6 Best, Free Online Research Data Collection Tools

    DUBAI, UAE, May 15, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Sourcing data used to be tedious and involved tons of paperwork, especially in studies with large samples. But all that's in the past, as several data collection tools can help you retrieve information without hassle.

However, many online tools for data collection aren't free. People without paid plans might not find useful features in most of these apps.

But not anymore!

In this article, you'll find six (6) top online research tools that offer free features for data collection.

Leveraging the features these tools provide can support your questionnaire research and other broad data needs. Check them out below.

1- Zdatacloud
Zdatacloud adopts a multidimensional approach to survey data collection for social scientists and other researchers to leverage. Several features in this data collection tool are free, allowing researchers access to vital data without any fees upfront.
Top free features from Zdatacloud
Eligibility testing:
Researchers can rely on this feature to screen participants based on pre-defined inclusion criteria. Smart testing for eligibility from Zdatacloud makes sure the right people take part in every survey or study you conduct.
Advanced sampling:
Researchers on a free plan can access different survey sampling tools to select a fraction that best represents the entire population. Free Zdatacloud guarantees users region/state, gender, age, and other forms of sampling.
Multi-lingual support:
All free plans from this tool offer support for researchers in all languages. Such a handy feature makes it easy to retrieve questionnaires from several respondents, irrespective of what language they speak. ZDataCLoud have complete RTL language support.
CodeBook:
After creating your data collection form you can access your data collection code book which include the a record for each question, possible answer for this question, the code for each answer as it will appear in the data set, the column name for this question in the data set, section of the form and order in the the data collection form.
Include media for better data collection and Research outcomes:
With ZDataCloud, you can add images and videos to your data collection form were you can ask users to rate video or image or to test their knowledge pre and after exposure to the provided media. This function is very handy for pre-after assessment studies and you can combine this feature with the RCT component to compare different materials and media effect on your participants.
Support for Specific Research Methodologies
Zdatacloud allows users to leverage cross-sectional, prospective cohort, and randomized control trial designs.
In addition to these unique features ZDataCloud also have the usual features to create on line forms including:
• Multiple question types
• Unique Participants ID
• Advanced logic or Skip logic
• Live data monitoring and review and download
• Unlimited survey creation
• Multi-request modes including support for Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI)
• Multidimensional Data Collection using multiple forms for the same research project that can be relinked using the participant ID feature.
Researchers can take advantage of these analytical tools to interpret data easier at $0 per year with a restriction on the monthly number of responses at 300 responses per month.

2- Google Forms
Apart from offering several business tools for free, Google Workspace promises powerful data collection with its Forms tool.
Top free features from Google Forms
Google Forms allows users access to:
Include media for better data collection:
With Google Forms, you can add images and videos to surveys before starting your questionnaire research. Added media to surveys gives respondents greater access to information and an easier understanding of instructions.
The simple add-on from Forms makes it easy for respondents to return better-informed, accurate responses in surveys.
Automatic summaries:
Google Forms allows researchers to see percentages of selected respondents and their answers as spot patterns. The free feature informs researchers' decisions and makes data collection hassle-free.
Smarter questionnaire organization:
Google Forms adopts a structured questionnaire format that doesn't allow the presence of leading questions. The format makes it easy for respondents to provide valid answers without giving unnecessary responses.
Google forms still have poor (Right-to-left "RTL" languages support).

3- Survey2Connect
Several free tools from Survey2Connect makes online data collection comfortable for users.
Top free features from Survey2Connect
Multiple question types
Survey2Connect equips users with tools to create surveys in minutes in different question types. users can select from over twenty-four (24) question types to get varied responses from participants.
Multilingual, advanced logic surveys
Survey2Connect provides skip logic, delayed branching, and other functions to make collection surveys intuitive. All surveys from Survey2Connect are available in major languages, making it easy to request responses from different countries at once.

4- Zoho Survey
Zoho Survey is an online survey tool with several great features researchers can take advantage of for data collection.
Top free features from Zoho Survey
Over 250 survey templates:
More than 250 survey templates make survey creation a breeze, allowing researchers to create questionnaires in moments.
Live data review:
The live review feature saves time as it allows researchers to review data collected immediately after submission. This feature is available in all other platforms.
Mobile-friendly data collection/submission:
Several survey tools may be restricted to non-mobile devices, but Zoho Survey bucks that trend nicely. With Zoho Survey, respondents can participate in surveys from their Android and iOS devices.
Researchers can also easily embed survey links, videos, and other vital data collection tools from mobile devices. Such a smart feature makes free data collection seamless from any location or device.

5- SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is a leading online survey tool with several freemium features users find useful.
Top free features from Survey Monkey
Dozens of survey templates:
SurveyMonkey boasts more than thirty-six (36) survey templates for research drafts. These samples are free and researchers can easily modify them to start new surveys.
Researchers in need of concise, free samples to draft questionnaires will benefit more from this feature
Multi-request modes:
Researchers can send surveys to participants through three different modes from SurveyMonkey. Participants can receive survey invitations by mail, through links, or from site embeds.
Allowing multi-request modes for questionnaire research is a smart function from SurveyMonkey to make data collection easy. SurveyMonkey also supports response filtration to make data segmentation more comfortable.
Unlimited surveys:
Apart from offering filters, dozens of templates, and different request modes, SurveyMonkey guarantees countless surveys to researchers all for $0!
The unlimited number of surveys gives researchers maximum support to get questionnaires completed without hassle.
In addition, SurveyMonkey backs up its unlimited survey offering with a massive respondent base.
Numbers from SurveyMonkey show that about 20 million questions get answered through its platform every day. However, SurveyMonkey restricts free users to a maximum of 10 responses per survey.
Survey Monkey still have poor (Right-to-left "RTL" languages support e.g. Arabic Language).

6- Question Pro
Question Pro offers survey and research suite tools for users, along with workforce tools for teams. The data collection tool has several paid plans but also offers great features to free users.
Top free features from Question Pro
Skip logic branching:
With skip logic branching, survey takers can skip questions they don't want to answer and move on to more relevant ones. Such a feature provides participants more comfort while guaranteeing researchers reliable data.
Large respondent communities:
Question Pro gives researchers access to more than 20 million respondents to ease data collection (Paid service).
Data Visualization
All data from participants are easy to represent with built-in presentation tools.

Conclusion
Several features from the six best free online data collection tools make data collection and interpretation more comfortable. The possibilities are endless with these tools, as you can leverage them for other use cases than research projects. However, 5 out of the 6 are not developed specifically for research projects they are just online forms with various form feature. However, ZDataCloud is the only platform we could find that are developed with care and focus to be a research data collection system.

IDM a research-based organization that beside our rigorous scientific methods and standards, we take it to the next level to show our clients how to use it and simplify the results in our decision-support dashboards to make it ready for decision makers whenever they need to take a decision.

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