Questions we're asked
Getting started
Can you scan a form we already have?
Not as it stands. Every form we scan is one we've set to Scantron specification. Send it to us and we'll rebuild it as a scannable version. The questions stay; the layout changes. For a small run, where setting up the scanner would cost more than it saves, we can key your existing form by hand as it stands.
Is our survey a good fit?
If most of the questions are closed, such as tick boxes, rating scales and multiple choice, yes. Open-ended questions are welcome, but they're keyed by people rather than read by the scanner, so a form that is mostly free text isn't a good fit and we'll say so when you ask for a quote.
Can you scan tests and exams?
Yes. Answer sheets are what this type of scanner is designed to read: every response is closed, and optical mark recognition is well suited to the format. Multiple-choice exams, placement tests and assessments are set up and scanned the same way as a survey, with an operator checking every double mark, blank or erasure. Results come back as one row per candidate, with each answer as given, scored against your answer key, or both. See our page for education and assessment providers.
What do you need from us to quote?
Quantity, pages per form, whether we're mailing it, whether it comes back by Reply Paid, roughly how many open-ended questions, and when you need the data. If you have the questions or a draft, send them too; if not, we can still quote.
How much does it cost?
It depends on quantity, pages, whether the survey is mailed, whether returns are Reply Paid, and how many open-ended questions need keying. Those factors drive the price. Ask for a quote and you'll get a price for your job, broken down by step.
Why is there a set-up cost for a scannable form?
Because the form has to be built for the scanner before a single copy is printed. The artwork is set to the scanning specification, including grids, timing marks, page identifiers and dropout colour, then checked and test-scanned. A scanning application is then written for that form: where every response area is, whether it's closed or open, what value each answer carries, and which fields an operator must look at. It's tested in-house and again on the first real batch of returns. That work is done once per form, however many copies are scanned.
Is there a minimum job size?
No, but the method changes. Below a certain volume the set-up costs more than it saves, and it's cheaper for our operators to key the forms by hand. Where the line falls depends on the form; more closed responses per page makes scanning pay sooner. We quote whichever costs you less.
How long does it take?
It depends on the same things, plus how long fieldwork runs. When we quote we give you a schedule from proof approval to data delivery, built around your fieldwork dates.
Why not buy scanning software and do it in-house?
For a single project or a mailed survey, scanning is the smallest part of the work. Print, mail-out, Reply Paid returns, logging, keying open-ended responses and producing the data file are where the hours go. We do all of it under one quote, with no equipment, licences or staff time on your side.
Design and print
What does "Scantron specification" mean for our form?
Registration marks the scanner uses to find the page, response boxes placed where the scanner expects them, and every response area printed in a dropout colour the scanner ignores so it reads only the respondent's mark. We handle all of it; you approve a proof.
Can the form carry our branding and colours?
Yes. Every scannable form is printed in at least two colours, and full colour usually costs no more, so logos and headings can carry through. The response areas stay in the dropout colour whatever else is on the page.
Can the form be in a language other than English?
Yes. You can supply the translated text, or we can arrange translation through a translation service. Either way we set it to the same specification.
What formats can the form take?
A4 single sheet, one or two sides, or a saddle-stitched booklet from four to thirty-six pages. A four-page booklet is a folded A3.
Can each form be personalised?
Yes. Respondent ID as digits and barcode, a lithocode, a QR code, name and address positioned for a window envelope, and pre-filled fields such as site, class, ward or wave.
Can you use recycled paper?
Yes, on request.
What if a printed form doesn't scan?
If a form we printed fails to scan because of a print defect, we replace it or capture the data another way, at no cost to you.
Mailing and returns
Do you handle the mail-out?
Yes. Letter, form and Reply Paid envelope are merged and inserted, and lodged with Australia Post using PreSort and barcoding where the volume qualifies. You get confirmation of what was lodged and when. If you're distributing the forms yourself, we deliver them to you in bulk instead.
How do we get our respondent list to you?
Through a secure transfer route we provide.
How do completed forms get back to you?
By Reply Paid envelope addressed to us, so the respondent pays nothing. If you've distributed the forms through sites such as schools, clinics or events, they can be returned to us in bulk.
Can you send reminders?
Yes. The reminder can be a letter, a postcard or a fresh copy of the survey. Before it goes out, we remove everyone who has returned a form, everyone you tell us has completed online, and every address that came back undeliverable.
Can we run paper and online together?
Yes, and many of our surveys do. You run the online survey. The letter carries a QR code and short link to it; the paper form goes in the same envelope with a Reply Paid return. You receive the paper data in a file with column names agreed to match your online export, and merge the two.
Will we know how many have come back?
Yes. During fieldwork we report return counts daily or weekly: completed, undeliverable and outstanding.
Can we get the IDs behind the counts?
On request, as an extra, we can supply the respondent IDs of completes and undeliverables so you can cut the counts by wave, site, ward or whatever your sample is structured by. IDs are captured at scanning, which can run some weeks behind the mail count.
What happens to undeliverable mail?
It's logged and reported to you, and removed from any reminder mailing.
Scanning and data
Pen or pencil?
Either.
How accurate is the scanning?
Closed responses are read by optical mark recognition from forms built to the scanner's specification. Before any data is released, critical fields, blanks and single-answer questions with more than one mark are clipped as images and shown to an operator for visual confirmation. Accuracy comes from the form being built for the scanner and from a person looking wherever a read could be wrong.
How are the rules for blanks and double marks decided?
In writing, with you, and at the point they can be judged well. Rules that shape the form are set before print. Rules about how marks are read, including what a blank means, how a double mark is resolved and whether a mark on the fold line is an answer or a crease, are set once we've seen the first real returns and how respondents actually filled the form in. Then they apply to the whole run.
How do you handle open-ended questions?
Each open-ended answer is clipped as an image and keyed by our operators, spelling-corrected by default or exactly as written if you prefer, then delivered alongside the closed-response data. You also receive a full-page PDF of every form, so the original handwriting is always there.
What does the data file look like?
An Excel file, or CSV if you prefer, with one row per form. Column names and values are agreed with you before delivery. Each row carries a link to the PDF image of that form and, where we've mailed to a named list, the respondent ID that links back to your list.
Do we get images of the forms?
Yes. A full-page PDF of every returned form, one file per form, linked from its row in the data file.
How do we receive the data?
By secure download.
Privacy and paper
Where is the work done?
Design, mail assembly, receipt of returns, scanning, verification, keying and data delivery happen at our premises in Vermont, Victoria. Printing, and usually personalisation, are done by Australian print partners. Nothing goes offshore.
How is our data protected?
Encrypted in transit and at rest, with encrypted backups on site and off site; unique credentials for every user; access-controlled premises with a monitored alarm. The full statement is on our privacy and data handling page.
What happens to the paper afterwards?
Forms are held for three months, or longer if we've agreed it, then securely shredded or returned to you if you prefer.
How long do you keep our data?
Electronic data and PDF images are held for three months after delivery, or the period agreed with you, then deleted. Respondent lists are destroyed at the end of the job.
Can you help with our ethics application?
Our privacy and data handling page is written to be quoted, and it ends with a paragraph describing our role that you can adapt for your application.
Working with us
Who are your clients?
Research consultancies, universities and research institutes, government departments and councils, health and medical organisations, not-for-profits and member organisations, commercial organisations, and assessment and testing providers. We don't name our clients publicly.
Where are you?
7/173-181 Rooks Rd, Vermont VIC 3133. Phone 03 9873 0050, email info@creativedatasolutions.com.au.
How do we start?
Ask for a quote. Tell us quantity, pages, whether it's mailed, whether it comes back by Reply Paid, and when you need the data. If you have a questionnaire or a draft, email it to us after you've submitted the form.