12  Paperless Data Collection

12.1 Tools & Resources

12.1.1 Recommended Platform: EpiCollect

1. EpiCollect Homepage

2. Download the app for Apple iOS and [Android Phones])

3. User’s guide

4. Intro to EpiCollect 5
   

5. Creating an EpiCollect PROJECT
   

6. Creating a FORM for your Epicollect Project
   

7. Collecting data in EpiCollect with your phone or tablet

8. Aanensen DM, Huntley DM, Feil EJ, al-Own F, Spratt BG (2009) EpiCollect: Linking Smartphones to Web Applications for Epidemiology, Ecology and Community Data Collection. PLoS ONE 4(9): e6968. link

12.1.2 Paid platforms for paperless data collection

1. Fulcrum; link to post describing how it was used by an NGO.
2. ODK

12.1.3 Useful smartphone apps for fieldwork

1. Lists of useful apps for data collection in the field: Start with the Bruna Lab Super-List (if you want to suggest any additions to the list please do so here). You can also check [list 2], [list 3], [list 4], [list 5], and [list 6]
2. Research at Home: Using a Smartphone for Data Collection
   
3. Streamlining Field Data Collection with Mobile Apps

12.1.4 Google Sheets

1. Using IFTTT with Google Sheets (LinkedIn Learning Course, requires UF login).

12.1.5 Mobile Form Design

1. Best Practices for the design of mobile forms
2. Optimal design of text fields in sheets

12.1.6 Barcode Scanner Apps

1. Top 10 barcode scanner apps for iPhone and Android
2. Comparison of top free barcode and QR code scanner apps

12.1.7 Photos as Paperless Data Collection

1. Organizing Photos and annotating photos with Tropy. Open source; Allows export of notes and metadata to CSV, JSON, etc.

12.1.8 DIY

1. Sometimes to go paperless you can hack the tools you use: Send measurements from digital calipers to Excel Sheet

12.1.9 Additional Reading

1. Keep calm and go paperless: Electronic lab notebooks can improve your research

2. NOAA Pathways to paperless Data Collection

3. Thieler ER, Zeigler SL, Winslow LA, Hines MK, Read JS, Walker JI (2016) Smartphone-Based Distributed Data Collection Enables Rapid Assessment of Shorebird Habitat Suitability. PLoS ONE 11(11): e0164979. link

4. Teacher, A. G., Griffiths, D. J., Hodgson, D. J., & Inger, R. (2013). Smartphones in ecology and evolution: a guide for the app-rehensive. Ecology and evolution, 3(16), 5268–5278. link

5. Palumbo, M.J., Johnson, S.A., Mundim, F.M., Lau, A., Wolf, A.C., Arunachalam, S., Gonzalez, O., Ulrich, J.L., Washuta, A. and Bruna, E.M. (2012), Harnessing Smartphones for Ecological Education, Research, and Outreach. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 93: 390-393. link

6. Rayhan, R. U., Zheng, Y., Uddin, E., Timbol, C., Adewuyi, O., & Baraniuk, J. N. (2013). Administer and collect medical questionnaires with Google documents: a simple, safe, and free system. Applied Medical Informatics, 33(3), 12-21. link

7. Moylan, C. A., Derr, A. S., & Lindhorst, T. (2013). Increasingly mobile: How new technologies can enhance qualitative research. Qualitative social work: research and practice, 14(1), 36-47. link

8. Harari, G. M., Lane, N. D., Wang, R., Crosier, B. S., Campbell, A. T., & Gosling, S. D. (2016). Using Smartphones to Collect Behavioral Data in Psychological Science: Opportunities, Practical Considerations, and Challenges. Perspectives on Psychological Science 11(6), 838-854.