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Many researchers prefer to administer their surveys online. There are more and more popular websites that offer a simple survey to be created within a free account, but not all are secure for your survey participants to put their data in. Thus, not all surveys are approved by the Felician University IRB. Here is a brief review of recommended and not recommended survey platforms:
We do recommend
We do recommend
Qualtrics is one of the best survey platforms built to date. There is no free account option but Felician University purchased campus-wide access to this great research tool. You may log in at https://felician.qualtrics.com (use your Felician email and password). You may also ask your supervisor or faculty mentor for the login instructions.
Here is a link to a Sample Survey in Qualtrics. A screenshot of that survey on a phone is posted next to this paragraph.
We do recommend
We do recommend
Microsoft Forms, which you have access to it within your Felician University email hub. It can be set in two ways so that only people within the organization can respond or everybody who has the link can.
We do NOT recommend
We do NOT recommend
Survey Monkey - unfortunately, that platform does not meet security standards. Also, even it looks very inviting, the free account features do not let you work on the survey results (a few students who were trying that platform were surprised to learn that, even the survey was administered and got numerous responses, the analysis of the results was very limited under a free version).
Google Forms - the app does not meet our security standards.
A Brief Discussion on Survey Monkey
A Brief Discussion on Survey Monkey
Survey Monkey is one of the most popular platforms that you may come across when looking for a tool to build online surveys. Although the company promotes itself as a secure platform, there have been some data breaches associated with it in 2020.
"Applications like Typeform, Survey Monkey, Google Forms, Client Heartbeat, Survey Gizmo and Survey Planet are popular options for ... surveys ... these platforms lack the robust security that companies require for safely sharing data across platforms." (source)
The Common Sense Privacy Program evaluators assigned SMonkey a warning rating, which means that the platform "does not meet recommendations for privacy and security practices"
One may argue that Homeland Security uses Survey Monkey. Yes, but as the linked website reads, SMonkey is used only for customer satisfaction surveys and similar inquiries that do not require sensitive information.
Will my survey be approved?
Will my survey be approved?
I posted some warning signs that you should consider when applying for the IRB review. We recommend some websites and do not recommend others. However, our recommendation does not ensure 100% security while the not recommended websites may serve well in some cases. After all, "No generalization is worth a damn... including this one" (Oliver Wendell Holmes). So...
It is your decision!
It is your decision!
The researcher's decision about which platform you will use may depend on the sensitivity of the data collected. You can choose SMonkey or another low-security platform... That can be interpreted as that you do not consider your questions sensitive enough to prevent a data breach.
In the spirit of academic freedom, we respect your decision of choosing the online survey tool. The IRB solution will be to approve your survey with a disclaimer that it is your duty to assure secure handling of collected data, avoid asking for any sensitive information, and take full responsibility in case a breach of security takes place.
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