Resolving reference conflicts

Reference conflicts occur when you attempt to copy questions and folders in the Library that contain references to other surveys. When the application detects a conflict, the application automatically attempts to resolve it.

In the following examples:

• Source Study refers to the survey the questions and folders in the Library are referencing.
• Target Study refers to the survey you are creating.

The following table describes how the application resolves reference conflicts:

Reference conflict	Resolution
The referenced question or folder in the Source Study does not exist in your Target Study	The application creates a copy of the referenced questions or folders from the Source Study in the Target study. For example, you copy a question in the Library named State that references a question in another survey named Zip Code, therefore, the application will copy both the State and Zip Code questions to your Target Study. To delete a reference or recode see, Delete a question reference or Delete a recode.
The referenced question or folder in the Source Study shares the same name as a question or folder you created in the Target Study	When the questions in the Source Study and the Target Study are not the same type, the application prevents you from copying the question to your Target Study. For example, in your Target Study you created a Single Choice question named State, then you copy a question in the Library that references a Multiple Choice question named State in another survey. Therefore, the application does not allow you to copy the question to your Target Study. When the question in your Target Study and the referenced question in the Source Study are the same question type, but the question is different, the application creates a copy of the referenced question and renames it in your Target Study. For example, in your Target Study, you created a Single Choice question named Province that lists the complete names of each Canadian province. In the Library, you copy a folder that references a Single Choice question in a another survey called Province, however, the Province names are abbreviated. Therefore, the application will place a copy of the Province question from the Source Study in your Target Study, and rename it Province_Copy. To delete a reference or recode see, Delete a question reference or Delete a recode.

Parent topic: Authoring efficiency