[Web4lib] EpiCollect: Linking Smartphones to Web Applications for Epidemiology, Ecology and Community Data Collection

[McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]]

Colleagues/

 

>>>Think About The (Other) Applications / Possibilities <<< 

 

/Gerry 

 

Aanensen DM, Huntley DM, Feil EJ, al-Own F, Spratt BG, 2009 EpiCollect:
Linking Smartphones to Web Applications for Epidemiology, Ecology and
Community Data Collection. PLoS ONE 4(9): e6968.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006968 

 

Abstract

 

Background

 

Epidemiologists and ecologists often collect data in the field and, on
returning to their laboratory, enter their data into a database for
further analysis. The recent introduction of mobile phones that utilise
the open source Android operating system, and which include (among other
features) both GPS and Google Maps, provide new opportunities for
developing mobile phone applications, which in conjunction with web
applications, allow two-way communication between field workers and
their project databases.

 

Data collection frameworks utilising mobile phones with data submission
to and from central databases are widely applicable and can give a field
worker similar display and analysis tools on their mobile phone that
they would have if viewing the data in their laboratory via the web. We
demonstrate their utility for epidemiological data collection and
display, and briefly discuss their application in ecological and
community data collection. Furthermore, such frameworks offer great
potential for recruiting 'citizen scientists' to contribute data easily
to central databases through their mobile phone.

 

Links To Source And Full Text and YouTube Demo  and Parent Site And News
Coverage Available At

 

[ http://tinyurl.com/l5sljh  ]

 

/Gerry 

 

Gerry McKiernan

Associate Professor

Science and Technology Librarian

Iowa State University Library

Ames IA 50011

 

gerrymck at iastate.edu

 

There Are No Answers, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying

 

 

The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed

Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace