Making it Easy to Collect, Manage, and Validate Data

Peerfocus makes it simple to collect rich data sets and make sure all information is clean when entered. It all starts with building the surveys you envision – not the surveys you have to settle for due to platform limitations.

How do Peerfocus surveys work?

Peerfocus surveys are built to meet your specific research needs, which can be done either on your own or with the support of a Peerfocus team member. We won’t ask you to compromise on the kind of survey you want to build. That means:

Robust survey design

Powerful validation rules

Easy survey management

Survey data uploads

Mass communication tools

Data cleaning tools

First-class support for longitudinal surveys

Looping and conditional sections

Peerfocus Survey Lifecycle

Unlike many survey platforms, we start by creating clearly-named variables, making longitudinal surveys and data reuse easier. You’ll design your survey section by section, assign variables to questions, and configure grids for auto-totaling.

Next, set flexible data validation rules, ensuring relationships between variables (even year-to-year) are maintained. Violations can block completion or prompt explanations.

Finally, manage your respondents. We build a database of organizations and contacts, and our messaging system lets you send surveys with direct links. Respondents are guided through the survey, resolving validation issues and optionally uploading their data.

Every Completed Survey

You can track survey progress by monitoring intentions and responses over time. Surveys have open/close dates, with the option to extend access if needed.

After closing, use our data cleaning tools to review “serious” rule violations—made easier by in-process validation.

You can release data for use with Peerfocus’ benchmarking tools or export it for other uses. Best of all, next year’s survey setup is ready to go, with the option to tweak or invite respondents immediately.

More Information

Peerfocus surveys are packed with features. There are too many to list, but we’ve highlighted top features here.

Survey Features

Open and Close dates are specified for each survey and are easily revised.
Surveys can be saved and returned to as often as a user wants until the Close date is reached.
After a Close date is reached, extended access can be granted on a case-by-case basis.
Each member indicates intentions regarding each survey (Will Do, Won’t Do, Done, etc.). Until Will Do intention is specified, the member’s survey cannot be edited.
A Status Email System allows repeated communication to members at different points in the survey process via dynamic lists tied to survey statuses.

Status Control

Various reports provide summary information about overall survey progress and status of specific groups of institutions.
A special Cleaned & Frozen status allows survey managers to review, clean, and then lock surveys to prevent subsequent changes, even before the survey deadline has been reached.
Peerfocus captures and stores the date/time, IP Address and account number of the user making each status change, providing an audit trail.

Data Validation & Cleaning

Data validation ensures capture of errors while the user is entering data.
Data cleaning can begin as soon as a survey is marked done.
The Dirty Surveys Reporting Tool returns a list of completed surveys that have annotated serious problems. The data cleaner will adjust the data or contact the respondent for clarification.
The Error-Free Surveys Reporting tool returns a list of completed surveys with no serious or fatal errors.
The Unfinished Surveys reporting tool provides tools to deal with surveys that haven’t been completed by the deadline.

Peerfocus Survey Lifecycle

Unlike many survey platforms, we start with creating clearly-named variables. This makes longitudinal surveys and data reuse much easier! You’ll then design your survey section by section (or perhaps replicate an existing survey instrument), assigning variables to questions, configuring grids for auto-totaling, etc.
Data validation rules come next! Our validation system is extremely flexible. You can ensure certain relationships between variables, or even between the same variable from year to year. Rule violations can be “fatal”, blocking survey completion, or “serious”, requiring the respondent to provide an explanation.
Now it’s time to bring in your respondents. We’re focused on organizational data, so we’ll build your database of organizations and responsible individuals. Our messaging system lets you easily sent an email blast to everyone, including direct links to indicate their intentions (“will” or “won’t”, etc) and access their surveys. On the platform, they’ll be guided through the survey section by section and gently instructed to fix any data validation issues as they go. Respondents may also upload their data (if we’ve configured that for your survey), subject to all of your data validation rules.
You can monitor the progress of your survey by tracking intentions and responses over time. Every survey has open and close dates, but it’s easy to extend access for respondents who need a little more time.
After the survey is closed, our data cleaning tools will help you to double-check the data and review explanations for “serious” rule violations. This part is easy because so much validation happens during the response process!
Data can be released for use with Peerfocus’ benchmarking tools on a timeline of your choosing. You can also export your clean data to use however you like!
Here’s the most beautiful part: when it’s time to run your survey again next year, everything will already be in place! You can always make changes if you like, or you can jump right to inviting your respondents in.