Research Mode: Built for serious work.

Audit trails, SPSS export, consent workflows, and compliance documentation. Everything your methodology section needs, without the institutional license.

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What is Research Mode?

Research Mode includes features required for academic research: immutable audit trails, consent page builder, SPSS export, and research ethics documentation. It's standard on all Candor accounts — not an expensive add-on.

Feature	Candor Research Mode
Audit trail	✓ Immutable timestamps
SPSS export	✓ Variables + labels
Consent workflow	✓ Built-in builder
Ethics board documentation	✓ Download today
Individual signup	✓ No institution needed

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Research Ethics Documentation

Ethics boards — whether called an IRB, REB, or ethics committee — ask the same questions about survey tools. Instead of answering from scratch, we've documented our security, compliance, and data handling practices. Download it before you even sign up — share it with your reviewer or advisor today.

Security overview — encryption, access control, data retention
Audit trail specification — how timestamps work, immutability guarantee
Data handling policy — GDPR-compliant retention and deletion
Consent workflow documentation — how consent is captured and stored
Compliance summary — what we do and don't claim
Sample methodology citation — copy into your methods section

Download Research Ethics Package (.zip, 6 PDFs)

No email required. Downloads as a .zip file containing 6 PDF documents — double-click to open.

Technical Specifications

The questions your IT reviewer or committee member will ask.

Data Security

Where is data stored? ▼

Data is stored in AWS RDS in US-East (Virginia) or EU-Central (Frankfurt), automatically detected from your email domain at signup. You can verify your data zone anytime in Settings. All data is encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+).

Who can access my survey responses? ▼

Only people you explicitly invite. Survey creators can grant view-only or edit access. Candor employees cannot view your response data without your explicit written permission.

What happens to data if I cancel my account? ▼

If your subscription lapses, your data stays right where it is — nothing is deleted. You can resubscribe and pick up where you left off. If you explicitly delete your account, deletion is immediate and permanent: surveys are removed, audit logs are anonymized, and the account record is erased. We strongly recommend exporting all data before requesting account deletion.

Audit Trail

How does the audit trail work? ▼

Every survey edit (question added, wording changed, setting modified) is logged with timestamp and account ID. The audit trail is write-only -- survey creators cannot modify or delete entries. Export the audit log anytime as CSV, PDF, or JSON.

Can someone modify responses after submission? ▼

No. Once a respondent submits, their response is immutable. The audit trail logs any attempt to access or view the response, but the response data itself cannot be edited.

Data Formats

Does SPSS export actually work? ▼

Yes. Variable names, labels, and value labels transfer correctly. Multiple choice becomes categorical variables with labels. Rating scales transfer as numeric with value labels. We test SPSS export with every release.

What other export formats are available? ▼

CSV (for R, Stata, Excel), PDF (presentation-ready report), PowerPoint (charts and summary). All exports include response timestamps. The audit trail is also exportable as CSV with SHA-256 hash-chain verification.

Compliance

Is Candor GDPR compliant? ▼

Yes. EU-based accounts store data in EU-Central (Frankfurt). We provide right-to-deletion, data portability, and consent workflows. Data Processing Addendum available on request.

Do you have SOC 2 certification? ▼

Candor runs on AWS infrastructure, which maintains SOC 2 Type II certification. Our application-level SOC 2 certification is roadmapped for Q4 2026. We're happy to provide our security white paper and discuss our security practices in detail.

How Candor fits your research workflow

From ethics board application to final report — here's how it works.

Ethics Board Preparation

Download Research Ethics Package
Review data security white paper
Copy sample methodology citation into ethics board application

Survey Design

Use consent page builder for informed consent
Add research questions using rating scales, grid questions, or side-by-side comparisons
Preview survey as respondent would see it

Data Collection

Share link or embed on your website
Monitor response count in real-time
Audit trail logs every survey edit during collection

Analysis

Export to SPSS, R, or Stata with proper variable formatting
Download audit trail for methodology appendix
Generate PDF report for committee presentation

Long-term Storage

Archive survey after study closes
Export all data and audit logs for institutional repository
Delete account if no longer needed (export data first — deletion is permanent)

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How to cite Candor in your research

Copy whichever format fits your paper, ethics board application, or data availability statement.

Methods Section

Survey data were collected using Candor Surveys (Golden Hills Software, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO), a web-based survey platform featuring an immutable audit trail, configurable consent workflows, and GDPR-compliant data handling. Responses were collected between [START DATE] and [END DATE]. Data were exported in SPSS format for analysis using [SPSS/R/Stata version]. The complete audit trail documenting all survey modifications during the data collection period is available in [Appendix X / Supplementary Materials].

APA 7th Edition

Golden Hills Software, Inc. (2026). Candor Surveys (Version 2026.1) [Web-based survey platform]. https://usecandor.app

Data Availability Statement

Survey instruments, response data, and audit trail exports are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. All data were collected using Candor Surveys (https://usecandor.app) with Research Mode enabled, which provides timestamped, immutable logging of all survey modifications.

Ethics Board Application — Technical Specifications

Data will be collected using Candor Surveys, a web-based survey platform by Golden Hills Software, Inc. (Colorado Springs, CO). The platform provides:

• Encryption: AES-256 at rest, TLS 1.2+ in transit
• Data storage: AWS RDS (US-East or EU-Central, based on account region)
• Audit trail: Immutable, timestamped log of all survey modifications (write-only, cannot be altered by survey creator)
• Consent capture: Built-in consent page with timestamped acceptance records
• Access control: Role-based; only explicitly invited collaborators can view responses
• Data export: SPSS (.sav), CSV, PDF, with variable labels and value coding preserved
• Data retention: Responses retained until researcher-initiated deletion; subscription lapse does not delete data; account deletion is immediate and permanent

Your ethics board will ask how you collected data. These citations establish Candor as a professional research tool and document your methodology for replication. Adapt terminology (IRB, REB, ethics committee) to match your institution.

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Start your first survey free Download Research Ethics Package (.zip)

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