NIH (National Institutes of Health) and NSF (National Science Foundation) are the two largest federal research funders in the US. Together they fund the majority of university-based research involving survey data collection. NIH funds biomedical and health research through institutes including NIMH, NIDA, NCI, NHLBI, and more. NSF funds basic research across sciences, social sciences, engineering, and humanities through programmes like SBE (Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences) and EHR (Education and Human Resources).
Platform Guidance by Funding Agency
NIH-funded clinical research: REDCap is the standard for NIH-funded clinical trials, observational studies involving health data, and patient-reported outcome research. NIH's NCATS supports REDCap through the CTSA network. GCP-aligned audit trails required for IND studies are satisfied by REDCap. NIH Data Sharing Policy (effective January 2023) requires a Data Management and Sharing Plan - REDCap's export formats (CSV, SPSS, SAS, R) satisfy data sharing requirements.
NIH-funded population and behavioral health surveys: Qualtrics is commonly used for NIH-funded R01, R21, and R34 population health surveys, patient experience research, and behavioral science studies that do not involve clinical data requiring GCP-aligned systems. PROMIS measures deployed in Qualtrics for NIH studies are a standard workflow at US academic health centres.
NSF-funded social science research: Qualtrics via institutional licence is standard for NSF SBE-funded survey research including grants from divisions covering psychology (BCS), sociology (SES), political science (SES), economics (SES), and communication (HHH). NSF requires a Data Management Plan - Qualtrics CSV exports are compatible with standard social science data repositories including ICPSR and Harvard Dataverse.
NSF-funded education research: NSF EHR-funded education research commonly uses Qualtrics or REDCap. Student surveys under NSF education grants must comply with FERPA - confirm with your IRB and your institution's general counsel.
NIH Data Sharing and Platform Export
NIH's January 2023 Data Management and Sharing Policy requires that researchers plan for sharing scientific data. Survey data in Qualtrics exports as CSV, SPSS, and other formats compatible with data repositories. REDCap exports CSV, SPSS, SAS, R, and Stata formats. Your Data Management Plan should specify the platform and the export formats for repository deposition.
Federal Grant Platform Selection Table
| Grant and Research Type | Recommended Platform |
|---|---|
| NIH R01 clinical trial (IND) | REDCap - GCP-aligned audit trail required |
| NIH R01 population health survey | Qualtrics or REDCap depending on data sensitivity |
| NIH CTSA informatics project | REDCap - CTSA network standard |
| NSF SBE social science survey | Qualtrics - institutional licence |
| NSF EHR education research survey | Qualtrics (FERPA compliant with institutional BAA) |
| VA and DoD-funded health research | REDCap (VA has own REDCap instances) |
Frequently Asked Questions
NIH clinical trials typically use REDCap for GCP compliance and health data security. NIH population health and behavioral research surveys commonly use Qualtrics (institutional licence) or REDCap. Check your grant conditions - some NIH institute-specific grants or CTSA awards specify REDCap. Your institution's CTSA informatics core can advise.
NSF SBE and EHR-funded research most commonly uses Qualtrics via institutional licence. NSF requires a Data Management Plan - Qualtrics CSV exports are compatible with ICPSR, Harvard Dataverse, and other social science repositories. For NSF education research involving student data, confirm FERPA compliance with your IRB.
NIH's 2023 Data Management and Sharing Policy requires sharing scientific data in a repository. Survey platforms must export in formats acceptable to repositories - Qualtrics (CSV, SPSS) and REDCap (CSV, SPSS, SAS, R, Stata) both satisfy this. Your Data Management Plan should specify the platform and export format.
Yes. Using Pirai AI to convert IRB-approved survey instruments to Qualtrics or REDCap is a research support tool use consistent with NIH and NSF research integrity expectations. The researcher remains responsible for verifying that the converted instrument matches the IRB-approved protocol wording exactly.
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