welcome research platform

We developed a responsive research platform with questionnaire tooling for Crowdience, making citizen science and research accessible to both special needs target groups and external partners.

challenge

To make a scalable and flexible research platform with questionnaire tooling accessible to special needs target groups.

progress

To build advanced architecture using knowledge of the desired functionalities and modern techniques.

impact

People who have difficulty reading and typing are now better able to participate in citizen surveys.

challenge

Crowdience faced an enormous challenge. Questionnaires are used for many research studies, but special needs target groups, such as people with a language deficit or mental handicap, cannot always participate. Crowdience wanted to develop an efficient] online research platform to include this target group in various research projects. At the same time, external parties needed to be able to use the research platform, thus enabling these special needs target groups to participate in citizen research and science.

SST took on the challenge to develop a reliable, scalable and flexible platform with questionnaire tooling in a single central management environment using modern techniques. With Speech-to-voice and Voice-to-speech elements, font size enlargement and reduction, and a step-by-step onboarding process to ensure special needs target groups would be able to participate in research projects.

progress

SST Software developed a reliable and scalable online research platform with which Crowdience and external partners can launch different projects and questionnaires simultaneously. Via the management environment, questionnaires with different types of questions can be compiled for a given project, and routing with question grouping can be created. That way, a participant can be routed to specific follow-up questions depending on the answer given. In addition, the UX, the design and functioning of the questionnaires are completely tailored to special needs target groups. Examples of question types: yes/no questions, open questions, multiple choice questions, VAS scale and standard choice answer sets. The question types can be managed and configured by the user.

To make this possible, SST Software first carried out a preliminary functional and technical assessment in collaboration with Crowdience and Wordlenig design agency. With knowledge of the desired functionalities, such as Speech-to-voice and Voice-to-speech elements, font size enlargement and reduction, and a step by step onboarding process, an advanced architecture was developed using the most modern techniques. This architecture served as the basis for the development of the research platform and the questionnaire tool within a single central management environment.

impact

1

questionnaire configurator

Questionnaires with different question types, specifically designed for special needs target groups, can be configured via the platform's central management environment.

1

central management system

A single environment within which projects, questionnaires, users and settings can be managed.

TTS & STT

support

All components of the platform can be read aloud thanks to the addition of a speech button. In addition, the voice-to-speech functionality ensures answers can be spoken and are then typed out automatically.

Step by step

onboarding

Participants using the platform for the first time receive an explanation about the research platform and participation in surveys through an extensive step-by-step onboarding process.

Corrie

support with questions

Throughout the questionnaire, participants have the option of asking for help with a particular section. Clicking on the Corrie character brings up tooltips that provide additional explanation about that particular section of the questionnaire.

Data

export

Two different data export options have been integrated into the Crowdience platform. Both the questions and statements in a questionnaire as well as answers to the questions can be exported.

impact

Because the questionnaire tooling is now accessible to special needs target groups via an efficient and reliable research platform, people with mental handicaps are better able to participate in citizen surveys and citizen science. This way, important insights are gained into the knowledge and experiences of this group of citizens.

With the platform in a central management system, Crowdience can manage projects, questionnaires, users and institutions and decide how to configure projects and questionnaires. External parties can also configure and publish questionnaires for special needs target groups independently. The research results can be accessed immediately and exported for analytical purposes.

services