Introduction

Mark2 is a support tool for conducting mark-sensing surveys on plain paper. Even though online surveys are now common, there are still many situations where paper-based surveys are needed. We are developing Mark2 in the hope that it will make it easier to use mark-sensing surveys.

Mark2 started its development project in 2016 at the Social Innovation Laboratory, Keio Research Institute at SFC. The system has already been used in answer sheets for academic achievement tests, surveys of residents by local governments, and surveys of visitors to sporting events.

Mark2 continues to be developed as an open source project.

History

2016

Started a development project at the Social Innovation Laboratory, Keio Research Institute at SFC

2017

Alpha version released

2018

Beta version (CLI) released

2019

Mark2 Desktop (Desktop App) released on Microsoft Store

2021

Released Mark2 (Web App)

2022

Started working as an open source project

Workflow

Prepare your survey form

You review the survey design and prepare a survey form (printed manuscript) in mark-sheet format. You also prepare coordinate files (Excel format) to be used for mark recognition.

To make Mark2 easier to use, we provide generic templates as “Mark2 Templates”. You can also choose the template that best fits your survey from this list.

Conduct the survey

You will print the survey form on your printer. Please use the printer you normally use. If you are ordering a printer to print a large quantity, please specify paper that can be filled in with a pencil (e.g., high-quality paper).

Scan

The collected survey forms are scanned into an image file. A multifunction printer is also available.

Recognize marks

Perform mark recognition with Mark2.

Mark2 is a web application that performs mark recognition. It reads mark information from scanned images of mark sheets and converts it into data. The processed results can be downloaded in Excel format. Anyone can use Mark2 free of charge.

Analyze

You will analyze processed result data.

Use Cases

  • University Baseball Autumn Fresh League in Shizuoka, Questionnaire for visitors, University Baseball Autumn Fresh League Executive Committee (2020, 2021, 2022)
  • The Next Generation University Baseball Summer League in Niigata, Questionnaire for visitors, Executive Committee of Next Generation University Baseball Summer League in Niigata (2022)
  • Miyagi Academic Achievement Survey, Miyagi Prefecture (2021, 2022)
  • Survey on the Livelihood of Daisen Town Residents in the Corona Disaster, Daisen Town (2021)
  • Survey on Community Activities to Better Daisen Town, Daisen Town (2018)
  • Life Skills Assessment Scale for Athletes, Yuko Tokairin Laboratory, Keio University (2018)
  • Questionnaire for the National Forum on Cooperation in Disasters, National Network of Volunteer Disaster Relief Organizations (2017, 2018)
  • Questionnaire for the National Volunteer Forum, National Council of Social Welfare (2017)
  • Questionnaire for Participants in Disaster Volunteer Center Operator Training, National Council of Social Welfare (2017)

etc…