How does data collection using personal digital assistants (PDAs) work?
The survey questions are individually programmed along with their categorized answer choices into drop-down menus, multiple choice check boxes, or other available configurations. Any questions that may have the need for open-ended text entry such as an other option are entered by using the touch screen keyboard or through other forms of written character recognition. If needed, inexpensive portable keyboards can be attached to the handheld device to facilitate text entry. Q: What types of surveys would most benefit from the use of PDAs for data collection? A: All of them! What investigator wouldnt want their data quicker and cleaner? PDAs combined with the right software packages can be used for many purposes, such as: 1) cross-sectional quantitative surveys where baseline and follow-up data are collected from a population (e.g., those who visit a clinic for a certain service), 2) longitudinal studies where subjects are interviewed multiple times, and 3) true transactional databases, e
