5. Open Data Kit (ODK) is a free and open-
source set of tools which help researchers
author, field, and manage mobile data
collection and management solutions.
It allows data collection using mobile
devices and data submission to an online
server, even without an Internet connection
or mobile carrier service at the time of data
collection.
6. ODK Collect
◦ Android app/ Mobile data collection engine
◦ Download forms/collect data
◦ Upload data
ODK Build
◦ Creating forms/ Authoring forms
◦ Publishing forms to Aggregate or XML
ODK Aggregate
◦ Store data/ Data server (Google AppEngine or web
server)
ODK Manage – For supervision of research
assistants
Among other tools
ODK components
7. ODK Build/Notepad
Editor
XML Forms
XML Data
Form Authoring
(ODK Build/XML Editor)
Mobile Engine
(ODK Collect)
Data Server
(ODK Aggregate)
XForms
XML Data
9. open to fill a blank form
Open to edit filled I forms before submitting
Submit the finalized forms to the aggregate
server
Get/ download a blank form from the
Aggregate server
Delete blank saved forms from the mobile
28. Aggregate: Site Access
• Allow anyone with the
aggregate account
permissions to
download forms and
submit data
• Allows one to create
permissions with
account and
password
• data collector
• data viewer
• form manager
• site admin
29. Aggregate: Form Management
Add New Form
Two methods of
form uploading:
• Upload XML file
• Upload a form by
publishing from
ODK build
31. Creating a Form using Build
• Can create forms
using the ODK
build GUI
• More complex
forms easier to
write in XML
32. Publishing the Form • Publishing to
Aggregate uploads
the blank form/
questionnaire to the
host on the Google
AppEngine where it
can be downloaded
using ODK collect
App for data
collection
• Publishing XML
allows the user to
customize the simple
form (logic,
appearance, etc)
Publish to
Aggregate
P
Publish to
XML
33.
34. – Harder to skip questions
– Range checking
– Eliminates branching errors
– Eliminates transcription
errors
– Immediate access to data
from the server – rapid
data aggregation and
analyses (Real-time data
access)
– Portability
– Data security
– Minimize workforce -Better
supervision is possible
35. – Unlimited data types;
Form + GPS location +
picture + video + string+
numeric + audio +
barcode
– Branching sequence
– Get GPS location of
respondent easily
– Cleaner data –
standardization of data
– Easy connection to other
health records e.g.
openMRS
37. Minimize workforce
Data Collection the hard way
Data collection on
mobile phones is
easy, effective, and
fun!
38. Turnaround
Typesetting
Photocopy (bulk)
Data Entry Screen
Programming
Data Entry
Data Cleaning
Tedious & Bulky
Easy to fake
Time consuming
Limited data type range
Time consuming
• Clean data – Range checks, Skip
logics, Required fields
• Hastens the whole process
• No data entry exercise (reduce
costs)
• Reduced data loss
• Reduced bulkiness – just a phone
• Ease of monitoring
• Increased capacity in collecting
qualitative and quantitative data
(e.g. Videos, Images, locations,
audio recording, barcodes)
• Efficient for Mapping surveys
• Hustle Free
Mobile data collectionPaper questionnaire
39. Quantitative
Consider a two page paper questionnaire
and a sample size of 150 respondents with
a 100% response rate.
40. Option Activity Quantity Description Cost Each
Sub-total
Cost
Native Paper
Questionnaire
Administering
Typesetting 2 pages Typesetting draft questionnaire into a
word processor
25 50
Photocopy/
printing
(150*2pages)=300 Replicating the questionnaires equal to
the number of respondents
5 1500
Database and data
Entry Screen
Programming
1 Interface to be used during data entry and
the database design
10,000 10,000
Data Entry 4 data entry clerks Data entry exercise to be carried out in 1
day
1000 4000
Data Cleaning/
data management
1 Cost for eliminating data captured during
collection and/or entry erroneously
5500 5500
Grand Total 21,050/=
Using ODK Form Authoring/
Developing
1 Developing a two page
questionnaire in ODK
9000 9000
Data Management 1 Aggregating the data and delivery
in .CSV file (OR even SPSS, STATA
formats) and minimal data
cleaning if any
6500 6500
Grand Total 15500/=
Comparing the costs!
The difference widens as the number of pages and sample size
increases
41. The process
1. List questions 2. Design Questionnaire
An officer list the
questions a
survey may
consist with other
data types such
as Pictures, GPS,
Audio, etc
The officer designs the
forms with xForm designer/
Odk build with good
controls and features, in an
electronic survey form.
Access rights and controls
e.g. skip logics are then
assigned by officer. Uploads
the forms to aggregate
3. Download forms
Enumerators
download the survey
form remotely using
ODK Collect app on
their android phone.
4. View data on server
The officer manages and
conducts analysis of the
data collected or export
the data to external
systems like Google Fusion
Tables or ArcGis for further
analysis and sharing
information
43. completing surveys about households
Microfinance institution tracking transactions
from lenders and borrowers.
Crisis mapper tasked to capture images and
locations of damaged areas after a hurricane.
Collecting multimedia data –audio, video
Baseline surveys and project evaluations for
collecting both quantitative data and
qualitative data (Audio recording)
44.
45. Form Authoring
Mobile Engine
Data Server
XForms
Completed
XForms
CellLife, EpiSurveyor,
OpenXData, Open Data Kit
JavaROSA, OpenXData
mobile, ODK-collect
Cell Life, EpiSurveyor,
OpenXData, ODK aggregate
XML Forms
XML Data
46. Open Data Kit provides organizations with a new
way to build information services for developing
regions. The modular, extensible and open-source
design allows picking and choosing tools best
suited for specific deployments.
ODK differs from other platforms and has
unlimited set of tools
Ongoing deployments has proven success.
ODK system architecture of enables a large and
varied set of applications for developing regions.
47. Using of Mysql Data server – No actual cost
incurred, no limitations on data accessibility
48. http://opendatakit.org/about/deployments/ -
successful implementations
http://opendatakit.org/about/tools/ - All ODK
tools
http://build.opendatakit.org –Form building tool
http://purcforms.appspot.com/FormDesigner.html
-Purcform form designer tool
http://code.google.com/p/opendatakit/downloads
/list -ODK Downloads list
http://opendatakit.org/2011/09/list-of-odk-
implementation-companies/
49. Visit our website at:
www.megasixsolutions.com
or
contact me via:
cgatama@megasixsolutions.com /
staff@megasixsoluutions.com
Cell: +254-727-094536