Survey Scripting · Independent Audit · Data Integrity
The questionnaire is an intention. The script is the study.
Wisfield Survey Engineering programs, verifies and stewards survey instruments for research agencies and insight teams whose findings will be relied upon. Every skip, quota, terminate and data map is specified, built and independently verified before a single respondent sees it.
- i.One principal programmer. No account managers, no hand-offs, no queue.
- ii.Every build audited by an independent firm that is paid for every defect it finds.
- iii.Fixed-scope quotation, in writing, after specification review.
Why survey scripting is not a commodity
Sampling is reviewed by statisticians. The questionnaire is reviewed by the client. The analysis is reviewed by the team presenting it. The script, the one artefact that decides who is asked what, is often reviewed by no one but the person who wrote it.
| Scripting failure | Consequence in the data | Typically discovered |
|---|---|---|
| Skip logic leak | Respondents answer questions they should never have seen; every downstream base is wrong. | At tabulation |
| Quota misconfiguration | Cells overfill or close early; sample costs rise and the achieved mix is distorted. | Mid-field, or not at all |
| Terminate misrouting | Qualified respondents are screened out, or unqualified respondents admitted. | Rarely |
| Piping and text-fill errors | Respondents evaluate the wrong brand, product, condition or concept. | After delivery, by the client |
| Randomisation faults | Order bias enters a monadic, MaxDiff or conjoint design. | Usually never |
| Data map divergence | Variables do not match the questionnaire; trackers break wave on wave. | At the next wave |
None of these errors announce themselves. All of them are preventable at the scripting stage. Almost none of them are recoverable afterwards.
Wisfield would rather lose the project than field an instrument it cannot stand behind.
One discipline, practised to a written standard
-
I.
Services
Instrument programming, audit and rescue, tracker stewardship and data preparation. Nothing else.
View services -
II.
Clients
Agencies, healthcare research and insight teams who cannot afford a second field, and why they choose an independent specialist.
See who the practice serves -
III.
Verification Standard
Six commitments written into every statement of work, and evidenced at every handover.
Read the standard -
IV.
Method
Six stages from specification to data delivery, each producing a document you can inspect.
See the method
Written Scoping
Send the questionnaire. Receive a written scope.
A written scope and a fixed quote, with the main risks flagged, within two business days.