Get Started
Network Canvas
Network Canvas is a suite of free, open-source tools for surveying networks, designed around the needs of both researchers and their participants. We provide a complete end-to-end workflow for networks research, with apps for survey design and for interviewing. Using these tools, researchers can easily design, capture, and export network data.
Getting Started
To get started using the Network Canvas tools, read the project overview, and determine which tools to use for your project.
| Runs where | Access | Step in workflow | Supported Schemas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architect | Browser, PWA | Open in browser | Build protocol | V8 |
| Architect Classic | Windows, macOS, Linux | Download | Build protocol | V7 |
| Interviewer (beta) | Browser, PWA | Open in browser | Run interviews | V8 |
| Interviewer Classic | Desktop & tablet | Download | Run interviews | V7 |
| Fresco | Browser (self-hosted) | Deploy an instance | Run interviews | V8 |
PWA (Progressive Web App): Architect and Interviewer run in any modern web browser with nothing to install, and can optionally be installed to a device you control for quick access and offline use.
Good to know:
Not all apps are compatible. A protocol's schema version, determined by the tool it was built in, controls which apps can open it, so consider compatibility when choosing your tools. See App compatibility by schema version for a visual matrix of what runs where, or Protocol Schema Information for a full explanation of schema versions and automatic migration.
From there, explore the two main sections of the documentation, each with step-by-step tutorials to get you started:
- Design Protocols — everything about designing a protocol in Architect. Choose between Architect and Architect Classic, open or install the tool, and follow the tutorials for building a protocol.
- Collect Data — everything about administering interviews. Choose between Interviewer — the browser-based app you can install to a device you control for interviewer-assisted interviews — and Fresco, which deploys your protocol to the web for participants to complete remotely. (For existing schema 7 studies, Interviewer Classic remains available as a desktop and tablet download.)
We encourage you to use the search function at the top of each page to find articles on any given topic. Our pages are heavily interlinked, and information is necessarily spread around.
Useful Pages
Please explore the pages and headings to the left.
This Get Started section holds the supporting reference material that applies across all of the tools. You'll find these headings in the sidebar to the left:
- Planning a Study — how to think through your study before you start, including a visual overview of the workflows and guidance on GDPR and IRB. The full end-to-end Protocol and Data Workflows tutorial lives in the Collect Data section.
- Project Information — details of the origins of the projects, as well as information about the security model, citing the software, and collaborating with us.
- Advanced Topics — articles that may be useful for advanced users or developers, including protocol schema and file-format details.
You'll also find release announcements here. Reference material for designing protocols — Key Concepts and Interface Documentation — now lives in the Design Protocols section.
Whichever tools you choose, the shape of a study is the same: design a protocol, run it to collect data, and export that data for analysis. For detailed walkthroughs of these workflows — including the browser-based route with Architect and the desktop route with Architect Classic and Interviewer Classic — see the protocol and data workflows tutorial.