Survey Tools

Oakland University has access to several different services for collecting survey data. The table compares these tools. Qualtrics is recommended for surveys in most cases. Survey Monkey is not recommended.

Feature	Qualtrics	Google Docs Free Forms Template
Subscription	No cost to the department; unlimited site license for use by anyone with a NetID. Click QUALTRICS to access.	Free templates
Number of Surveys	Unlimited	Unlimited
Questions per Survey	Unlimited	Up to 255 (number of rows available)
Question Types	Multiple choice (one answer) Multiple choice (multiple answers) Matrix of choices (one answer per row) Matrix of choices (multiple answer per row) Matrix of drop-down menus Rating scale Single text box Comment / Essay Numerical text box Demographic information (US) Demographic information (International) Date / Time Image Descriptive test	Text Paragraph text Multiple choice Check boxes Choose from a list Scale Grid
Templates	Unlimited templates	Unlimited: Available on Web or custom creations
Language	Any, including Unicode	You can change settings in Google Docs for Unicode. You can download free US international keyboard
Prebuilt Survey Themes	Yes	95
Validate / Require Survey Responses	Yes	Yes
Randomize / Sort Answer Choices	Yes	Google Help Provides Solutions
Accessible and 508 Compliant and Certified Surveys	Yes — Rehabilitation Act / Voice respondent	Yes, note the Voluntary Product Accessibility information posted with Google.
Data Collection	Unlimited Service includes the off-line app for field surveys and the File Attachment Module.	At least 100 Yes Yes Post Web site link in Facebook
Analysis	Live results as recorded Browse through individual responses View open ended comments from summary page Cross tabs Drill down Statistics	Yes Yes Yes
Exporting Data	Full data exports (CVS, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint, SPSS, Word).	Exporting data is excluded in a free account. Upgrade in order to download your current responses.
Security	Favorable protection under contract.	Limited privacy protections; not suitable for confidential data. Limited FERPA protection.

August 2018