Our Case, In Our Words

Why Domandata Is Built for Preregistered, Replicable Research

We make Domandata, so this is our argument rather than an independent assessment. Preregistration only means something if readers can confirm that the survey you fielded is the one you registered, and that the data weren't trimmed afterward. Most survey tools leave that to screenshots and good faith. We tried to make it verifiable.

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What we do for open science

Link the plan to the instrument

Attach an AsPredicted PDF, an OSF registration, or any other permanent registration URL to the survey, so the plan and the instrument point to each other.

Preregistration in Domandata

Lock and fingerprint what you field

Lock the survey when it matches the registered design. Domandata fingerprints that version, and later amendments to wording, routing, conditions, or quotas are logged with reasons.

Lock and amendments

A verification certificate

After collection, a public certificate compares the collected instrument with the locked fingerprint, reports the verified response count and the number of distinct network origins, and lists responses deleted after locking from an append-only log no one on the team can edit.

Verification certificate

Replication packages with privacy built in

One export bundles the instrument, codebook, Flow diagram, and data. Identifying and free-text columns are dropped and rare demographic combinations are hidden by default, and the README records what was done.

Replication packages

Deposit where reviewers look

Send the package to Harvard Dataverse, which supports reviewable drafts and restricted files, or to Zenodo for immediate public release, or download it.

Deposit to Dataverse

Exclusions on the record

Quality flags, include and exclude decisions, and a cleaning log travel with the data, so preregistered exclusion rules can be checked.

Cleaning log

When another tool is the better choice

We would rather lose a signup than have a study run on the wrong platform.

A registration plus an archived copy of your instrument already satisfies your journal.
OSF Registries or AsPredicted with a QSF or Word export from your current tool may be all you need. Survey software for open science
Your data must be deposited only in your institution's own repository.
Download the package and deposit it yourself; our one-click deposits go to Harvard Dataverse and Zenodo. Survey software for open science
The study involves health data covered by HIPAA.
We don't sign Business Associate Agreements. Use REDCap or another approved tool and archive its records. Qualtrics vs REDCap

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this page an objective review?

No. It is our argument for our own product, written by the people who build it. For guides that compare tools and point to alternatives where they fit better, see the Research Guides, which cite each vendor's own documentation.

Does Domandata replace OSF?

No. Your registration still lives on OSF Registries, AsPredicted, or another registry. Domandata links to it, records which instrument implements it, and produces the package you deposit in a repository.

What does the verification certificate prove?

It shows that the collected instrument matches the locked fingerprint, how many verified responses were collected from how many distinct network origins, and which responses were deleted after locking. It documents the survey record; it does not judge the analysis.

Is response data in the package safe to share?

The package starts from privacy defaults that drop identifying and free-text columns and hide rare demographic combinations, and you can review each column. Your ethics approval and consent terms still decide what may be shared.

More of Our Case

Why Domandata

Our case for Domandata as survey software for social scientists, written by us, including the studies where REDCap, oTree, or another tool is the better choice.

Conjoint Experiments

Our case for Domandata as conjoint survey software for political scientists and other social scientists, and when Sawtooth, Conjointly, or Qualtrics fits better.

Teaching Research Methods

Our case for Domandata Classrooms in research methods courses: student privacy, full features for every student, and Canvas grading, plus when you don't need us.

Dissertation Research

Our case for Domandata as dissertation survey software for graduate students: monthly plans, Qualtrics import, and analysis-ready data, plus when to use something free.

Check Our Claims

Compare Platforms

Feature comparisons sourced from each vendor's documentation.

Research Guides

How-to guides for choosing tools and designing studies.