Back to news
30 Jul 2015 | News

Using tablets for real-time data collection

2 mins Read

70% Complete

Socio-economic data collection through household surveys need huge investment in time, human resource, and cost. When one of these is compromised, the quality of data suffers. When data is collected using paper-based formats, errors happen despite clear instructions in the questionnaire. A considerable amount of time is also lost in transferring data from hard to soft version and in finalizing the dataset.

In view of these issues, the ‘Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (Himalica) Initiative’ has started data collection using Android-based tablets. The use of tablets will have following advantages over paper-based data collection:

  1. Enhanced interview experience: The most important benefit of using tablets for data collection is that the survey software will guide the interview process, and improve the interview experience, primarily because it will be easier to administer the questionnaire and ensure data quality. Also, the interviewer can see only one question on the screen at one time, which helps in increasing the readability. In addition, the interviewer need not remember any code or instruction as everything is displayed on the screen.
  2. Real-time data: The use of tablet provides access to real-time data along with GPS coordinates of interviewers. One can monitor the quality of data collected by each interviewer and communicate immediately to the team on any change or mistake. Moreover, delays incurred in the transfer of data from hard to soft version by data entry will be reduced. Currently, the data from field is getting synchronized to a Dropbox server. However, we are trying to see if the data can be synchronized to a FTP server for enhanced security.
  3. Quality control: Use of tablets ensure more control over the data quality by automatic skip-pattern and validation of the response, minimizing data-entry errors. Due to built-in skips and validation rules, interviewer can immediately rectify the errors in the field and reduce the time lost in correction.
  4. Greener solution: A significant amount of money is spent on printing and transportation of questionnaires. Use of tablet can reduce that to a great extent. Moreover, replacing paper questionnaires with electronic data collection is a greener solution and doesn’t require physical storage space.

Himalica has procured 25 tablets and are currently being used to collect data for on-farm monitoring survey for the action research on ‘Agricultural Extension Services in Nepal: Using Social Networks to Promote New Agricultural Technology’. This is the second round of survey and aims to collect data from 1,380 households.

In the first round, approximately 2,500 questionnaires were printed and data collection took 20 days which translates into 69 interviews per day. In addition, transfer of data from hard to soft version and finalization took another 70 days. In the ongoing round, the survey will be completed in 15 days (with 92 interviews per day) with the same number of interviewers. Thus, the use to tablets has saved around 100 days. The tablets will also be used for data collection in poverty and vulnerability surveys and other pilot and action research studies.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related Contents

Continue exploring this topic

15 Dec 2015 News
Strengthening Capacity in Flood Forecasting in the Himalayan Region

  ICIMOD, in collaboration with the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) and the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), Nepal, trained fifteen participants ...

23 Sep 2015 News
ICIMOD introduces solar irrigation systems in Saptari District, Nepal

A woman farmer, a water seller, a large farmer, and a farmer’s association became the first farmers in Saptari to ...

17 Mar 2016 News
ICIMOD at the Mountain Futures Conference – Nurturing seeds for Change in the Anthropocene

An ICIMOD delegation participated in the Mountain Futures Conference: Nurturing Seeds for Change in the Anthropocene, held in Kunming, China from ...

22 Jan 2016 News
Partnering for Better Livelihoods in Upper Indus

‘Agricultural Water, Energy and Hazard Management in the Upper Indus Basin for Improved Livelihood’, a special project in Upper Hunza, ...

29 Jul 2015 News
Micro-planning in Myanmar

The ‘Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (Himalica) Initiative’ facilitated a three-day micro-planning workshop in Kyaung Taung ...

26 May 2015 News
Indian farmers meet local entrepreneurs in Dadeldhura

ICIMOD and the Central Himalayan Environmental Association (CHEA) organized a five-day visit for the farmers/ beekeepers and the staff of partner organization ...

17 Aug 2018 HUC
Yunnan University Hosts Second HUC Water Group Meeting

Established in November 2017, the Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) Thematic Working Group on Water (Water Group) is a regional initiative ...