For many years, surveys were conducted using paper questionnaires. While the process was familiar, it created a lot of extra work. Printing, distributing forms, manually entering responses, and checking data quality all took time, and project teams often had to wait days or weeks before data was available for analysis.
Our goal was to determine whether digital data collection could make survey operations faster, more reliable, and easier to manage.
We started by evaluating Open Data Kit (ODK) and built an in-house environment to understand how it would work in our organization. From a technical perspective, the system performed well. However, running our own servers introduced new operational responsibilities, including server maintenance, backups, power availability, internet reliability, and ongoing infrastructure support.
After evaluating these challenges, we decided that a managed cloud solution would be more practical for long-term use. The project moved to SurveyCTO, which provided the flexibility of ODK without the overhead of managing the infrastructure ourselves.
One of the biggest challenges wasn’t the technology—it was making the system easy for researchers to use. Many survey teams were comfortable working in Excel but had little or no programming experience.
To simplify the process, we adopted an Excel-based workflow for designing questionnaires. This allowed researchers to create and update survey forms using tools they already knew while still taking advantage of digital features such as skip logic, validation rules, multilingual questionnaires, GPS capture, photos, timestamps, and audio recording for quality control.
The new workflow also changed how field teams operated. Enumerators could download questionnaires to their mobile devices, collect data without an internet connection, and synchronize completed interviews whenever connectivity became available. Project managers could monitor field progress much earlier than before instead of waiting for paper forms to be returned.
Another important part of the project was training. We worked with survey teams so they could create, publish, and manage their own digital surveys rather than depending entirely on technical staff.
Moving from paper-based surveys to digital data collection reduced manual work, improved data quality, and provided much better visibility into field operations. More importantly, it established a repeatable process that future survey projects could build on.
Technologies Used
- Open Data Kit (ODK)
- SurveyCTO
- Excel Form Design
- Android Mobile Data Collection
- GPS & Media Capture
- Data Validation
- Survey Operations Management
Due to confidentiality, screenshots of survey forms, client data, and internal systems are not included. This case study focuses on the implementation approach and lessons learned.