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Hello,

I have a question regarding data storage on Inquisit Web and whether it might be possible to recover execution‑order information from a past study.

About a year ago, I ran an Experiment on Inquisit Web in which the main part was structured as follows (code snippet below). Each participant completed a randomized sequence of survey scenarios (with noreplace).

In my local data structure, the survey folder contains one subfolder per scenario (e.g., scenario_05), and within each of those subfolders there is one file per participant (200+ participants total). I used those files for the main analysis.

I would now like to run a secondary analysis that requires knowing, for each participant, the exact order in which the survey scenarios were executed. Unfortunately, I do not think this information can be reconstructed from the files in the survey folder alone.

I checked the raw folder and found only three .iqdat files. Based on their filenames, two appear to correspond to test runs. The third seems to be from an actual participant, but the timestamp in the filename does not align with the timestamps of the corresponding survey files. This makes me suspect that I may have inadvertently deleted some files from the raw folder at some point.

My questions are therefore:

1) Do experiments run on Inquisit Web save files to the raw folder by default?
2) If so, would those files normally allow reconstruction of the order in which each participant completed the survey scenarios?
3) Most importantly: is there any way to retrieve raw files that may have been deleted (e.g., via server backups or elsewhere)?

Below is the relevant part of the experiment code for context:

<expt MAIN>

/ blocks = [1 = survey.INTRO; 2-25 = noreplace(survey.SCENARIO_01, survey.SCENARIO_03, survey.SCENARIO_04, survey.SCENARIO_05, survey.SCENARIO_08, survey.SCENARIO_10, survey.SCENARIO_11, survey.SCENARIO_13, survey.SCENARIO_14, survey.SCENARIO_16, survey.SCENARIO_17, survey.SCENARIO_18, survey.SCENARIO_19, survey.SCENARIO_21, survey.SCENARIO_22, survey.SCENARIO_26, survey.SCENARIO_27, survey.SCENARIO_28, survey.SCENARIO_29, survey.SCENARIO_30, survey.SCENARIO_32, survey.SCENARIO_33, survey.SCENARIO_35, survey.SCENARIO_36)]

</expt>

Thanks in advance!

EN

+x

 

EN - 4/15/2026

Hello,

I have a question regarding data storage on Inquisit Web and whether it might be possible to recover execution‑order information from a past study.

About a year ago, I ran an Experiment on Inquisit Web in which the main part was structured as follows (code snippet below). Each participant completed a randomized sequence of survey scenarios (with noreplace).

In my local data structure, the survey folder contains one subfolder per scenario (e.g., scenario_05), and within each of those subfolders there is one file per participant (200+ participants total). I used those files for the main analysis.

I would now like to run a secondary analysis that requires knowing, for each participant, the exact order in which the survey scenarios were executed. Unfortunately, I do not think this information can be reconstructed from the files in the survey folder alone.

I checked the raw folder and found only three .iqdat files. Based on their filenames, two appear to correspond to test runs. The third seems to be from an actual participant, but the timestamp in the filename does not align with the timestamps of the corresponding survey files. This makes me suspect that I may have inadvertently deleted some files from the raw folder at some point.

My questions are therefore:

1) Do experiments run on Inquisit Web save files to the raw folder by default?
2) If so, would those files normally allow reconstruction of the order in which each participant completed the survey scenarios?
3) Most importantly: is there any way to retrieve raw files that may have been deleted (e.g., via server backups or elsewhere)?

Below is the relevant part of the experiment code for context:

<expt MAIN>

/ blocks = [1 = survey.INTRO; 2-25 = noreplace(survey.SCENARIO_01, survey.SCENARIO_03, survey.SCENARIO_04, survey.SCENARIO_05, survey.SCENARIO_08, survey.SCENARIO_10, survey.SCENARIO_11, survey.SCENARIO_13, survey.SCENARIO_14, survey.SCENARIO_16, survey.SCENARIO_17, survey.SCENARIO_18, survey.SCENARIO_19, survey.SCENARIO_21, survey.SCENARIO_22, survey.SCENARIO_26, survey.SCENARIO_27, survey.SCENARIO_28, survey.SCENARIO_29, survey.SCENARIO_30, survey.SCENARIO_32, survey.SCENARIO_33, survey.SCENARIO_35, survey.SCENARIO_36)]

</expt>

Thanks in advance!

EN

> 1) Do experiments run on Inquisit Web save files to the raw folder by default?

Only if there is raw data to record. I.e. There is at a minimum one <block> running trials. You may also get a raw data file if, for example, somebody bails out of the experiment using CTRL+Q. That event, then, would be captured in a raw data file.

> 2) If so, would those files normally allow reconstruction of the order in which each participant completed the survey scenarios?

No. Raw data files capture long-format data, one row per trial, if you administer <block>s. <survey>s capture data in wide format, and each <survey> generates a separate one-row, wide format data file. <survey>s do not get recorded in the long-format data file. If you wanted surveypages captured in raw data / long format, you would need to run the surveypages via <block>, not <survey>, elements.

> 3) Most importantly: is there any way to retrieve raw files that may have been deleted (e.g., via server backups or elsewhere)?

Deleted data files, of any kind, can be recovered for a period of 90 days after deletion. In your case, (1) there generally weren't any raw data files, and (2) certainly none that would have captured any meaningful data.

+x

 

Dave - 4/15/2026

+x

 

EN - 4/15/2026

Hello,

I have a question regarding data storage on Inquisit Web and whether it might be possible to recover execution‑order information from a past study.

About a year ago, I ran an Experiment on Inquisit Web in which the main part was structured as follows (code snippet below). Each participant completed a randomized sequence of survey scenarios (with noreplace).

In my local data structure, the survey folder contains one subfolder per scenario (e.g., scenario_05), and within each of those subfolders there is one file per participant (200+ participants total). I used those files for the main analysis.

I would now like to run a secondary analysis that requires knowing, for each participant, the exact order in which the survey scenarios were executed. Unfortunately, I do not think this information can be reconstructed from the files in the survey folder alone.

I checked the raw folder and found only three .iqdat files. Based on their filenames, two appear to correspond to test runs. The third seems to be from an actual participant, but the timestamp in the filename does not align with the timestamps of the corresponding survey files. This makes me suspect that I may have inadvertently deleted some files from the raw folder at some point.

My questions are therefore:

1) Do experiments run on Inquisit Web save files to the raw folder by default?
2) If so, would those files normally allow reconstruction of the order in which each participant completed the survey scenarios?
3) Most importantly: is there any way to retrieve raw files that may have been deleted (e.g., via server backups or elsewhere)?

Below is the relevant part of the experiment code for context:

<expt MAIN>

/ blocks = [1 = survey.INTRO; 2-25 = noreplace(survey.SCENARIO_01, survey.SCENARIO_03, survey.SCENARIO_04, survey.SCENARIO_05, survey.SCENARIO_08, survey.SCENARIO_10, survey.SCENARIO_11, survey.SCENARIO_13, survey.SCENARIO_14, survey.SCENARIO_16, survey.SCENARIO_17, survey.SCENARIO_18, survey.SCENARIO_19, survey.SCENARIO_21, survey.SCENARIO_22, survey.SCENARIO_26, survey.SCENARIO_27, survey.SCENARIO_28, survey.SCENARIO_29, survey.SCENARIO_30, survey.SCENARIO_32, survey.SCENARIO_33, survey.SCENARIO_35, survey.SCENARIO_36)]

</expt>

Thanks in advance!

EN

> 1) Do experiments run on Inquisit Web save files to the raw folder by default?

Only if there is raw data to record. I.e. There is at a minimum one <block> running trials. You may also get a raw data file if, for example, somebody bails out of the experiment using CTRL+Q. That event, then, would be captured in a raw data file.

> 2) If so, would those files normally allow reconstruction of the order in which each participant completed the survey scenarios?

No. Raw data files capture long-format data, one row per trial, if you administer <block>s. <survey>s capture data in wide format, and each <survey> generates a separate one-row, wide format data file. <survey>s do not get recorded in the long-format data file. If you wanted surveypages captured in raw data / long format, you would need to run the surveypages via <block>, not <survey>, elements.

> 3) Most importantly: is there any way to retrieve raw files that may have been deleted (e.g., via server backups or elsewhere)?

Deleted data files, of any kind, can be recovered for a period of 90 days after deletion. In your case, (1) there generally weren't any raw data files, and (2) certainly none that would have captured any meaningful data.

Thanks for the detailed reply!
E

Hello:

I recently found the Participant Log for this study and was wondering whether it could be used to determine the actual order of the surveys that were randomized for each participant using noreplace()?

For a large-ish portion of the participants, the entries appear to be in order, with the survey INTRO appearing on top, followed by the remaining surveys in random order, as determined by the code (see attached screenshot 1):


However, for some participants, the survey INTRO appears elsewhere -- still near the top, but not as the first entry (see attached screenshot 2):



I was wondering whether it would be reasonable to use the Participant Log to infer the order in which surveys were presented to each participant, at least in cases where INTRO appears at the top?
Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
EN
 

+x

 

EN - 7/3/2026

Hello:

I recently found the Participant Log for this study and was wondering whether it could be used to determine the actual order of the surveys that were randomized for each participant using noreplace()?

For a large-ish portion of the participants, the entries appear to be in order, with the survey INTRO appearing on top, followed by the remaining surveys in random order, as determined by the code (see attached screenshot 1):


However, for some participants, the survey INTRO appears elsewhere -- still near the top, but not as the first entry (see attached screenshot 2):



I was wondering whether it would be reasonable to use the Participant Log to infer the order in which surveys were presented to each participant, at least in cases where INTRO appears at the top?
Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
EN
 

You cannot determine order with certainty that way. Data uploads happen in parallel, so depending on file size, network conditions, etc. files will arrive in a different order than when they were administered. In some cases, the order will match the random order they were administered in, in other cases not. Using upload order to infer administration order will at best be a rough approximation.

+x

 

Dave - 7/3/2026

+x

 

EN - 7/3/2026

Hello:

I recently found the Participant Log for this study and was wondering whether it could be used to determine the actual order of the surveys that were randomized for each participant using noreplace()?

For a large-ish portion of the participants, the entries appear to be in order, with the survey INTRO appearing on top, followed by the remaining surveys in random order, as determined by the code (see attached screenshot 1):


However, for some participants, the survey INTRO appears elsewhere -- still near the top, but not as the first entry (see attached screenshot 2):



I was wondering whether it would be reasonable to use the Participant Log to infer the order in which surveys were presented to each participant, at least in cases where INTRO appears at the top?
Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
EN
 

You cannot determine order with certainty that way. Data uploads happen in parallel, so depending on file size, network conditions, etc. files will arrive in a different order than when they were administered. In some cases, the order will match the random order they were administered in, in other cases not. Using upload order to infer administration order will at best be a rough approximation.

Thank you! The idea would be to use that information to separate trials into 'first-half' and 'second-half' and explore whether response patterns differed between the two halves.