Limitations and Cautions

How To... > Work with Surveys > Limitations and Cautions

•Information is transferred without encryption. This means that computer hackers can break into the system, and you should not use Fathom Surveys for gathering or storing highly sensitive information.

•There is no built-in mechanism to ensure that each respondent takes a survey only once. You can require each respondent to provide an ID and check for duplicates, but Fathom Surveys cannot assist in this process (for example, by telling a respondent that the ID they entered has already been used). This limitation, combined with lack of encryption, means that Fathom Surveys does not provide a secure system for conducting elections.

•Surveys you produce are always one web page, no matter how long, so you can’t control the order in which respondents answer the questions. Also, there is no facility to change the questions that appear based on answers or to ensure that respondents answer each question.

•Fathom Surveys drastically streamlines the process of gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information. When it is used to gather personal information, there is real potential for harm. (see the Ethics of Classroom Surveys online tutorial that comes with Fathom Surveys.) The Fathom Surveys License contains additional cautionary information.

formation is transferred without encryption. This means that computer hackers can break into the system, and you should not use Fathom Surveys for gathering or storing highly sensitive information.