Survey responses in a database view

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Survey responses in a database view

    ServiceNow allows customers to view and analyze survey responses through a database view, which presents each survey instance as a single row with answers to survey questions (metrics) shown in columns. This facilitates easy analysis and export of survey data for reporting purposes.

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    Key Features

    • Database views can be created directly from the Survey Definition form to organize survey response data in a tabular format.
    • The View Responses in Rows related link displays each survey instance response in a separate row, with survey questions as column headers and answers as the respective values.
    • Export options are available via the standard ServiceNow platform capabilities, enabling survey response data to be exported for external use.
    • By default, up to five active metrics per survey are displayed in the view, alongside key columns such as instance ID, assignee, and task.
    • The database view can optionally show additional dates (start, due, expiry, completed) though these are not enabled by default.
    • Special handling exists for ranking and multiple-choice metrics, where multiple records may appear for a single survey instance.

    Important Considerations

    • The View Responses in Rows link is hidden if there are more than five active metrics, no responses, or over 100,000 responses for the survey.
    • The database view supports surveys with up to 100,000 responses; however, if already opened in a tab, the view remains accessible beyond this limit.
    • Any changes to survey configuration or metadata (such as adding or removing metrics or categories) trigger an event (survey.resultsview.updated) to notify users to synchronize the database view accordingly.
    • The total number of survey responses is not displayed within the database view itself.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    This functionality enables ServiceNow customers to efficiently analyze survey data within the platform without complex scripting or external tools. It supports rapid insight generation, streamlined reporting, and easy export of survey results for further analysis or sharing. Customers should monitor survey metric counts and response volumes to ensure optimal database view usability and keep configuration changes synchronized with database views to maintain data accuracy.

    You can view survey responses in a database view for reporting purposes. For each survey instance, you can view the instance as a single row and the answers to each survey question (metric) in the corresponding columns. Analyze the responses easily and, if you want, export the survey responses.

    You can create a database view on the Survey Definition form. After the database view is created, you can either export the survey response using the standard capabilities of the ServiceNow® platform or choose to create a report of the survey responses using the Reporting module.

    Use the View Responses in Rows related link on the Survey Definition form to view each survey instance response in a separate row and each survey question as the name of the corresponding column. The answer to the question is displayed in that column. To export the survey response in a tabular form, in the context menu, click Export.

    The first three columns of the form show the number of the survey instance (instance ID), who the survey is assigned to, and the task. A maximum of five active metrics are displayed in the view by default. The Survey Definition form doesn’t show the View Responses in Rows related link when the following conditions occur.
    • There are more than five active metrics.
    • There are no responses to the survey instance.
    • There are more than 100 K responses for that particular survey. To view this database view of the survey responses, the number of responses must be less than or equal to 100 K. But, the database view is still accessible for more than 100 K responses when it’s already open in a new tab.
    The database view can show the start date, due date, expiry date, and completed date, but this information is not available by default. If the survey instance is triggered, then the trigger record is displayed in the Task column. The total number of survey responses isn’t displayed in the database view. For the ranking and multiple-choice metrics, based on user survey responses, multiple records are displayed instead of one record per survey instance.
    Note:
    Any change or update to survey configuration or metadata (For example, addition or deletion of a new metric or category) might affect the database view. In such cases, an event (survey.results_view.updated) is generated so that users can take necessary actions to synchronize the data.