EpiCollect is a generic tool for mobile data collection projects. You can easily create your own (free) project website(s) online at http://www.epicollect.net/
To get started, you design a form containing standard form fields and load into the EpiCollect App. Multiple entries can be stored on the phone, each of which is geotagged and can have photos attached. Data can then be synchronized with the central project website allowing multiple individuals to collect and submit data to a project at one time.
You can view data that you (and others) have submitted to the project website on your iPhone within the EpiCollect app using Google Maps and filter the displayed data based on one (or more) of the form fields.
Data can also be viewed, charted and filtered at the project website using Google Maps and Google Earth.
Demonstration Project
We have pre-loaded a demo questionnaire into EpiCollect to give you a feel for the system. The demo project contains the following questions:
• Q1. What is your name / nickname?
• Q2. Male or Female?
• Q3. What is your age?
• Q4. Which search engine do you most often use?
• Q5. Which social networking sites do you use?
Each entry is geotagged (for mapping) and you can attach a photo from where you are. Please feel free to submit as many entries as you like!
The project website for the demo project can be seen at:
http://www.epicollect.net/project.html?name=demo
Please submit and explore the data at the project website and on your phones.
Uses
Any project where you would like to collect geographically located form data with or without photos. For example, wildlife / species surveys, questionnaires, keeping a record of where you have travelled, etc.
We are currently using EpiCollect for mobile disease surveillance projects but its generality means the system could be used for many kinds of mobile data collection.
Multiple Projects
You can load (and submit data to) multiple projects using EpiCollect and you can even configure your project so that data can be sent to any server (see Developer Instructions at www.epicollect.net)
Free and Open
EpiCollect is provided as free software and has been developed at Imperial College London with funding from The Wellcome Trust.
We are an open-source project and rely on user feedback for suggestions for improvements / bug spotting etc. Please contact us with any issues or comments.