Overview
Survey platforms differ more than they appear. Qualtrics offers a full survey flow with embedded data, randomizers and quotas; Google Forms is simple and free but limited to section-based branching; SurveyMonkey's advanced features depend on the plan; KoboToolbox is built on the XLSForm standard and designed for offline, field-based data collection on phones and tablets. The right build depends on the platform your institution licenses and the way respondents will reach the survey.
We translate your questionnaire into the platform's structure, add the logic and quality checks your design needs, and test every path before launch. That includes checking the consent page cannot be skipped, testing on a phone as well as a desktop, running the platform's accessibility tools where they exist, and generating test responses to confirm the export is analysis-ready.
The survey is built in your account or your institution's account, so you control the data. We work from a finalized instrument; if the questionnaire itself still needs work, our questionnaire design service comes first.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Students and researchers whose university provides Qualtrics but who have never built a complex survey flow
- Researchers using Google Forms or SurveyMonkey who need branching, randomization or cleaner exports
- Field teams and NGOs collecting data offline with KoboToolbox on mobile devices
- Researchers running multi-group or experimental surveys that need random assignment to conditions
- Teams recruiting through panels who need quotas, screening questions and redirect links
Common problems we help with
- Skip logic sends some respondents to questions that do not apply to them
- Your survey looks fine on a laptop but is hard to complete on a phone
- You need to randomly assign respondents to different vignettes or conditions
- Your supervisor asked for attention checks and bot protection but you do not know how to add them
- Exported data has question text as column headers, unlabeled codes or text where numbers should be
- You need the survey to work offline in areas with no internet connection
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Build of your finalized questionnaire, including consent page, information sheet link and screening questions
- Skip logic, display logic and branching, and piped text where answers feed into later questions
- Randomization of blocks, questions or answer options, and random assignment to experimental conditions
- Quotas and screen-outs to manage sample composition where the platform supports them
- Attention checks, instructed-response items, timing capture and platform bot or duplicate protections
- Embedded data or hidden fields for recruitment source, panel IDs and redirect links
- Mobile-friendly layout choices, including alternatives to large matrix grids
- Accessibility review using the platform's checker where available, plus manual checks of labels, contrast and keyboard use
- Multi-language versions and translations loaded into the platform
- Test responses on several devices, a logic test log and an export check in your analysis format (SPSS, CSV, Excel)
- A short handover guide for launching, monitoring responses and exporting data
Not included
- Purchasing platform licenses or panel respondents on your behalf; we work in an account you control
- Distributing the survey or recruiting participants for graded student research
- Collecting personal data beyond what your ethics approval allows
- Removing or editing genuine responses to change results; data cleaning follows rules agreed in advance
What you receive
- Live, tested survey
- The complete survey in your platform account, in preview or ready-to-publish state, with all logic and settings configured.
- Logic and test log
- A record of each branch, quota and check, with the test paths used to confirm it works as intended.
- Export template and codebook
- A sample export in your chosen format with recoded values and variable names that match your codebook, so analysis can start immediately.
- Launch and monitoring guide
- Step-by-step notes on publishing, sharing links, checking response quality during fieldwork and closing the survey.
How it works
Confirm platform and design
We check which platform and license features you have, how respondents will be recruited, and any ethics constraints on data collected.
Build
We build the survey, set variable names that match your codebook and add logic, randomization and checks.
Test
We test every path on desktop and mobile, generate test responses and check the export, then share a preview link for your review.
Revise and hand over
We make your requested changes, clear test data, and hand over the survey with the launch guide. A soft launch with a few respondents is recommended before full distribution.
Platforms and what we configure in each
- Qualtrics
- Survey flow with branch elements, randomizers for between-subject conditions, embedded data for URL parameters, quotas, display and skip logic, the built-in accessibility checker and exports to SPSS, CSV or Excel.
- Google Forms
- Section-based branching ('go to section based on answer'), shuffled options and response validation. Responses flow to Google Sheets; we note where its lack of true quotas or randomized assignment matters for your design.
- SurveyMonkey
- Skip and display logic, page and question randomization, custom variables and quotas where your plan includes them, and data exports in the formats your plan allows.
- KoboToolbox
- Forms built in the Formbuilder or as XLSForm with relevant, constraint and calculate columns, repeat groups for household rosters, GPS and media questions, offline collection via the KoboCollect app, and XLS, CSV, SPSS-label or GeoJSON exports.
- Data quality controls
- Instructed-response items, timing thresholds, CAPTCHA or bot detection where available, duplicate prevention and open-text screening rules agreed before launch.
Choosing a platform for your study
If your institution provides Qualtrics, it is usually the most flexible choice for experimental designs, quotas and complex branching. Google Forms suits short, low-risk surveys with simple branching, but check your institution's guidance on where personal data may be stored. SurveyMonkey is familiar and quick, though features such as advanced randomization, quotas and some export formats depend on the plan. KoboToolbox is free for many humanitarian and research users and is the natural choice when enumerators collect data face to face or offline.
We build on the platform you have rather than asking you to buy another. If a feature your design depends on is not available, we tell you before building and suggest a workaround or an alternative.
Attention checks and data quality, done fairly
Online samples, especially from open links and paid panels, can include inattentive respondents and automated submissions. Quality checks help, but they need to be agreed and pre-specified: which checks exclude a response, which only flag it, and how you will report exclusions.
We favor clear instructed-response items over trick questions, capture completion time to identify implausibly fast responses, and use platform protections against bots and duplicates. We document the rules so exclusions are transparent and defensible rather than decided after seeing the results.
Mobile and accessibility checks before launch
Many respondents will open your link on a phone. Large matrix questions, sliders and drag-and-drop ranking can become frustrating on small screens and can reduce data quality. We test on mobile devices and replace problem formats where needed.
Where the platform offers an accessibility checker (Qualtrics provides one aimed at WCAG 2.0 AA and Section 508), we run it, and we manually check things automated tools miss, such as color contrast, meaningful labels, image alternative text and whether the survey can be completed with a keyboard or screen reader.
- Avoid color as the only way to convey meaning in scales or instructions
- Provide text alternatives for images and video stimuli
- Use clear, programmatic labels for every input so screen readers announce them
- Allow enough time and avoid unnecessary timers on questions
Exports that are ready for analysis
Before launch we submit test responses and export them in the format you will analyze. We check that numeric codes match your codebook, reverse-scored items are identifiable, multi-select questions export in a usable structure, and variable names are short and consistent. For KoboToolbox repeat groups, we confirm how the related sheets link back to the main record.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
A vignette experiment in Qualtrics with panel recruitment
A fictional doctoral researcher is testing whether the framing of a health message affects intention to vaccinate. Respondents from an online panel should see one of four message versions, with quotas for age group.
Flow and randomization
A randomizer in the survey flow assigned each respondent to one of four message blocks with 'evenly present elements' enabled. Embedded data recorded the assigned condition and the panel ID passed in the URL.
Quality checks
Two instructed-response items and a completion-time flag were added. The pre-agreed rule excluded responses failing both checks or finishing in under one-third of the median pilot time.
Testing and export
Eighty automated test responses confirmed roughly equal allocation across conditions. The SPSS export showed the condition variable, age-group quota field and outcome scale with correct value labels.
Illustrative, invented scenario. Actual configuration depends on your platform license, recruitment method and ethics approval.
What you’ll need to provide
- Your final questionnaire and codebook, with any conditions or versions clearly marked
- Access to your platform account or permission to share a built survey into it
- Approved consent wording and information sheet from your ethics application
- Details of recruitment: panel provider, email list, QR code or field enumerators
- Your preferred analysis software and export format
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Length of the questionnaire and number of question types
- Complexity of logic, randomization, experimental conditions and quotas
- Number of languages or respondent-specific versions
- Offline or field deployment requirements such as repeat groups, GPS and media capture
- Whether accessibility remediation and panel integration are required
Turnaround depends on
- Readiness of your final questionnaire and ethics-approved wording
- Time to arrange account access or sharing with your institution's platform
- Rounds of review on the preview link
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Will you need my login details?
Ideally not. Most platforms let you add a collaborator or share a survey into your account, or let us build in a separate account and transfer the survey file (for example a Qualtrics .qsf file or an XLSForm). We avoid holding your credentials wherever possible.
Who owns the data collected?
You do. The survey runs in your or your institution's account, responses are stored there, and we do not access live responses unless you ask us to help with quality monitoring and your ethics approval allows it.
Can Google Forms do random assignment to conditions?
Not natively in a reliable way. It can shuffle question and option order, but true random assignment to separate versions usually needs a workaround or a different platform. We explain the options and their limitations for your design.
Can KoboToolbox work without internet?
Yes. Enumerators can collect data offline using the KoboCollect Android app or a web form cached for offline use, and submit when a connection is available. We test the form in the same mode your team will use.
Can you import my Word questionnaire directly?
Some platforms support basic imports, but they rarely carry over logic, scales and formatting correctly. We usually build from your document and then check every item against it.
Do you monitor the survey after launch?
We provide a monitoring guide, and we can review quality indicators after the first responses arrive if that is in scope. Many problems are caught in a soft launch with a small number of respondents.