US researchers write survey instruments in Word for IRB submission, then rebuild them manually in Qualtrics, REDCap, or SurveyMonkey - a process that takes 4-8 hours per instrument and introduces transcription errors that can alter validated scale wording. Pirai AI converts any survey document to any US university survey platform in minutes, with verbatim text preserved from the IRB-approved document.
Survey Platforms at US Universities
US R1 and R2 universities typically provide two or three survey platforms through institutional licences. Qualtrics is the dominant research platform - it was founded at Brigham Young University and institutional licences are now standard at most AAU universities (the 65 top US research institutions). REDCap is the standard for NIH-funded clinical research and is operated by more than 6,000 institutions worldwide through the Vanderbilt-managed REDCap Consortium. SurveyMonkey is widely used by market research teams and non-academic survey programmes.
IRB Approval and Your Survey Platform
All research involving human participants at US universities requires Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval under the Common Rule (45 CFR 46) before data collection begins. Your IRB protocol must specify the survey platform and data storage arrangements. Institutional Qualtrics (US cloud, covered by university data use agreements) and institutional REDCap (university servers) are well-understood by US IRBs and typically approved without additional justification. Key considerations for your IRB protocol:
- Where is data stored? Qualtrics stores data on US-based cloud infrastructure. REDCap stores data on your institution's own servers. Google Forms (personal accounts) stores on Google's US infrastructure without institutional data use agreements.
- Is the survey anonymous or identifiable? Anonymous online surveys typically qualify for expedited IRB review. Identifiable surveys require full board review with stronger data governance justification.
- HIPAA compliance: For surveys collecting Protected Health Information (PHI), the platform must have a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). REDCap on institutional servers satisfies HIPAA requirements. Qualtrics has a HIPAA-compliant option on enterprise plans with BAA.
Platform Selection for US Research Contexts
| Research Context | Recommended Platform |
|---|---|
| NIH-funded clinical trial with PHI | REDCap - HIPAA compliant on institutional servers |
| NSF social science or psychology survey | Qualtrics - institutional licence, IRB-compatible |
| Dissertation survey, graduate research | Qualtrics via institutional access |
| Market research, consumer panel study | SurveyMonkey with SurveyMonkey Audience |
| Anonymous low-risk survey, no PHI | Google Forms (free) or Qualtrics |
| FDA-regulated clinical trial (IND study) | REDCap with GCP-aligned validation |
| Same instrument on multiple platforms | Pirai AI - convert once, deploy to all |
Pirai AI for US Research Survey Conversion
Pirai AI converts Word, PDF, and Excel survey documents to Qualtrics QSF, REDCap Data Dictionary CSV, SurveyMonkey, LimeSurvey, Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, and 21 more platform formats. The IRB-approved Word instrument is the source of truth - Pirai AI converts it to the target platform with verbatim text preservation. Graduate students converting dissertation instruments, clinical researchers building REDCap CRFs from sponsor-provided PDFs, and MR teams programming Qualtrics surveys from Word scripts all use Pirai AI to eliminate the manual rebuild phase.
All document processing is client-side with no persistent server storage. The OpenAI API is configured with data sharing disabled. For researchers handling sensitive instrument documents under IRB confidentiality requirements, this architecture is appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most US R1 and AAU universities provide Qualtrics for general academic research surveys and REDCap for clinical and sensitive health research. SurveyMonkey is available for market research. Google Forms and Microsoft Forms are used for teaching and low-risk surveys. Platform access depends on your institution - contact your library, IT services, or research computing team.
Yes. All research involving human participants at US universities requires Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval under the Common Rule (45 CFR 46) before data collection. Some minimal-risk surveys qualify for expedited review, but IRB approval is still required. Your IRB protocol must specify the survey platform and data handling arrangements.
Pirai AI converts Word, PDF, and Excel survey documents to Qualtrics QSF, REDCap Data Dictionary, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and 23 more platforms. It preserves verbatim text from IRB-approved documents and processes documents without persistent storage. Free daily credits available.
Qualtrics offers a HIPAA-compliant option on enterprise plans with a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). Confirm with your institution's IT or compliance team that your Qualtrics licence includes the HIPAA-compliant configuration and BAA. For studies collecting PHI without a confirmed BAA, REDCap on institutional servers is the safer choice.
Convert Your IRB-Approved Survey Instrument
Upload Word, PDF, or Excel. Pirai AI converts to Qualtrics, REDCap, SurveyMonkey, and more. Verbatim text preserved. Free daily credits.
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