Survey software recommendations?
April 19, 2011 1:12 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for a better web survey software for academic research applications. I cannot use a hosted service such as survey monkey because of human subjects data safeguarding considerations.
I need to host the survey in our own servers and that could be either a Linux or Windows web server. We currently have Select Survey, which has been an endless source of frustration. I am looking for something considerably better and currently comparing VOVICI, Checkbox, and MMIC. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions of web survey software I should evaluate. Some of the features I am looking for are:
1. The ability to export clean datasets for later analysis in R or SAS.
2. The ability to export a codebook.
3. The ability to create the survey with xml or php OR to allow a less technical user to create each survey item in an easy to use GUI (i.e. a web form).
4. The ability to implement skip logic.
5. The ability to import/ export surveys.
6. The ability to export the text of the survey in some text format that can easily be shared with collaborators (i.e. a text document with questions, answer options, and skip logic) during survey development.
7. The ability to create hundreds of test cases automatically to test skip patterns (i.e. a quick way to conduct an alpha test of a new survey before asking actual users to pre-test).
8. The ability to implement the survey as a multi-mode survey (i.e. collect data online from easy to reach respondents that are comfortable with web surveys, use the same system to conduct telephone interviews with users who do not respond to the email invitations to take the web survey, and the ability to export paper/pencil questionnaires for in-person self-administered surveys.
I need to host the survey in our own servers and that could be either a Linux or Windows web server. We currently have Select Survey, which has been an endless source of frustration. I am looking for something considerably better and currently comparing VOVICI, Checkbox, and MMIC. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions of web survey software I should evaluate. Some of the features I am looking for are:
1. The ability to export clean datasets for later analysis in R or SAS.
2. The ability to export a codebook.
3. The ability to create the survey with xml or php OR to allow a less technical user to create each survey item in an easy to use GUI (i.e. a web form).
4. The ability to implement skip logic.
5. The ability to import/ export surveys.
6. The ability to export the text of the survey in some text format that can easily be shared with collaborators (i.e. a text document with questions, answer options, and skip logic) during survey development.
7. The ability to create hundreds of test cases automatically to test skip patterns (i.e. a quick way to conduct an alpha test of a new survey before asking actual users to pre-test).
8. The ability to implement the survey as a multi-mode survey (i.e. collect data online from easy to reach respondents that are comfortable with web surveys, use the same system to conduct telephone interviews with users who do not respond to the email invitations to take the web survey, and the ability to export paper/pencil questionnaires for in-person self-administered surveys.
I've tried out limesurvey, and it supports most of what you want. I can't say for sure that your needs are met, but it's free enough to try out.
1. Documented in manual
2. No idea. Worst case scenario you can directly query the DB for it I guess.
3. I know there's a GUI, but there may be other options. PHP is likely right out but they may have another format.
4. It looks like it implements conditional questions instead of skip logic. Same concept, different representation. There's a GSoC 2011 suggestion to improve this for branching and such.
5. Documented in manual.
6. Documented in manual.
7. No such thing that I know of.
8. Documented in manual as "Data Entry".
On the other hand, I found the postgresql support lacking. I need to get back on that soon and try to iron out the bugs in their scripts.
posted by pwnguin at 3:13 PM on April 19, 2011
1. Documented in manual
2. No idea. Worst case scenario you can directly query the DB for it I guess.
3. I know there's a GUI, but there may be other options. PHP is likely right out but they may have another format.
4. It looks like it implements conditional questions instead of skip logic. Same concept, different representation. There's a GSoC 2011 suggestion to improve this for branching and such.
5. Documented in manual.
6. Documented in manual.
7. No such thing that I know of.
8. Documented in manual as "Data Entry".
On the other hand, I found the postgresql support lacking. I need to get back on that soon and try to iron out the bugs in their scripts.
posted by pwnguin at 3:13 PM on April 19, 2011
nthing LimeSurvey
posted by elle.jeezy at 4:13 PM on April 19, 2011
posted by elle.jeezy at 4:13 PM on April 19, 2011
How much money do you want to spend? My epi department has data collection technical support that does only this. I could ask them what's on the backend.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 8:01 PM on April 19, 2011
posted by a robot made out of meat at 8:01 PM on April 19, 2011
I've heard excellent things about Qualtrics (from people who've also used LimeSurvey, SurveyMonkey, and Opinio). I haven't used it myself, and I don't know whether it meets your data safeguarding needs. But based on the number of rave reviews I've heard (and no complaints), it's worth checking it out.
posted by pompelmo at 10:31 PM on April 19, 2011
posted by pompelmo at 10:31 PM on April 19, 2011
I just took a survey using Qualtrics and it looked like it could meet many of your needs from the user side.
posted by buttercup at 5:12 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by buttercup at 5:12 PM on April 20, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by lantius at 1:26 PM on April 19, 2011