Is SmartForm really free?

Yes. SmartForm is 100% free for academic research. There is no payment, no paywall, no premium tier, and no installation. You sign in with Google and start building immediately. SmartForm is supported by unobtrusive advertising on the public DrAIStudio site, not on the survey tool itself.

Is SmartForm a free alternative to Qualtrics?

Yes. SmartForm provides the core features academic researchers need from Qualtrics — Likert scale grids, randomisation, skip logic, multilingual respondent UI with RTL support, attention checks, mobile-responsive forms, live reliability and validity analytics (Cronbach's alpha, CR, AVE, HTMT, CFA), and exports to SPSS, R, Python, CSV — completely free and without an institutional licence.

Can SmartForm create a questionnaire with AI?

Yes. SmartForm's AI generator drafts a complete editable questionnaire from your research question, target population, and key variables — including consent, demographics, IV / DV / mediator / moderator scales with reverse-coded items. You can also paste your existing constructs and items as text; AI converts them into structured form blocks with verbatim wording preserved.

How many survey-design templates does SmartForm have?

SmartForm includes 50 ready-to-edit templates across 11 design families: time-based (cross-sectional, longitudinal panel, time-lagged, diary/ESM, retrospective), purpose (descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, predictive, evaluative, needs assessment), methodology (quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods), sampling (probability, non-probability, online panel), data collection mode (online, paper, telephone, face-to-face, mail, mobile, mixed-mode), level of control (observational, survey experiment, factorial/vignette, conjoint, RCT), respondent structure (individual, dyadic, multi-source, multilevel, organisational), measurement (scale development, scale validation, pilot, cognitive interviewing), consensus (Delphi, fuzzy Delphi, nominal group), and modern (AI-assisted, adaptive, responsive, paradata-enhanced, passive data-linked, big-data-enhanced, cross-cultural, comparative, benchmarking).

Does SmartForm support longitudinal and multi-wave studies?

Yes. SmartForm supports 2-wave and 3-wave longitudinal designs with two matching options: (1) email-based recontact where respondents opt in and receive a Wave 2 invitation, or (2) SGPC anonymous matching codes (a deterministic hash of four self-generated answers like birth day, mother's initials, father's initials, birthplace) so the same person can be matched across waves without ever sharing their email. The merge export joins all waves on participant_id into a single row per participant.

How do I recruit respondents on SmartForm?

SmartForm includes a peer-recruitment Exchange: fill another researcher's questionnaire to earn 1-3 credits, then use your credits to get your own questionnaire filled by other researchers worldwide — no money required. Quality is protected by time-on-task gates (must spend ≥50% of estimated time), attention checks, a 48-hour owner-verification window, and a 3-strike cooldown system for low-quality fillers.

What live statistics does SmartForm show?

As responses arrive, SmartForm computes Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability (CR), Average Variance Extracted (AVE), Fornell-Larcker discriminant validity matrix, HTMT heterotrait-monotrait ratios, exploratory factor analysis (PCA with varimax rotation, KMO, Bartlett's test), Harman's single-factor test for common method bias, multiple regression with significance tests, mediation analysis (Sobel test + 1000-resample bootstrap CIs), moderation with simple slopes at ±1 SD, confirmatory factor analysis with fit indices (CFI, TLI, RMSEA, SRMR), one-way ANOVA, Welch's t-test with Cohen's d, and item-total correlations with alpha-if-deleted.

Does SmartForm check ethics?

Yes. SmartForm's AI ethics-readiness evaluator screens against 10 standards: informed consent, voluntary participation, anonymity, right to withdraw, confidentiality, contact information, age confirmation, debrief presence, identifiable items, and harmful content. Failed standards block publishing. The tool offers one-click AI-assisted fixes such as improving consent wording, adding a debrief, or removing identifiers. The screen is explicitly framed as a pre-IRB self-assessment, not a substitute for institutional ethics approval.

What does SmartForm export?

SmartForm exports CSV (raw data), SPSS syntax (.sps with VARIABLE LABELS, VALUE LABELS, RELIABILITY, and FACTOR commands), R script (.R with psych, lavaan, and lm calls), Python script (.py with pandas, statsmodels, and pingouin), codebook (.docx), APA-style results write-up (.docx), Word questionnaire export (.doc), and PDF print version.

Can collaborators co-edit a SmartForm questionnaire?

Yes. Each questionnaire has a 'Share with collaborators' dialog that invites co-editors by email (added directly if they have a DrAIStudio account) or via a shareable join link (1-50 uses). Collaborators can edit, publish, and view results just like the owner. Per-question discussion threads support team feedback with a resolve workflow.

Can I organise my SmartForm questionnaires into folders?

Yes. The dashboard sidebar shows All questionnaires, Uncategorized, and any folders you create. Drag and drop questionnaire rows onto folder names to move them. Folders support six brand colours (teal, gold, rose, navy, green, slate) and can be renamed or deleted at any time.

Does SmartForm work on mobile?

Yes. The respondent form is mobile-first responsive — Likert grids stack into single-question cards on phones with a sticky question header, progress bar, save & resume on the device, and large touch targets. The builder works on tablets and desktops; some advanced editing screens are best on a tablet or larger.

Who maintains SmartForm?

SmartForm is maintained by DrAIStudio as part of its free-first academic tool layer for researchers, teachers, students, and academic teams.

How does SmartForm compare to Google Forms?

Google Forms is designed for general-purpose data collection. SmartForm is purpose-built for academic survey research: validated Likert scale grids with reverse-coding, AI item generation, AI methods and ethics checks, live reliability (Cronbach's α) and validity (AVE, HTMT) analytics, multi-wave longitudinal support, peer-recruitment Exchange, SPSS / R / Python exports, and APA write-up generation — none of which Google Forms provides. SmartForm is free, like Google Forms.

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SmartForm — Free AI Questionnaire Builder for Academic Research

SmartForm by DrAIStudio is a free, browser-based research questionnaire builder for academic researchers, PhD and master's students, faculty, and survey methodologists.

What SmartForm does

SmartForm replaces expensive academic-survey platforms like Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, and Lime Survey for researchers who need rigorous instruments without an institutional licence. It supports the entire questionnaire research lifecycle — from design through recruitment, response collection, analysis, and export — in one free tool.

Key features

50 ready-to-edit survey-design templates across 11 design families — cross-sectional, longitudinal panel, time-lagged, diary / experience sampling, retrospective, descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, predictive, evaluative, needs-assessment, quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods (convergent, explanatory sequential, exploratory sequential, embedded), probability sampling, non-probability sampling, online panel, web, paper, telephone (CATI), face-to-face, postal, mobile, mixed-mode, observational, survey experiment, factorial / vignette, conjoint, randomised controlled trial, individual, dyadic, multi-source, multilevel, organisational, scale development, scale validation, pilot, cognitive interviewing, Delphi, fuzzy Delphi, nominal group, AI-assisted, adaptive, responsive, paradata-enhanced, passive data-linked, big-data-enhanced, cross-cultural, comparative, and benchmarking designs.
AI questionnaire generator — drafts a complete editable questionnaire from your research question, including consent, demographics, and validated IV / DV / mediator / moderator scales with reverse-coded items.
Likert scale grid builder with 5- and 7-point scales, custom anchors, reverse-coding, and item randomisation.
AI methods pre-test — flags double-barrelled, leading, ambiguous items and missing reverse-codes.
AI ethics-readiness check — screens 10 ethics standards (informed consent, voluntary participation, anonymity, right to withdraw, confidentiality, contact info, age confirmation, debrief, identifiable items, harmful content). One-click AI fixes available.
Multi-wave longitudinal designs — T1 / T2 / T3 with anonymous SGPC matching codes (no email required to match respondents across waves).
SmartForm Exchange — peer-recruitment marketplace where researchers fill each other's surveys to earn credits, then use credits to get their own surveys filled. No money required. Quality protected by time-on-task gates, attention checks, 48-hour auto-approval, and a strike-and-cooldown system.
Collaborators — invite co-editors by email or share link. Folders to organise questionnaires. Per-question discussion threads.
Mobile-first respondent UI — multilingual (English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Urdu), RTL support, progress bar, save & resume, QR code, embed, per-channel tracking.
Live reliability and validity analytics — Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, Average Variance Extracted (AVE), Fornell–Larcker, HTMT, EFA (KMO, Bartlett, varimax), Harman's single-factor test for common method bias, confirmatory factor analysis (CFI, TLI, RMSEA, SRMR), multiple regression, mediation (bootstrap CI), moderation with simple slopes.
Exports — CSV, SPSS syntax (.sps), R script, Python script, codebook, APA write-up, Word, PDF.
Sample-size and power calculator — correlation, t-test, ANOVA, regression, mediation, SEM.

Who SmartForm is for

SmartForm is designed for academic survey research, including:

PhD students writing dissertations with cross-sectional, longitudinal, or experimental questionnaires.
Master's students completing dissertations or capstone projects.
Faculty running multi-wave studies, scale development, or programme evaluation.
Researchers in HRM, organisational behaviour, leadership, marketing, psychology, education, health sciences, and policy who need validated instruments and live psychometric analytics.
Survey methodologists running Delphi, fuzzy Delphi, nominal group, conjoint, or vignette studies.
Anyone who needs a free alternative to Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, or Lime Survey with academic-grade rigour.

How to use SmartForm

Sign in with Google. No installation required.
Pick a design template from the 50-template gallery, or have AI draft a questionnaire from your research question.
Edit Likert scales in the live grid editor — add, remove, reorder, reverse-code, paste from clipboard, or use AI to generate items.
Run AI methods check and AI ethics-readiness screen. Apply one-click fixes.
Publish, copy the public link, download the QR code, or embed on your website. Use per-channel source tracking.
Recruit respondents from the SmartForm Exchange (free, credit-based peer recruitment) or share via your own channels.
Verify Exchange responses in the Verifications queue (or let them auto-release after 48 hours).
Watch live reliability and validity analytics on the Results dashboard.
Export to SPSS, R, Python, CSV, codebook, or APA write-up.

Why SmartForm is free

SmartForm is part of DrAIStudio, a free-first academic platform. The platform is supported by unobtrusive advertising on the public DrAIStudio site (not on the survey tool itself). Academic researchers should not have to choose between rigorous methods and an institutional licence; SmartForm exists to remove that constraint.

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