Survey with file upload: How-to, examples and tips
Sometimes, you want your survey and form respondents to upload additional information. Do this with ease using the strategies explained in this informative article.
Surveys and forms enable you to gather important feedback and information from individuals.
There are instances, however, when you might want to take your interactions to the next level by allowing file uploads. This approach allows your respondents to provide even more valuable insights and content. SurveyMonkey allows you to collect various types of documents with ease.
In this article, you will learn how to create a survey that allows file uploads using SurveyMonkey.
How to create a survey with file upload
Does SurveyMonkey allow file uploads? Yes, to add a file upload question in SurveyMonkey:
- Select the File Upload option from the Build section to add a file upload question to your survey.
- Enter your question text (e.g. “Upload image file of receipt”).
- Select or restrict the file types you accept (e.g., PDF, JPG). Bear in mind the fact that respondents can upload multiple file types but that the file size limit is 16 megabytes.
- Write a validation message (e.g. “Input type file not supported”).
- Adjust the settings under the Options tab.
- Click Save.
What is a survey with a file upload?
The right survey questions can net you valuable input and research insights. Sometimes, however, you need to capture more information than a Likert scale or a qualitative response prompt can offer. A file upload field can prove useful in a variety of scenarios.
SurveyMonkey allows file uploads. You can use it to collect several types of files:
- A JPG image of the damage that a customer is reporting for your brand.
- A PDF of a design portfolio or a vendor’s sales deck.
- A DOC of someone’s CV when they are applying to your team for a job.
- A PNG screenshot showing the error message that someone is seeing on their screen.
- A GIF when you want to encourage creative responses to your survey questions.
Why would I upload files to a survey?
A file upload survey question is an extra way to gather information that is not available via multiple choice questions or open responses. You can avoid the need to follow up separately via email or phone.
Using a survey file upload option, you can also gather survey responses and documents in a central location, helping you to stay organised. You don’t have to track survey responses and an email inbox (or, worse still, snail mail) to ensure that you are getting the complete picture of that individual’s responses.
From streamlining online applications to providing excellent customer support, here are a few ways in which people use surveys and forms to collect or upload files.
Job and membership applications
Online surveys and forms simplify the application process for work or membership. Even so, if the individual is not applying in person, you may need to ask for supporting documentation.
Consider these examples:
- Using a job application form template, you could invite people to share Word files, PDFs or spreadsheets to provide some additional context.
- Your job application survey can ask candidates to upload samples of their work. For example, a designer could provide a PNG of a logo or a PDF of a mailshot.
- For a gym application, someone’s income level may need to be validated in order to determine the membership fee; ask people to provide a pay slip or tax form for verification with an upload question.
Customer service
Efficient customer service is key to brand success. With request forms that allow people to upload images, your team can see images that help to provide clearer insights, which can expedite your responses and improve customer satisfaction.
Other examples include:
- Enabling customers to upload receipts or other purchase records in order to customise your attention to their issues or reward their loyalty with rebates, points or other customer loyalty programmes.
- Gathering event feedback with a mixture of survey questions, including some that invite people to share their images from the event (which you could then use in your marketing as user-generated content).
- Encouraging customer service feedback with the ability for respondents to upload screenshots of the chat conversation.
Human resources and employee management
Human resources departments do a lot of work validating work eligibility and confirming the number of hours people have worked. They might also use surveys and forms for employee outreach.
Some common uses of file upload survey questions here include:
- Soliciting employee feedback with open-ended questions that people can answer using their own documents.
- Streamlining the application process by asking for cover letters, CVs and any supporting materials via a central form or survey.
- Collecting documentation to verify work eligibility and tax status.
- Sending out employment forms to simplify onboarding for a new hire.
- Supporting standardisation of payroll by asking managers to fill in and upload a consistent data spreadsheet.
Homework and other school assignments
With the proliferation of online learning, students and teachers are now more familiar than ever with surveys and forms. It’s more difficult for a dog to eat your homework when you’re uploading directly from your device!
An educational establishment can use file upload capabilities in several ways, including for:
- Collecting homework, papers and assignments at any education level.
- Asking students in an online-only class to submit photos of themselves so that they are more than just a name on a register to the instructor.
- Streamlining the university application form and a potential student’s supporting documents (e.g. their academic transcript and personal statement).
Patient intake and medical records
Healthcare institutions are going electronic, too. Online surveys and forms can expedite intake, simplify keeping up with patients and support compliance.
In particular, a medical practice might use file upload questions to:
- Ask patients to upload existing medical records or images to registration forms.
- Gather insurance information via images of policy documentation uploaded to the intake form.
- Ask people to sign and upload forms about privacy and GDPR and HIPAA compliance.
Examples of file upload questions
Having explored a range of options for file upload questions, let’s be a little more specific. The following are examples of file upload survey questions:
- Please upload a photo of yourself.
- Provide a PDF document of your most recent CV.
- We need to verify your income level to determine your membership fee. Please attach a copy of your pay slip or P60.
- We want to help. Help us understand the problem by sharing a screenshot of what you’re seeing on your device.
- Last step! Upload your drawing of the food pyramid.
- We want to give you the best second opinion that we can. Please provide any documentation related to your injury.
- We want to see how you style your Swanky Suzy scarf. Upload a photo.
- Think you can do better? Upload a revised version for our review.
- We want you to get off to a good start. Please upload the picture page of your passport or a current driving licence.
Why use SurveyMonkey rather than Google Forms’ file upload option?
Google Forms has a file upload option, but compared to SurveyMonkey, you’ll find several reasons why the latter is more efficient. Survey makers can leverage intelligent SurveyMonkey features to gather high-quality responses.
- Gather a number of files with a survey file upload question without requiring respondents to sign in to their account.
- Design smarter surveys with detailed question branching and logic.
- Leverage 400+ survey and form templates compared to Google Forms’ 17 templates.
- Use expert-designed survey templates and our Question Bank – including our 25 question types compared to Google Forms’ 11 – to expedite the survey-creation process and gather deeper insights.
- Use advanced analysis tools to examine real-time results, generate word clouds and charts, and gain insight into respondents’ feelings.
- Enhance collaboration and act on data faster with 200+ SurveyMonkey integrations.
- Continue to build your survey knowledge via webinars, such as one about designing data analysis plans for better results.
You might also be wondering whether you can link to a document in SurveyMonkey. Well, the answer is yes; you can add a hyperlink to provide context.
Using file upload survey questions can support your workflow, whether it relates to applications, registrations, file intake or customer service. SurveyMonkey makes it easy to reliably gather documents from respondents.
Choose from hundreds of customisable survey templates and online form templates designed by experts. Get started today!
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