Subjects and secondary subjects in a project

In Blue, a subject is what is being evaluated on a survey. Common subjects are: Courses, Instructors, Departments, Employees.

Survey responses are collected for each subject separately, and responses can be normalized across subjects in a report. Subjects are not needed in public/generic survey projects (e.g. Simplified surveys).

Subjects are the people, places, or things that form the focus of the project.

The subjects of an evaluation are established, when you create a project Definition. Blue will identify the subjects of the evaluation via the various datasources that are uploaded into the system.

• Non-human subjects are uploaded as object datasources; whereas human subjects are uploaded as user datasources.
• Human subjects must be designated in the datasource file with the BlueRole "23" identifier.

A project in Blue can have multiple subjects for evaluation (multiple courses, instructors, employees), or a single subject for evaluation (e.g. institution).

Examples

Here are some examples of the types of subjects your various Blue projects might have.

• In a course evaluation, you most likely will have one primary subject for evaluation (courses) and one secondary subject for evaluation (instructors).
• In a 360 Evaluation, you most likely will have one subject for evaluation (employees).
• Simplified surveys and typical surveys do not have subjects.

What are secondary subjects in Blue?

In Blue, a Project can have both a primary subject (who or what is being evaluated) as well as one or multiple secondary subjects.

The secondary subject is a second entity or individual that will be evaluated as part of the project in addition to the primary subject.

• The Secondary Subject will be evaluated in relation to the Primary Subject, for example a course evaluation where the course is the Primary Subject and the instructor is the Secondary Subject.

How are secondary subjects used in Blue?

Secondary Subjects are commonly used in Blue, as many evaluation projects might have more than one entity that will be evaluated.

Secondary Subjects of an evaluation are established when you create a Project Definition.

• In Blue, both the Subjects and the Secondary Subjects of the evaluation are identified via the various datasources that are uploaded into the system.
• Non-human Secondary Subjects are uploaded as Object datasources (e.g. Courses); whereas human Secondary Subjects (e.g. Instructors) are uploaded as User datasources.

Examples

360 Evaluations will not use secondary subjects, as only a single entity (employees) will be evaluated.

A course evaluation frequently uses both a primary subject as well as one or multiple secondary subjects. For example:

• Primary Subject: Courses
• Secondary Subject: Instructors

Or:

• Primary Subject: Courses
• Multiple Secondary Subjects: Instructors, where more than one Instructor may be teaching the same Course

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)