Commonly used data fields and their corresponding custom fields

Last updated: August 3, 2026

Introduction

Here you can find an overview of the data fields we see commonly used. If you are interested in a data field that is not on this list, feel free to reach out to support@drieam.com.

What is a Custom Field?

A custom field is a component that is added to your developer key on your Qualtrics LTI installation. Once added to the Custom Fields list, it can be created as an embedded data field and activated on a survey to send that information from Canvas to Qualtrics. See the 📄 Embedded Data Fields Guide for more information.

How to add a custom field

Your Canvas Root Account Admin can add these custom fields by going to the root Canvas Account > Developer Keys > Edit the Qualtrics LTI Key. From there, toggle open the "Additional Settings", and add additional custom fields to the box. Add it to your LTI Key § Custom fields list using the following format: canvas_user_id=$Canvas.user.id.

Once saved, your Root Account Admin can then create additional Data Fields in Qualtrics LTI for you to use based on the new user parameters. 

A list of all possible fields can be found in Canvas' Variable Substitutions article.

Student data

Student first name

  • Description: The first name of the user taking the survey.

  • Example: "Jane"

  • Custom field: student_first_name=$Person.name.given

Student last name

  • Description: The last name of the user taking the survey.

  • Example: "Shepard"

  • Custom field: person_name_family=$Person.name.family

Student full name 

  • Description: The first and last name of the user taking the survey. 

  • Example: "Jane Shepard"

  • Custom Field: student_full_name=$Person.name.full

Student SIS ID 

  • Description: The SIS ID of the user taking the survey.

  • Example: "sis_user_42"

  • Custom Field: student_SIS_ID=$Canvas.user.sisSourceId

Student primary email 

  • Description: The email address of the user taking the survey that is registered as the primary email in Canvas. 

  • Example: "john.doe@example.com"

  • Custom Field: student_primary_email=$Person.email.primary

Section names 

  • Description: A list of all sections' names that the user taking the survey is enrolled in for the course the assignment is in. 

  • Example: [\"Section 1, M-T\", \"Section 2, W-Th\", \"TA Section\"] 

  • Custom Field: section_names=$com.instructure.User.sectionNames

Section SIS IDs

  • Description: A list of all sections' SIS IDs that the user taking the survey is enrolled in for the course the assignment is in. 

  • Example: "section_sis_id_1, section_sis_id_2"

  •  Custom Field: section_SIS_IDs=$Canvas.course.sectionSisSourceIds

Course data

Canvas course ID

  • Description: The Canvas ID of the course the assignment is in.

  • Example: 123

  • Custom field: person_name_family=$Person.name.family

Canvas course name

  • Description: The Canvas name of the course the assignment is in.

  • Example: "Course Name"

  • Custom Field: course_name=$Canvas.course.name

Canvas course code

  • Description: The Canvas code (short name) of the course the assignment is in.

  • Example: "CS 124"

  • Custom Field: course_code=$com.instructure.contextLabel

Course SIS ID

  • Description: The SIS ID of the course the assignment is in.

  • Example: 1234

  • Custom Field: course_SIS_ID=$Canvas.course.sisSourceId

Course start date

  • Description: The start date of the course the assignment is in.

  • Example: 2018-01-15 00:00:00 -0700

  • Custom Field: course_start_date=$Canvas.course.startAt

All students in the course

  • Description: Active and inactive

  • Example:

  • Custom Field: None, Field retrieved from the API

Instructor data

Note: Instructor data is typically not retrieved through a custom field, but rather from the API or a Custom text embedded data field. This applies to retrieving information like the instructor name, SIS ID, or e-mail address.

See the 📄 Embedded Data Fields Guide for more information.

Miscellaneous

User role

  • Description: The course role of the user taking the survey.

  • Example: "StudentEnrollment"

  • Custom Field: user_roles=$Canvas.membership.roles

Term name

  • Description: The name of the term that is linked to the course that the survey is taken in.

  • Example: "W1 2017"

  • Custom Field: term_name=$Canvas.term.name

Term start date

  • Description: The start date of the term that is linked to the course that the survey is taken in.

  • Example: 2018-01-12 00:00:00 -0700

  • Custom Field: term_start_date=$Canvas.term.startAt

Assignment name

  • Description: The name of the assignment that the survey is taken in.

  • Example: "Deep thought experiment"

  • Custom Field: assignment_name=$Canvas.assignment.title

Assignment ID

  • Description: The ID of the assignment that the survey is taken in.

  • Example: 1234

  • Custom Field: canvas_assignment_id=$Canvas.assignment.id

Module ID

  • Description: The ID of the module that the survey is taken in. Is empty if the survey is taken from outside the module.

  • Example: 1234

  • Custom Field: module_ID=$Canvas.module.id