8 apps for data collection in research

Data collection software is a computerised system for the collection and storage of qualitative and quantitative data in an electronic form. The benefits of using data collection systems is that they eliminate the use of paper surveys and allow data to be quickly exported for data analysis and reporting.

Data collection software was first introduced in the early 1980s (Hyde, 1998) to address the many shortcomings of paper-based forms, such as increased errors through transcription and late detection of inaccuracies. The first of these systems to become widely adopted where Microsoft Access and MySQL. With the turn of the century came the cloud, which expanded any web browser into a platform to visualise and complete forms. This innovation was the big bang of the paper-less movement.