Discussion Categories and Subcategories
Discussion Categories and subcategories allow you to create logical groupings of Topics. In larger studies, these categories improve navigation and organization of the content housed in the Discussions area of your Study.
While Discussion categories are optional, we strongly recommend their use when you expect a lot of Topics to be created each week. It helps ensure relevant Topics are easy to find and participate in.
Adding Categories
In the Discussions tab, click on the Options button and select the Add Category option from the menu. The category must be named and assigned a colour at a minimum but you can also add a detailed category description to help contextualize the space.
If you are allowing participants to start their own Topics (which is done from the Admin menu in Study Settings: Configuration), there'll be the option to only allow Admins to add Topics to the category. This option allows you to have a space where participants can add Topics and drive the direction of the conversation but also have a space where there's more administrative control as well.
If you create your first Discussion category after Topics already exist, a General category will be created for you and all existing Topics will be assigned to it. You can move Topics between categories at any time but all Topics must be categorized once this feature is enabled.
Adding Subcategories
Once a Category has been created, you can add additional subcategories to further tier the organization of topics. Subcategories have the same settings as other Categories, such as the ability to limit who can add topics.
Add a subcategory from within an existing category by selecting Options > Add Category.
You can also add subcategories from the main Discussions area by selecting Options > Add Category > Display within a category
Category Options
From the Options menu, you can control what will appear on the main Discussions page.
- Show Category Details: Show or hide the Category Description
- Show Study Topics: Show or hide a list of Topics below the Categories
- Show Participant Topics: Show or hide Participant created topics in the list of Topics
- Include Subcategory Topics: Show or hide Subtopic labels from displayed Topics
The same Options exist within Categories and subcategories, allowing you to tailor each landing page for easier navigation.
Editing and Deleting Categories
Visit the category you wish to edit and select Edit Category from the Options menu. On the following page, you'll be able to update the Category Name, its Color, Description, etc.
Similarly, visit the category you wish to delete and select Delete Category from the Options menu. If there are Topics in the category, you will be forced to re-assign them to a new category.
If you are deleting the last or only category, it will not delete existing Topics but rather return them to the initial uncategorized state.