Used with Date Entry, Numeric Entry, Time Entry, and Slider Entry question types.

The SoftMax and SoftMin field cover two relative limits whose range may be more 'reasonable' than that specified in the hard limits. (The HardMax and HardMin field cover two limits whose range absolutely cannot be exceeded.) Values of all maximum and minimum fields may be expressed as integers or symbolic references.

The SoftMax and SoftMin fields are used to set common and reasonable limits to answers. When the check falls beyond the reasonable limits, a message appears on the interviewer’s screen to verify the answer of the respondent. At this point the interviewer may change the response or verify that it was, in fact, the correct response.

Use of soft limits

The latitude is left up to the designer. The following senario demonstrates the use of the soft limits.

• The 'hard' minimum wage set in the HardMin field is zero dollars, (0.00), to allow for someone who did not work.
• The 'soft' minimum wage is set to the national minimum hourly wage, e.g., six dollars and twenty five cents, (6.25).
• The respondent works in the wait-person profession and responds to a minimum wage question with less than the national minimum but more than the 'hard' maximum: three-fifty per hour, (3.50).
• The absolute minimum would not be exceeded, but the answer would be less than the soft minimum, so a message would appear for the interviewer to verify (or change) the response.