11  Paperless Data Collection

Modified

February 20, 2026

11.1 Tools & Resources

  1. EpiCollect user’s guide

  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], [list 6], and [list 7]

  2. Paid platforms for paperless data collection

11.2 Sources & Additional Reading

  1. Streamlining Field Data Collection with Mobile Apps

  2. Research at Home: Using a Smartphone for Data Collection

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

  4. NOAA Pathways to paperless Data Collection

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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