Registration Forms#
Where will you host your Registration Form?#
There are many different tools that can be used to collect registration data for events. Your choice of tool may be related to your access to the tool and also the requirements your organisation has in terms of data protection.
Simple tools like Google forms or Microsoft forms can be used for multiple questions to collect information into a simple spreadsheet.
Zoom has features that allow you to ask multiple questions, brand the emails and also send multiple response emails.
If you want to set up responses to your registration form and schedule multiple emails to be sent to participants before the event, then it may be useful to use a registration platform such as Eventbrite or MeetUp. These platforms store data centrally, they work on most browsers, and enable secure credit card payment as well as multiple marketing emails for participants.
Data collection and data protection /privacy issues#
You need to think about why you want to collect certain types of data and how you are going to use them. Under GDPR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation), you are required to collect the minimum amount of data and especially when it comes to personal data. So think carefully about what you really do require for the purpose of the event and also the outcomes of the event such as a report.
You might not think you are collecting sensitive or special category data in a registration form but this can be disclosed by attendee.
Questions about accessibility requirements can give answers that include health information.
Questions about dietary requirements can receive responses that record the religious belief of attendees and also health information such as allergies.
You must clearly explain why you’re asking for sensitive information and how you will handle this data. This includes clearly stating what you will do with the data afterwards - will this be to inform you on equality, diversity and inclusion, will you use it to write a report?
Organisations usually have a privacy statement that can be used for this purpose. An example of a privacy notice can be found on the The Alan Turing Institute website: https://www.turing.ac.uk/privacy-policy
Data you must collect#
You will always need to collect participant details like their name, email and you could also collect organisation/affiliation.
To consider the accessibility requirements of attendees, you will need to ask a questions about their accessibility needs. This is needed whether attendees participate online or in person events.
For in person events, you will also need dietary requirements if you are serving any type of food or drink.
As mentioned above, you must also ask all attendees to agree to your privacy notice about how your organisation will use their data.
You may also need to ask for consent on recording if you’re recording speakers and/or discussions.
Data you could collect#
You might also want to ask questions that you will use for reporting such as motivation for participating, what they want to learn from the event, other themes/topics the attendees would be interested in attending.
To learn more about who is attending your events, you may also want to collect information on their background, such as country they are based in, job title and research areas they work in.
You might also consider collecting information to inform equality, diversity and inclusion monitoring. This can include age (or banded age categories), ethnic origin, gender. This data is considered sensitive so should be restricted access and the colleciton should be minimised. However, this data is important for monitoring the equality, diversity and inclusion monitoring of your events and therefore important to track whether you are being inclusive.
General tips#
Sequence your questions logically after each other.
If you ask an optional question, make it clear that it’s optional.
Do not rely on colour to communicate your questions.
Provide clear explanations for complicated questions to guide people towards choosing the correct answer/option.
Provide contact information of the committee member who can be contacted regarding any errors or questions related to registration.
Clearly state the next steps upon clicking the submit button.
Link the registration form clearly on the webpage and advertise across different community platforms.
Template registration form#
We have made a template of all the different questions you might want to include on your registraion form.
You can see this on the next page.