HSPkysely

HSPkysely is an open-source framework for designing, distributing, and analyzing large-scale online surveys. The name combines 'HSP' for high-scale processing with 'kysely,' the Finnish word for survey, reflecting its focus on scalable, multilingual survey management. The project aims to provide a reproducible, privacy-conscious platform that can handle tens of millions of responses with robust data governance.

Origin and development: HSPkysely was initiated by a collaborative community of researchers and developers in 2020 and released as an open-source project in 2021. It is maintained by a governance body that oversees releases, contributions, and compatibility with common data standards.

Architecture and features: The system comprises a survey designer, a distribution engine, a response store, and an analytics layer. It supports modular plug-ins, conditional logic, randomized question order, multilingual surveys, and accessibility features. It offers reproducible analysis pipelines, versioned survey definitions, and an audit log. It can be deployed on cloud platforms or on-premises and supports data privacy options, including differential privacy and scoped access controls.

Impact and reception: HSPkysely is used by universities, market researchers, and public institutions. Proponents cite scalability, transparency, and interoperability with common data standards; critics point to the complexity of setup and the need for strong data governance to prevent mis-use. The project emphasizes community contributions and extensive documentation to ease onboarding.

See also: Online survey tools, Reproducible research, Data ethics. References: The HSPkysely project site and its official documentation.