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What is the in-platform survey tool?

The GoVocal in-platform survey tool lets admins and project managers create and manage surveys entirely within the platform, no external tools required. It supports:

A wide variety of question types (short answer, multiple choice, linear scale, mapping questions, etc.)
Real-time result tracking and Excel exports
Optional logic to personalize survey flows
Full integration with platform access rights and anonymity settings

It’s designed to lower barriers for participation, consolidate data collection, and streamline reporting.

What are the key capabilities of the survey tool?

Different Question Types: from short/long text to advanced mapping and ESRI shapefile upload
Pages: organize long surveys into sections; include normal pages or map-based pages with contextual layers
Logic: route users to relevant questions or pages based on answers
Anonymity toggle: allow anonymous submissions (see: Enabling anonymous participation)
Reporting: generate project reports, download raw data, and visualize mapping questions
Limitations: some question types (e.g. mapping, file upload) can’t be bulk-imported (see: Bulk import paper ideas)

What are the different question types?

Every question can be:

Mandatory or optional
Given a title, description, and extra instructions

Supported question types:

Short answer / Long answer (with AI summarization if enabled)
Single choice (radio buttons; supports “Other,” randomize order, dropdown view)
Multiple choice (checkboxes; supports “Other,” randomize, dropdown view)
Image choice (choose between images; can limit required selections)
Linear scale (e.g., 1–5 ratings)
Matrix (rows & columns; less mobile‑friendly, design carefully)
Ranking (drag‑and‑drop or number input for priority order)
Rating (star ratings up to 10)
Sentiment scale (emoji‑based feeling capture)
Number (numeric only)
File upload (up to 50MB; files stored as URLs in exports)

⚠️ Ranking, Matrix, File Upload, and all Mapping questions cannot be uploaded back via offline imports.

Mapping question types (Map‑Based Survey Toolbox):

Drop Pin
Draw Route/Line
Draw Area/Polygon
ESRI Shapefile Upload

ℹ️ Notes on mapping questions:

Each mapping question collects one input per map.
→ To gather multiple inputs on the same map, create multiple mapping questions.
Every mapping question and map layout can be configured individually to highlight different areas.
To customize your map, click “Configure map”, you can:

Adjust the default center and zoom level
Add GeoJSON layers, or ESRI maps if your account has access to this feature

⚠️ When using an ESRI-map, you can not use the on-click functionality on ESRI's side as this conflicts with our platform's on-click behaviour.

How to create or duplicate a survey?

Create a survey

Create a project & choose “Create a survey”
- In the project creation flow, select Create a survey as the engagement method
Build the survey structure
- Navigate to the Survey Form tab
- Click Edit survey form to open the builder
- Add pages (normal or map-based) and drag in questions
Customize the input form
- Add titles, descriptions, videos, or images to pages
- Configure questions (mandatory/optional, randomized choices, “other” field)
(Optional) Add demographic questions
- Toggle on Demographic questions asked to users in phase settings > Phase access and user data to capture demographic data at the end of the survey
Test & preview the survey
- Use the View Survey button to preview.
- Submit test responses, then delete test data before launch.
Open the survey for answers
- When ready, turn on the Open for answers toggle.

Duplicate an existing survey

Configure a new project/phase as a survey
Navigate to Survey Form
Click Duplicate another survey and choose from your existing surveys

How to apply logic to a survey?

Question‑level logic: Route users to different pages based on answers (single‑select or linear scale only).
Page‑level logic: Decide what the next page is, regardless of responses.
Special options:
- “If any other question” logic (one option routes differently; all others go elsewhere)
- “If not answered” logic (fallback page)

⚠️ Survey Logic Limitations

Our survey logic helps you control which page respondents see next based on their answers. However, there are some important limitations to keep in mind:

Logic only triggers when clicking “Next”
Logic is evaluated when respondents move to the next page, not instantly after answering a question.
No backward logic
You can’t send respondents back to a previous page using logic.
No intra-page logic
Logic always applies to pages, not individual questions.
→ If you want logic to jump to a specific question, place that question on its own page.
Supported question types
Logic can only be applied to single-select and linear scale questions.
Multi-select, ranking, matrix, number, and mapping questions do not support logic.
Required questions
Any single-select or linear scale question with logic is automatically marked as required.

How to manage survey results?

See all answers in real‑time under Results.
Export data as Excel by pressing on the dots next to + New Submissions (includes URLs to images/files)
To delete individual survey responses, contact support

Reporting Options

Use the Project Report feature to create sharable reports (PDF or online)
Visualize answers:
- Rating & Linear Scale: % breakdown
- Ranking: Average position (+ “View Details”)
- Mapping: Aggregated map view (Drop Pins support heatmap display)

For advanced mapping analysis, export GeoJSON/ESRI data and use tools like Mapshaper.

For further exploring these features, see our support articles:

Survey limitations

No draft phases: Once added, a phase is visible. However, you can toggle Open for answers off, even when the phase is active
Offline upload limitations: Ranking, Matrix, File Upload, and Mapping questions cannot be imported back into the platform
Editing surveys live: You can edit at any time, but deleting questions deletes all existing responses

Survey overlap with other features

Overlap with Map Consultations:
- Surveys can include mapping questions, but these are more structured (one pin/line/area per question)
- Ideation Map phases allow multiple pins and open discussion
- Use surveys for structured data collection; use map consultations for open, community-driven inputs
Overlap with Anonymous Participation:
- Surveys can allow anonymous answers; users get a unique submission ID to request deletion if needed
Overlap with Access Rights:
- If surveys are “open to all” (no login/email), duplicates can’t be blocked
- Requiring email or account creation enforces one submission per user