Patent GB-1373882-A (GB)
Title: Data processing system
IPC: G06F19/00
Filed: 1972-11-06
Abstract: 1373882 Data processing INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP 6 Nov 1972 [30 Dec 1971] 51113/72 Heading G4A From an initial questionnaire, on which each question has associated with it any necessary branching condition and the level to which branching is to be effected, together with its own level, a data processing system derives a new questionnaire with an indication in the text of the questionnaire of the level to which to branch if the requisite answer is given. In the embodiment described the system is used for producing medical questionnaires. The initial questionnaire specification form written by for example a doctor includes the questionnaire text, a label (that is a storage location for the respondent's answer), a data class (e.g. indicating the type of answer required), frame type information stating, inter alia, whether a choice of answer is offered, whether the question is on one card or whether a fixed question is associated with the record, a level indication for use in branching, any branch condition and the corresponding branch level. The data is transferred on to punched cards, record cards for the data relating to the question and hierarchy cards for the data relating to the patient, e.g. the label. The cards are read into disc storage and collated by a computer to form a questionnaire data set having lines for each question of the initial questionnaire. This set is also stored on disc storage. The questionnaire data set consequently provides the question text information, tree structure information, branching parameters and control information in an associated form. A questionnaire structure table is derived from the information in the questionnaire data set and is in the form of a tree representation having a line for each question of the initial questionnaire. It comprises, for each question, questions having pointers to and pointers from the question under consideration each line including inter alia the number of the most recent question having a higher level the number of the next question having the same level, the level of the question to which there is a skip indication (if applicable) and the address of this question and the branching condition. The data relating to the branching condition is found by examining the questionnaire data set to see if a branch condition exists for the question under consideration and fetching the branch level for examination if it does. This results in each question having a pointer to its "parent" node, to its descendant nodes and to its sibling nodes (i.e. nodes from the same parent). A mark sense form questionnaire is generated from the questionnaire structure table and the questionnaire data set. This questionnaire includes instructions about which questions to skip to if a predetermined answer is given. For example the question "have you answered this questionnaire previously?" is followed by the instructions "if yes, branch to questionnaire exit". For questions requiring numerical answers rows of digits are given from which the respondent may select his answer. An Input Mechanism Description is used to decode the data marked on the mark sense form questionnaire and is a set of computer instructions, there being an instruction corresponding to the location of each possible mark on the questionnaire. It is derived by incremently indexing the questionnaire structure table and cross indexing the questionnaire data set. A record of the possible locations may be achieved by generating the IMD in co-operation with the generating of the text data for the mark sense form questionnaire so that the IMD contains the page, row and column location of each possible answer to each question. It also contains the branch condition of any question to be branched to. Where the answer is of numeric form rather than of the yes/no type, the positions of the beginning and end of the answer locations on the questionnaire are stored in the IMD. For such questions there is also a pointer for a table value IMD which contains the values to be stored when the questionnaire is marked in an associated position. The label for the patient's file is also stored. As the IMD is being generated, branch target IMD locations are derived and inserted back in the appropriate location. For example if question 3 necessitates under certain conditions a branch to question 13 when the IMD associated with question 13 is being generated a reference to the IMD for question 3 is found in the questionnaire structure table and this IMD is referenced back to and has the IMD number of question 13 entered in the branch target IMD number table. If it is required to read the answer to several places in a patient's file the answer is sensed the requisite number of times. Consequently the IMD provides the information necessary to control an optical reader for sensing the filled in mark sense form questionnaire.  The questionnaires may be printed in any language understood by the patient with the patient's summary being in the same medical terms for all languages.