Survey data processing and delivery

What you receive, and what happens to the paper afterwards.

The data file. We supply Excel, or CSV if you prefer, with one row per form. Closed responses are coded values and open-ended responses are keyed text alongside them. Column names and values are agreed with you before delivery, so the file can go into your analysis without renaming. Where we've mailed to a named list, the respondent ID in each row links back to the list you gave us. Delivery is by secure download.

The images. You receive a full-page PDF of every returned form, one file per form, linked from its row in the data file. If a value needs checking, the original page is one click away.

Return reporting. During fieldwork, we provide return counts daily or weekly for completed, undeliverable and outstanding records. Any breakdown by wave, site or area is yours to do. On request, as an extra, we supply the respondent IDs of completes and undeliverables so you can cut the counts however your sample is structured.

Mixed mode. You run the online survey; we run the paper. The paper data is delivered in a file you merge with your online responses, with column names agreed to match.

Retention and disposal. Completed forms are held for three months, or longer by agreement. After that they are securely shredded, or returned to you. The electronic data and images are held for the same period after delivery, then deleted.

What you get. A clean file, the images behind it, and a clear record of what happens to the paper.