Data Collection Tools for Microsoft Excel or
Access
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A colleague of mine once tried to collect data on a Excel spreadsheet using his PDA.* He quickly abandoned the idea. It was much too easy to loose one's place as you scrolled up, down, and across on the small PDA screen. However, there is a commercial solution: Pendragon Forms from Pendragon software ($250 as of July, 2004).
*Not familiar with using Excel, Word, and office suites with your PDA? I show you how here.
Why would you want to use this type of
program?
Let's say you need to collect data but carrying a laptop
around with you is too cumbersome. So you might create a data collection form on
a piece of paper that you keep with you in your lab jacket. You fill it in by
hand and then you go back to your office later and enter the data into your
spreadsheet (Excel) or database program (Access).
Essentially what you have done is double entered the data. Not only is it time consuming, but you are susceptible to data entry errors. This is how I collected data for clinical research studies for the past two decades! (Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?)
How I Use This Program: A CASE STUDY
We were planning to collect data from the patient's chart for a clinical nutrition study.
First you set up your collection form. You can use fill in the blanks, check boxes, drop down menus to fit your data. Below is an example of a form I used to collect data from a patient's hospital chart for a clinical research study. You have to scroll down to see all the variables, but these screenshots give you a general idea on designing your form. The first is a screenshot of the form designer (done on your desktop/laptop computer).
The second screenshot (below) shows you what your form looks like on your PDA (as you can see I have the data filled in).
So you collect your data, then at the end of the day, you go back to your office and hotsync your PDA. Here is where the "magic" happens.
NEXT: Automatically import your data into a Excel spreadsheet.
