Usability and desirability of OpenXdata - an electronic data capture tool for data collection in health research

Abstract

The conventional way of collecting data is based on 'pen and paper' which is still widely used. The use of electronic tools for data collection in health research is, however, increasing and there has been a shift in electronic data collection tools from proprietary to open-source softwares. OpenXdata is an open-source tool that supports both web and mobile phone based data collection. OpenXdata offers three main blocks of functions: forms design even complex forms, data collection and management. OpenXdata has been used in several health studies, but its user-friendliness has not been studied. This study aims to explore the usability and desirability of OpenXdata for the field data collection in health research. This study followed a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach through a System Usability Scale (SUS) survey and desirability study using Microsoft Product Reaction Cards. A total of 12 participants enrolled in either Master or PhD degree programme at the Centre of International Health, University of Bergen were recruited for this study. In this study, OpenXdata obtained a SUS score of 73.54 suggesting that OpenXdata can be well accepted in health research. The factors like ease of access and use, understandability, less time consuming and speed of data entry into electronic format are the main elements selected by the participants regarding OpenXdata. The findings from this study further indicate that OpenXdata can be a viable alternative to conventional data collection tools.