The Insights Association has endorsed the application programming interface (API) standard for transferring survey data (TSAPI), which simplifies the exchange of survey data between different platforms or software tools.
Building on the previous TripleS standard, TSAPI allows programs and platforms to communicate directly without relying on intermediate files. It improves connectivity within the research sector, acting as a bridge between insights and other industries and encouraging greater innovation and smoother, more efficient practices.
“Seamless data transfer is essential to ensure efficiency and quality across the insights ecosystem,” commented Melanie Courtright, CEO of the Insights Association. “The practices outlined in the TSAPI Standard comprise a viable solution that we encourage IA members and all organizations who manage survey data to consider. These best practices are well researched and objective and stand to eliminate bottlenecks and confusion while saving valuable time.”
IA joins the Market Research Society (MRS), the UK professional body for research, insight and analytics, and the Association for Survey Computing (ASC) in supporting this standard.
Benefits of TSAPI:
• It is open; offered on an open-source basis. All material is freely available for all to use, being licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
• It is independent and non-proprietary. TSAPI formed via consultation with, and subsequently cooperation between a diverse range of software providers and survey data users. Its governing body, the TSAPI Steering Group, is made up of representatives from these different stakeholders.
• It is time. In an increasingly complex technology-dependent landscape, the consumer insights industry needs an API that defines the unique challenges of working with survey data.
• It allows innovation and evolution. TSAPI enables the insights and analytics community to continue to work across technical and commercial boundaries, within and beyond the sector, and allow developers outside the sector to appreciate the problems they must address to meet the needs of our professional community. The API allows integration – both in batch and in real-time – into data pipelines, and cloud and desktop software. For more information on the standard, visit the TSAPI website at www.tsapi.net/
Matt Gibbs, chair of TSAPI Steering Group, comments: “Our mission for TSAPI has always been to provide a cost-free means for practitioners around the world to more effectively transfer data, freeing them up to focus on delivering high-quality insights. This endorsement by IA will encourage wider adoption of the standard, fostering greater innovation, leading to sector-wide growth and greater appreciation of the value of the work of research professionals. We would like to thank Insights Association for endorsing TSAPI and recognizing the importance of this standard.”