Importing helps when a research team already has a survey instrument in another format and wants to rebuild, pilot, or revise it in Domandata. Supported import paths include Domandata JSON, Qualtrics QSF, and document-based survey extraction from Word, PDF, HTML, TeX, and text where available.

Think of import as a draft builder. It can save time, but the imported survey still needs a full review of question types, Flow, page breaks, variables, recodes, consent text, and export shape before it becomes a research instrument.

1. Step 1: Open Surveys. Start from the dashboard and use the Import button near New Survey.

   Step 1: Open Surveys

   Personal Dashboard

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

   Surveys

   New surveyImport

   Untitled surveyLast Modified

   Policy attitudes pilotLast Modified

2. Step 2: Select the source file. In the import dialog, choose a supported file such as JSON, QSF, DOCX, PDF, HTML, TeX, or text.

   Step 2: Import Dialog

   Personal Dashboard

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

   Surveys

   New surveyImport

   Untitled surveyLast Modified

   Policy attitudes pilotLast Modified

3. Step 3: Name the draft. Use the Survey name field if the file name is not a clear study title.

   Step 3: Name Draft

   Personal Dashboard

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

   Surveys

   New surveyImport

   Untitled surveyLast Modified

   Policy attitudes pilotLast Modified

4. Step 4: Open the imported survey. After import, open the new draft in the editor.

   Step 4: Open Draft

   Survey Editor

   No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

   Add a Block

   Add BlockPull Blocks

   Trash0 items

   Trash is empty.

5. Step 5: Review Block Builder. Check blocks, question types, prompts, answer options, variable names, and recodes.

   Step 5: Block Builder

   Survey Editor

   No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

   Add a Block

   Add BlockPull Blocks

   Trash0 items

   Trash is empty.

6. Step 6: Review Flow. Open Flow and inspect branching, skip logic, condition sets, and end screens.

   Step 6: Flow Canvas

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   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

7. Step 7: Preview and pilot. Use Preview and a small pilot before using the imported survey for live research.

   Step 7: Preview

   Block Builder

   Flow

   Preview

   Deploy

   Export

   Preview

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

• Question type choices: imported multiple choice, dropdown, grid, and short-answer fields may need to be adjusted for analysis.
• Answer option labels: check order, display text, missing options, and any Prefer not to answer choices.
• Branching and skip logic: rebuild any platform-specific logic that did not translate cleanly into Flow.
• Variable names and recodes: rename vague imported fields and add numeric recodes before exporting.
• Experimental conditions and quotas: confirm arm names, assignment rules, and sample targets before launch.
• Consent and instructions: make sure imported document text did not merge prompts, headers, or footnotes into respondent-facing wording.

Import is a starting point, not a final quality check. Imported surveys should be reviewed like new instruments, especially if the original platform used logic, display rules, embedded data, page timing, randomization, or custom code that differs from Domandata.

• Design an Academic Survey Instrument
• Preview and Pilot Test a Survey
• Branching and Skip Logic for Research Surveys
• Duplicate and Adapt Research Surveys