contains the substring “pc”.

As on the other pages, you can either insert a code directly into the questionnaire or, if multiple selection is supported, select it using a checkbox for later application. Clicking the star icon adds or removes a code from the favorites.

The entered search term and the results table are cleared when you leave the “Suche” (search) page.

On the “Favoriten” (favorites) page, you will find a table of all codes marked as favorites. Favorites are saved automatically and are available again in future survey periods. Click the icon to remove a code from this list.

Depending on the classification, the following buttons may appear in the classification dialog:

“Übernehmen” (apply) transfers the selected codes (in classifications with multi-code selection) to the questionnaire and closes the dialog.

“Abbrechen” (cancel) closes the dialog without transferring any codes.

“Auswahl zeigen” (show selection) expands all branches in the structure-view table that contain selected codes (for multi-code classifications with hierarchical headings).

“Alles zuklappen” (collapse all) collapses all branches so that only the top hierarchy level is visible.

“Alle auswählen” (select all) selects all codes shown on the “Favoriten” (favorites) page (for multi-code classifications).

“Alle abwählen” (deselect all) removes the selection from all codes shown on the “Favoriten” (favorites) page (for multi-code classifications).

Below you will find an overview of the function buttons at the bottom of the questionnaire pages. Depending on the survey, not all functions are always available. Frequently used buttons are visible on all pages, others only on the first page.

The “Check page” button activates the input validation for the current page. See section Input Validation.

The “Check all pages” button activates the input validation for all pages of the questionnaire. See section Input Validation.

The “Save” button saves the current completion status of the questionnaire to the Statistics Austria server. See section Save Questionnaire.

The “Cancel” button closes the questionnaire (after confirming the action on a dialog page) and opens the questionnaire selection page (or, in some cases, the respondent selection page). NOTE: Any unsaved entries will be lost.

The “Create Print Version” button allows you to create and download a PDF file with the current completion status of the questionnaire. See section Print Questionnaire.

The “Reset” button deletes (after confirming the action on a dialog page) all entries (including those already saved on the Statistics Austria server) and restores the initial state of the questionnaire.

The “Previous page” button takes you to the previous page of the questionnaire.

The “Next page” button takes you to the next page of the questionnaire.

The “Report Questionnaire” button allows you to report a completed questionnaire to Statistics Austria. NOTE: Only after reporting will your entries be released for further processing by Statistics Austria. See section Report Questionnaire.

The “Zurücksetzen” (reset) button deletes all entries (including those already saved on the Statistics Austria server) after confirming the action on a dialog page, and restores the questionnaire to its initial state.

The “Exportieren” (export) button allows you to export your entries into files in XML or CSV format. See section Export and Import of Data.

The “Importieren” (import) button allows you to import data from a file in an XML format specified by Statistics Austria into the questionnaire. See section Export and Import of Data.

The application eQuest supports you in completing a questionnaire correctly by checking your entries. This input validation is automatically activated when you report the questionnaire (see the section Report Questionnaire).  By clicking the “Check Page” or “Check All Pages” function buttons, you can activate the check of the current or all pages early. The validation remains active until you exit the questionnaire.

In exceptional cases, the check can also be activated by other actions.

Note: In some surveys, you must confirm that the entries on the page are complete (last question at the bottom of the page) for the check to be activated.

The results of the input validation are listed in an area below the page selection buttons. A distinction is made between errors and notices.

• Error (indicated by the icon) must be corrected, otherwise it will not be possible to report the questionnaire to Statistics Austria (saving your entries, for example to continue completing the questionnaire at a later time, is always possible).
• Notices (marked by the icon) to draw attention to any missing or possibly implausible entries. We ask you to correct them, but the questionnaire can also be submitted without correction.

If no errors or notices were discovered, you will also be informed of this:

The error and information texts in the results area are links that allow you to jump to the corresponding question (this requires that JavaScript is activated in the browser).

Questions where errors and/or hints have been discovered are highlighted and marked with an icon. The error and hint text is also repeated below the question (except for tables).

In tables, error and information texts are displayed as tooltips for the corresponding icon. If the mouse is positioned over the icon the tooltip gets visible:

If you change an entry to correct an error or notice, for technical reasons, the icon and the error or notice text may not disappear immediately. However, the input validation will be repeated and the questionnaire page will refresh when you click a button.

You can save the current completion status of a questionnaire to the Statistics Austria server at any time, even if it contains errors during the input validation. To do so, click the “Save” function button at the bottom of the page.

After successful saving, you will be notified in a dialog box. Here you have the following options (by clicking the corresponding button):

• Return to the questionnaire to continue completing the questionnaire.
• Access the questionnaire selection page to edit additional questionnaires (if available).
  Note: For technical reasons, the respondent selection page may sometimes be displayed (if available). In this case, select a respondent to go to the corresponding questionnaire selection page.
• Leave eQuest Web and continue completing the questionnaire at a later time.

You can restore the initial state of the questionnaire at any time using the “Reset questionnaire” function button, which will delete all previous (including saved) entries.

After 30 minutes of inactivity, the server connection to the questionnaire is terminated for security reasons. Any unsaved data will be lost. Therefore, please save the questionnaire regularly.

Saving the questionnaire regularly also ensures that you do not lose your entries in the event of a server or connection error.

To release the entered data for further processing by Statistics Austria, you must click the “Report Questionnaire” function button and confirm this action on the following page by clicking the “Confirm Report” button. Confirming the report is only possible if the input validation, which is activated at this point at the latest, reveals no errors.

Simply saving a questionnaire (see section Save questionnaire)  does not count as reporting. Questionnaires that have only been saved will not be processed by Statistik Austria.

The dialog page for confirming the report also offers you the option of generating and saving a print version of the completed questionnaire in the form of a PDF file.

If you decide not to report the questionnaire yet (for example, because one or more notes – displayed on the dialog page – were discovered during the input validation), you can return to the questionnaire using the corresponding button.

After you click the “Confirm notification” button, you will be informed that the notification was successful.

On this page, the following actions are possible by pressing the corresponding button:

• Create and save a print version of the completed questionnaire in the form of a PDF file
• Access the questionnaire selection page to process additional questionnaires (if available). The reported questionnaire is no longer accessible.
  Note: For technical reasons, the respondent selection page may sometimes be accessed (if available). In this case, select a respondent to access the corresponding questionnaire selection page.
• Leave eQuest Web

If errors are found during input validation, it is not possible to report the questionnaire.

In this case, close the dialog page using the “Return to Questionnaire” button and correct the error(s). You can identify which pages contain errors by looking at the icons in the page selection buttons.

By selecting the appropriate checkboxes, the following options are available to you:

• Increasing the font size
• Use of thousands separators in numbers

Click the “Create PDF File” button to execute this action. Depending on the browser you are using and your browser settings, the file will either be saved automatically to your device's download directory, or you may need to manually save it and possibly select a folder in which to save the file.

By default, the PDF file is given a name consisting of the following components (separated by underscores):

If you generate a PDF file of a questionnaire multiple times, the default file name assigned by eQuest will not change. In this case, it depends on your operating system. On Windows, an incrementing number is appended to the file name in parentheses.

Apart from the function button at the end of each questionnaire page, you can also generate the PDF file in the following other places:

• When reporting the questionnaire (see section Report questionnaire ):
  • on the dialog page where you have to confirm that you want to report the questionnaire
  • on the page that informs you about the successful report
• For most surveys, you can generate a PDF file of a questionnaire that has already been reported (and is therefore no longer accessible) up to 14 days after reporting. To do so, click the “Create print version of reported questionnaires” button on the questionnaire selection page or (if available) on the respondent selection page

In some surveys, standardized functions for exporting and importing data are enabled. When this is the case, the “Exportieren” (export) and “Importieren” (import) function buttons are available at the end of the first questionnaire page. Clicking these buttons opens a dialog page for selecting files or specific options. This dialog also contains links to detailed documentation about the functions and the file formats used.

In several other surveys, special export, import, or upload functions have been implemented. In such questionnaires, you will not find the buttons for these actions among the function buttons at the bottom of the page, but instead as part of the form content itself. The description of these functions and the file formats is included in the help documentation for the respective questionnaire.