Collecting & Analyzing Data on an Android Device

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Collect Data on Mobile Devices

Mobile Companion

Access the mobile companion titled Epi Info™ from your device’s application list. Note that the application layout is different between a large tablet and a phone. The screen will appear in a portrait format on a phone and landscape format on a large tablet.

Screen shot demonstrating Epi Info Mobile application icon on mobile device.

Figure 6.10: Mobile Home screen

  1. The Epi Info™ Mobile main menu appears.
    Screen shot demonstrating the Epi Info™ Mobile main menu.

    Figure 6.11: Epi Info™ Mobile main menu

     

  2. Select Collect Data. Click on the triangle on the right hand corner to see a list of available forms. Select the form for data collection from the drop-down list by pressing on the form name.
  3. Click Load.
    Screen shot demonstrating the Available Forms drop-down list

    Figure 6.12: Available Forms drop-down list

     

    The Collect Data page appears with a list of all records contained on the mobile device for that form. If there are no records, the record list displays <No Records>.

  4. To create a new record, press on the + sign located in the bottom right corner of the screen..
Screen shot of a form which has been opened using the Collect Data module.  No records are displayed in the Record List section since no records have been entered and saved.

Figure 6.13: Collect Data main menu

The form appears on the mobile device. Fields appear vertically on a phone while the tablet can display fields horizontally. Users can slide their fingers across the screen to move around the form and tap into the desired field in order to enter data.

Note: Please make sure to check that the date format of the device matches the date format of the PC. Date formats must match between Android device and PC when data is being imported into the central Epi Info 7 database. You can check the date format being used by the device under the Settings>Date and Time>Select Date Format option.

Note: Always navigate using the back button instead of the home button. Use of the home button can cause cache issues that will lead to malfunctions.

Screen shot of a form opened in the data collection module.  Multiple field types such as Dates, text fields and Image fields can be seen on the form.

Figure 6.14: Mobile Form View

Text Fields

This field allows open text characters. In order to enter data, tap into the field. A keyboard will be displayed to the user in order to enter data. Once data has been entered, click Done.

 

Screen shot of virtual keyboard to be used to enter text characters

Figure 6.15: Keyboard for Text Fields

Numeric Fields

This field allows numeric values. In order to enter data, tap into the field. A keyboard will be displayed to the user allowing only numbers and decimals to be entered. Once data has been entered, click Done.

 

Screen shot of virtual numeric keyboard to be used to enter numeric characters

Figure 6.16: Keyboard for Numeric Fields

Date Fields

Date fields can be entered by clicking the calendar icon located next to the field. The user can then select a value for each of the data elements (month,day,year). Once data has been entered, click Done.

 

Screen shot of a section of a form which contains multiple date fields.

Figure 6.17: Calendar Icon for Dates

 

Screen shot of virtual date picker control used to enter a date value into a date fields

Figure 6.18: Calendar for Selecting Dates

Time Fields

Time fields can be entered by clicking the clock icon located next to the field. The user can then specify a value for hour and minutes. Once data has been entered, click Done.

 

Screen shot of a section of a form which contains multiple time fields.

Figure 6.19: Clock Icon

 

Screen shot of virtual time picker control used to enter time into a time field.

Figure 6.20: Time Selection Screen

Drop Down Lists

This field type provides a list of possible values in response to a question therefore limiting the number of options to use. Initially this field will present the user with the prompt <Not Selected>. Tap into the field and select the desired response.

 

Screen shot of a Legal Value field being displayed on a form for data collection on a mobile device.

Figure 6.21: Drop Down Lists

Checkbox Fields

The Checkbox field allows you to collect data by checking or unchecking a box. Multiple checkboxes can be used to quickly enter responses that are consistent in the study (e.g. symptoms or foods eaten). Checkbox fields collect binary data such as 0 or 1, True or False, Yes or No. The response is stored in the database as a 1 or 0 where 1 equals Yes and 0 equals No. Checkbox fields do not contain missing values. They are considered to be “No” until they are checked. The following figure provides an example of how Checkbox fields appear on a mobile device.

 

Screen shot of a series of Checkbox fields being displayed on a form for data collection on a mobile device.

Figure 6.22: Checkbox Fields

Image/Photo Fields

The Image field will appear as a Photo field on a mobile device. This field allows the user to insert pictures taken with the mobile device onto the form. The photos taken will always stretch to the field shape that appears on the mobile device. The retain image size feature in the Image Field Definition dialog box will not affect the Photo field’s functionality. When inserting Image fields, adjust the field size to the anticipated aspect ratio of the mobile device.

  1. To add a picture to the form, select the Photo field. The mobile device’s camera function automatically opens.
  2. Take the photo (process varies depending on the mobile device).
  3. Select Save. Epi Info™ inserts the photo into the Photo field.

Photo fields will appear as the same size regardless of layout on the PC version of Epi Info™ when using a phone.

Capture GPS Coordinates

If the mobile device is connected to the internet, latitude and longitude coordinates can be captured by selecting Capture Coordinates, located in the top right corner of the screen. Select the field containing the latitude coordinates from the Select latitude field drop-down list. Select the field containing the longitude coordinates from the Select longitude field drop-down list. Select Set.

 

Screen shot of GPS settings box. Geocode coordinates can be captured directly from the mobile device.

Figure 6.23: GPS Settings

The coordinates appear in the latitude and longitude fields.

 

Screen shot of the latitude and longitude fields. Coordinates are displayed in a list view once retrieved.

Figure 6.24: Latitude and Longitude Coordinates

Save Record

To save the form, select Save Record in the top right corner of the screen. An incomplete form can be saved and finished at a later time. The data is stored with a Record ID and Preview information.

 

Screen shot of the Record List section of the Collect Data module.  This interface provides a listing of all the records that have been collected on a mobile device in the form selected.

Figure 6.25: Record List

Edit Record

Press over the record you wish to edit from the Record List. The form appears on the device and is ready for editing. At any point, select the Save Record button to save the edited record.

Delete Record

Press and hold down on the desired Record from the Record List and a menu will appear. Select Delete Record.

Search Record

To search the Record list, press over the magnifying glass located in the top right corner of the Collect Data menu.  This will open the Search option.  The Epi Info Record list (top left corner of the screen) becomes blank with a blinking cursor. The Search function allows records to be located based on a series of matched variables. Type in the search criteria and press the search button. The records that match the search criteria appear in the record list.  When searching for a record, you will need to specify the field name, the = operator, and then the value.  If you are searching for a text field, use single quotes around the value being searched.   For example PATIENTNAME=’Walter’ if you are searching for “Walter” as the patient name in your tablet.

 

Screen shot of search results after specifying parameters to search for a record.

Figure 6.26: Syntax for Search text field

You can use the AND or the OR operator to use more than one variable in your search criteria. If you are searching for a date or numeric field, simply type the value to be searched (i.e. DOB=06/12/1999 or AGE=35) without using any quotes.