API: R-package

Introduction to the Survey Solutions API R-package

Why this package

The World Bank’s Computer Assisted Survey System (CASS) Survey Solutions is a powerful tool for high quality data collection and used in many statistical offices around the world. Besides the standard GUI, it also comes with a powerful REST API. For details see https://docs.mysurvey.solutions/

To further facilitate its integration in a fully automated workflow we have developed this R package, which covers almost all of the available API calls. With this vignette you get a first overview on the different functions, further vignettes are available on survey management, paradata analysis and shiny integration.

Survey Solutions API

Survey Solutions includes a powerful and flexible API which allows automating some tasks and allows our users to build larger systems, which may compliment Survey Solutions to achieve larger goals. 

Some examples of use could be:

• schedule periodic export of collected data
• an external dashboard or monitoring and reporting system, which updates some indicators every night and publishes them to a website, or
• an external checking and validation system which verifies collected data against some external sources of information and rejects automatically the incorrect interviews, or
• an integrated system, which utilizes Survey Solutions for data collections tasks and a statistical package for continuous analysis,
• facility management, inventory and price monitoring systems, etc, etc.

It is up to our users to decide on the particular scenario of use taking into account their needs and existing legacy systems already in place. The integration mode is usually dictated by the external system, which may determine, for example, in which language the system is implemented or to which storage the data is transferred from Survey Solutions.

API: .NET package

Introduction to the Survey Solutions .NET API Client package

There is a client library aviable to be used in .NET runtime to execute API methods of Survey Solutions software. In order to get started install dotnet SDK. After done that you will be able to use included in SDK CLI to create a new project, execute the following command:

dotnet new console

This will create a sample console application. To add Survey solutions client library execute following command:

API interactive description

The following page contains an interactive description of the Survey Solutions API for the current release: https://demo.mysurvey.solutions/apidocs

If your server’s version is different, check its API at: https://SERVERNAME.mysurvey.solutions/apidocs

API: Powershell Module

SSAW PowerShell module contains cmdlets wrapping Survey Solutions API to abstract away from some of the HTTP details. As PowerShell command-line shell is already present and all Windows machines, users can start automating their interaction with Survey Solutions application without any additional software development. PowerShell can be installed on Mac and Linux computers as well, but you may prefer to use the Python client insted.