Back to Help
Getting Started

Design an Academic Survey Instrument

Plan constructs, measures, treatments, outcomes, and blocks before you begin building the instrument.

Start With Constructs And Outcomes

An academic survey instrument should begin with the research question, not the software. List the constructs you need to measure, the treatment or exposure if the study is experimental, the respondent population, and the outcomes that will appear in analysis.

Dashboard: Create Survey

Personal Dashboard

Live dashboard surface from the app shell (ephemeral help scene).

Surveys

Untitled surveyLast Modified
Policy attitudes pilotLast Modified

Domandata helps turn that plan into a social science research survey with blocks, question types, flow, experimental conditions, quotas, and exportable data. A written instrument map makes the build faster and reduces mid-field changes.

Open The Right Place

  1. Step 1: Start from Surveys. Use the top navigation to open Surveys, then choose New survey for a new instrument or open an existing draft if you are revising a study; see Create Your First Academic Research Survey for the full build path.

    Step 1: Surveys Dashboard

    Personal Dashboard

    Live dashboard surface from the app shell (ephemeral help scene).

    Surveys

    Untitled surveyLast Modified
    Policy attitudes pilotLast Modified

  2. Step 2: Build sections in Block Builder. Inside the survey editor, stay on Block Builder while you create consent and screening, treatment, outcome, demographic, and end screen blocks.

    Step 2: Block Builder

    Block Builder: Research Survey Template

    A complete 5-block research survey: Consent → Screening → Treatment → Outcomes → Demographics → End Screen.

    Timing
    Breaks
    Validation
    Shuffle

    Use one random flip direction for selected flip-enabled questions.

    reCAPTCHA
    Data Collection

    Records browser type, browser version, operating system, screen resolution, and user agent. Not shown to respondents.

    Question Names

    Simple assigns Ask1, Ask2… in full survey question order (including follow-ups).

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

    Trash is empty.

  3. Step 3: Move to Flow after the sections exist. Use the Flow tab to connect blocks, add condition sets, and check whether the planned paths match the instrument map.

    Step 3: Flow Canvas

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Flow Canvas

    Interactive routing surface from the app, running in no-persist help mode.

    Consent and Study Intro

    1 question

    Political Knowledge Block

    2 questions

    Control Message

    1 question

    Treatment Message

    1 question

    Outcome Measures

    2 questions

    Survey Ends

    Anchors explicit end of survey

  4. Step 4: Use Deploy and Export as final checks. Open Deploy for link and quota settings, then open Export after pilot responses exist to confirm the data structure.

    Step 4: Deploy Tab

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Deploy

    Configure publishing, links, quotas, and theme from the Deploy tab.

Map The Survey Sections

  1. Section 1: Consent. Add a content block with the study summary, risk language, contact information, and participation choice required by your protocol.

    Section 1: Add Consent Block

    Survey Editor

    No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

    Add a Block

    Trash is empty.

  2. Section 2: Screening. Add eligibility questions before the main task so ineligible respondents can be routed to the correct end screen.

    Section 2: Screening Block

    Survey Editor

    No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

    Add a Block

    Trash is empty.

  3. Section 3: Treatments or stimuli. Place experimental material in its own block so Flow can route respondents into the correct arm.

    Section 3: Treatment Block

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Flow Canvas

    Interactive routing surface from the app, running in no-persist help mode.

    Consent and Study Intro

    1 question

    Political Knowledge Block

    2 questions

    Control Message

    1 question

    Treatment Message

    1 question

    Outcome Measures

    2 questions

    Survey Ends

    Anchors explicit end of survey

  4. Section 4: Outcomes. Add the dependent variables and primary measures immediately after the relevant treatment or task.

    Section 4: Outcome Questions

    Block Builder: Question Type

    Use the question type selector to switch between multiple choice, slider, grid, ranking, and more.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

  5. Section 5: Covariates. Add demographics, background measures, or baseline variables where they fit the protocol and respondent burden.

    Section 5: Covariate Block

    Survey Editor

    No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

    Add a Block

    Trash is empty.

  6. Section 6: End screens. Create separate completion, ineligible, quota-full, or debriefing screens so each path ends clearly.

    Section 6: End Screens

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Deploy

    Configure publishing, links, quotas, and theme from the Deploy tab.

Choose Measurement Formats

Use Multiple Choice or Dropdown for categorical variables, Short Answer for open text or numeric entry, Grid Matrix for batteries and Likert scales, Slider for continuous ratings, and Conjoint for preference experiments.

Block Builder: Question Type

Block Builder: Question Type

Use the question type selector to switch between multiple choice, slider, grid, ranking, and more.

Closing text
Redirect (optional)

Plan The Analysis Before Launch

Write expected variable names, recodes, condition arms, and quota cells before publishing. This makes the export easier to analyze and helps collaborators understand the survey structure. See Survey Variable Names and Recodes and Pre-Analysis Plans and Survey Codebooks.

Preview: Respondent View

Block Builder
Preview
Deploy

Preview

Walk through respondent-facing behavior in the same preview surface.

Related Help