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A Guide From Domandata

Survey Software for Preregistration and Open Science

Written by Domandata, which makes a survey platform. We name our product where it fits and say where another tool fits better. Claims about other tools link to their own documentation, checked ; confirm anything decisive with the vendor or your institution.

Open-science norms ask survey researchers to do three things: register the plan before collecting data, show that the instrument fielded matches the plan, and share materials, data, and code so others can check the work. Survey software can make each step easy or leave it to manual record-keeping.

The landscape is also changing. The Center for Open Science is retiring OSF Projects while keeping Registrations, and now points researchers to external repositories such as Zenodo for materials and data.

The short answer

Register your plan on OSF Registries or AsPredicted before fielding. Keep a dated, unchangeable record of the instrument respondents actually saw, through your survey tool's versioning or an exported copy. Export data with the assigned conditions, display order, and a codebook, then deposit the instrument, data, and code in a repository such as Zenodo and link it back to the registration. Domandata links preregistrations, fingerprints the fielded instrument, and builds the replication package; with Qualtrics, use Versions and export the QSF and Word copies.

What survey software should do for open science

  1. 1

    Connect the plan to the instrument

    Record which registration a survey implements, so reviewers can find the plan from the data and the data from the plan.

  2. 2

    Freeze what respondents saw

    Changes after launch happen. Keep a dated, unchangeable copy of each fielded version, and log every amendment with its reason, so the published analysis can be matched to the right instrument.

  3. 3

    Export the realized design

    Assigned conditions, randomized orders, and displayed options must be in the data. Without them, nobody can verify the randomization or reproduce the estimates.

  4. 4

    Document variables

    A codebook with variable names, labels, and values, generated from the instrument itself, prevents mismatches between what was asked and what was analyzed.

  5. 5

    Make exclusions auditable

    Keep raw responses and export a log of exclusions and the rules behind them, so preregistered criteria can be checked.

  6. 6

    Deposit in a trusted repository

    The Center for Open Science's TOP Guidelines reward depositing materials in a trusted repository. Use one that assigns DOIs, and link the deposit back to your registration.

Tools for each step

Registering the plan

OSF Registries offers detailed templates, embargoes, and DOIs, and continues after the Projects retirement. AsPredicted is shorter and stays private until you make it public.

OSF Registries

The Center for Open Science's registry for time-stamped, frozen study plans, with templates including a general preregistration and a qualitative one.

Pricing model
Free.
Where it runs
Cloud, run by the Center for Open Science.

Strengths

  • Registrations are frozen and cannot be edited or deleted; updates go through a documented process.
  • Public registrations receive a DOI, and embargoes of up to four years are available.

Watch out for

  • OSF is retiring Projects: new Projects stop on November 16, 2026, and materials should go to an external repository linked to the registration.

Sources:OSF RegistrationsOSF Projects Transition

AsPredicted

Lightweight preregistration that produces a time-stamped, single-page plan with a verification link.

Pricing model
Free.
Where it runs
Cloud.

Strengths

  • Short, standard questions make it quick to complete.
  • Stays private until an author makes it public, and cannot be modified once public.

Watch out for

  • Covers the plan only; materials and data need a separate repository.

Sources:AsPredicted

Archiving instrument, data, and code

A DOI for every version, and the repository the Center for Open Science names as a home for materials now that OSF Projects are retiring.

Zenodo

General-purpose research repository run with CERN, assigning a DOI to every deposit and version.

Pricing model
Free.
Where it runs
Cloud, operated with CERN.

Strengths

  • A DOI for every version plus a concept DOI that always resolves to the latest.
  • Named by the Center for Open Science as a home for materials now that OSF Projects are retiring.

Watch out for

  • A general repository, so documenting the instrument and data is up to you.

Sources:About ZenodoZenodo Versioning

A survey platform that keeps the record

Domandata links an OSF or AsPredicted registration, locks and fingerprints the fielded instrument, logs amendments, exports assignment and display order with a codebook, and deposits replication packages to Harvard Dataverse or Zenodo. Qualtrics keeps survey versions and exports QSF and Word copies you can archive yourself.

DomandataOur product

Browser-based survey platform built for academic social-science research: survey experiments, conjoint, and analysis-ready data.

Pricing model
Free plan for drafting and previewing; fielding a study, Flow logic, and exports need a paid individual or team plan with published self-serve pricing.
Where it runs
Cloud only, on U.S.-based infrastructure providers.

Strengths

  • Randomized treatment arms (weighted, stratified, or balanced) with the assigned condition saved in every export.
  • Conjoint, MaxDiff, list experiments, and reaction-time tasks built in, without custom JavaScript.
  • Native SPSS (.sav) and Stata (.dta) exports with a generated codebook, plus Qualtrics .qsf import.
  • Links OSF preregistrations and deposits replication materials to Harvard Dataverse or Zenodo.

Watch out for

  • Does not sign HIPAA Business Associate Agreements, so it is not suitable for studies that require one.
  • Cannot be self-hosted, and the data-hosting region is not fixed by contract.
  • The free plan cannot collect responses; fielding a study requires a paid plan.
  • A newer, smaller vendor: its SOC 2 Type I audit is still in progress, which some IT reviews ask for.

Sources:Domandata PricingDomandata Trust Center

Qualtrics

Enterprise survey platform that many universities license campus-wide, and the default tool in much of academic survey research.

Pricing model
Usually an institutional license at no personal cost to students and staff, on terms set by your university's agreement. A capped free account is meant for trying the platform.
Where it runs
Cloud only. Publishes ISO 27001 and FedRAMP certifications.

Strengths

  • If your university licenses it, it is already paid for and usually reviewed by IT.
  • Mature, deep feature set, including Survey Flow randomizers and quotas.
  • Exports to CSV, Excel, and SPSS.

Watch out for

  • Access depends on your institution; leaving it can mean losing the license.
  • The free account caps responses, active surveys, and questions per survey, which rules out most studies.

Sources:Qualtrics Free AccountsQualtrics Account CreationQualtrics RandomizerQualtrics Security

Open-science checklist for a survey study

  • Registration completed before the public link goes live
  • The survey records which registration it implements
  • A dated copy of every fielded instrument version
  • Amendments logged with dates and reasons
  • Assignment and display order exported with responses
  • Codebook generated from the instrument
  • Exclusion log matching the preregistered criteria
  • Instrument, data, and code deposited with a DOI and linked to the registration

Frequently Asked Questions

Is OSF shutting down?

No. The Center for Open Science is retiring OSF Projects: no new Projects can be created from November 16, 2026, and existing ones become read-only on February 19, 2027. Registrations and preprints continue, and COS recommends depositing materials and data in an external repository such as Zenodo, linked to the registration.

Should I use OSF or AsPredicted to preregister a survey?

Both create time-stamped records reviewers accept. AsPredicted is quick and private until you publish it. OSF Registries offers more detailed templates, including ones for secondary data and qualitative work, embargoes of up to four years, and a DOI for public registrations.

What should a survey replication package include?

The fielded instrument in a readable form, the raw and cleaned data with assignment and display-order fields, a codebook, the exclusion log, and the analysis code, ideally with a README explaining how to reproduce each result. Deposit it with a DOI and link it to your registration.

How do I show the survey I fielded matches my preregistration?

Keep a dated, unchangeable copy of the instrument at launch and log any later changes. Tools that fingerprint or version the instrument make this verifiable; otherwise, export a copy at launch and deposit it with your materials.

References

Keep Reading

Preregistration and Replication Packages in Domandata

Link a registration, lock the instrument, and export a package.

Survey Software That Exports to Stata, SPSS, and R

Which tools produce analysis-ready files.

Survey Experiments Guide

Plan conditions and analysis before fielding.

AI in Survey Research

Disclosure and validity when AI touches a study.