Research

Instruments

Surveys, interviews, and protocols.

InstrumentsSelect study
Select a study to begin.
Reference & policy
New instrument →Review instrument controls
01Draft
02Internal review
03Approved
04Active
05Closed
06Archived

Instrument types

Qualitative and structured collection in one system.

The research method determines the instrument. Each instrument remains connected to study identity, consent, access, retention, and AI-use settings.

SurveyStructured questionnaires with anonymous or linked response modes.
Interview guideSemi-structured or structured interview protocols with prompts and probes.
Focus-group guideModerator guides, group prompts, participation notes, and session controls.
Observation protocolStructured field observation, environmental assessment, and researcher notes.
Document reviewSource review frameworks for records, policies, reports, media, and archival material.
Question bankReusable questions and prompts with provenance, versions, and study-level reuse.

Question model

Flexible enough for structured surveys and qualitative fieldwork.

Question types can be reused across instruments while researcher-only notes, probes, instructions, and coding metadata remain distinguishable from participant-facing content.

Short textLong text / narrativeSingle choiceMultiple choiceRating / Likert scaleMatrixRankingNumericDate / timeResearcher-only note

Collection governance

Instrument approval is part of research ethics, not just form design.

These controls are intended to prevent an instrument from collecting more identifying or sensitive information than the study actually authorizes.

01Identity mode inheritedThe instrument inherits the study identity configuration unless an approved exception is documented.
02Consent before collectionParticipant-facing instruments must respect the study consent and eligibility rules.
03Sensitive fields flaggedQuestions requesting direct or sensitive identifiers require explicit review.
04Version history retainedMaterial changes create a new instrument version so collected data remains interpretable.
05Exports de-identifiedRoutine exports exclude direct identifiers unless the researcher has explicit authorization.
06AI use follows study policyMachine-assisted coding or summarization cannot exceed the study-level AI permission.

Design boundary

Identity collection must be intentional.

Participant names, email addresses, phone numbers, and other direct identifiers should not appear in ordinary research instruments unless the study explicitly requires them. When contact or identity information is necessary, Convera’s preferred pattern is to collect it into the restricted identity layer rather than the working research record.