Open Data Kit

Short description: Open source data collection software

Open Data KitDeveloper(s)| ODK Development Team

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Initial release| 1984
Stable release|

Collect 1.16, / February 1, 2018; 8 years ago (2018-02-01)

Written in| JavaScript, Java
Operating system| Android, Cross-platform
Available in| English, French, German, Italian.
Type| Data Collection Collaborative Mapping
License| Apache2 License
Website| github.com/opendatakit https://www.opendatakit.org

The Open Data Kit (ODK)[1] community produces free and open-source software for collecting, managing, and using data in resource-constrained environments.[2] It allows for the collection of data offline and submission of the data when internet connectivity is available. It allows communities to aggregate data with full control over the collected data and the servers where this data is stored.

If a community wants to collect data with full control where the collected data is stored according to privacy concerns and the community members must be able to check the source code of the client and server application for unwanted features and privacy concerns. Furthermore, the community wants to have full administrations rights for the server backend the ODK infrastructure can be set up according to the requirements, constraints for privacy concerns of the community.

## Contents

* 1 Application
* 2 Security, Integrity and Privacy
* 3 Workflow for data collection
* 4 Product and Services
* 5 Components
* 6 See also
* 7 External links
* 8 References

## Application

The Open Data Kit approach is relevant when privacy concerns of communities need to be respected e.g. for health related data,[3][4] environmental monitoring,[5] and political elections.[6]

In resource-constrained environments, SMS based methods for data collection have limitation e.g. in message length and submission of geolocation added to the collected record. Open Data Kit extends the data collection for these applications.[7]

Digital data collection with ODK has been supported by WHO in Nigeria,[8] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,[9] USAID,[10] the Red Cross[11] and Red Crescent.[12]. Red Cross and Red Crescent are collaborating within International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) as the world's largest humanitarian network. The use of Open Data is driven by an information visibility[13] of humanitarian operations for all involved stakeholders.

## Security, Integrity and Privacy

Computer security for data collection technologies[14] is important for trust of users in the agency or organisation that performs the data collection.

* Offline data collection on a mobile device that is aggregated later on with an ODK aggregator with physical connection to LAN that is disconnected from the internet, does not require the submission of data over an insecure network.
* Encryption of data on a mobile device with a public key, that can be decrypted on a WAN disconnected ODK backend provides the security for the already collected data on the device.
* Closed source application for data collection do not provide an option for independent code analysis for backdoors. Because it is harder to detect backdoors that are injected in object code in comparison to the source code, the own compilation of the source by organisation is possible for high requirements for privacy.

Data collected can include information that may be considered sensitive or may have a negative impact on the citizen that provides the data. Such data may include medical or socioeconomic data or the data may derive conclusions about the political opinion.[14] Unallowed alteration of collected data (see data integrity[15]) on servers without control of the organisation collecting the data, might be unacceptable. Open Source application for data collection could avoid the computer security attacks on the operating system level or unintentional mishandling staff. The attitudes and practices of organizations collecting data have implications for confidentiality, availability, and integrity of data.

## Workflow for data collection

* Download a questionnaire for data collection, which is available for offline use.
* collect the data, even if device is offline,
* submit collected data to ODK Aggregate,
* (optional) access aggregated results for individual decision support.

Offline data collection can be used to respect privacy of participants in a study. This is especially relevant when privacy concerns of the communities must be respected and they do not want to submit data with there own device.

## Product and Services

The Open Data Kit community consists of developers[16], staff members of institutions and organisations that use Open Data Kit for collecting, managing, and using data in resource-constrained environments. The application of ODK determines the further development in a collaborative way. Apart from the developer community and bug reports "feature requests" can be performed on GitHub for the different ODK packages. The product development is demand driven and collaboratively. ODK is deployed as collection of GitHub repositories for ODK, that everyone can use under the OpenSource License. New features and bug fixes for the product can be reported to the developer community by the standard interface of the GitHub repository "issues" or optimized versions by GitHub-Pull Request e.g. for ODK-collect for the optimized code. New versions or releases are provided via the GitHub portal. A transparent open management of issues are performed per Open Data Kit repository (e.g. for ODK collect in https://github.com/opendatakit/collect/issues ). ODK consists of 68 packages that cover different features of the total ODK. The tasks of ODK (like ODK collect) is also available as Docker image (see ODK Aggregate[17]).

## Components

* ODK-Collect: Android Open Source App for Data Collection even for offline use in remote areas without internet connectivity.
* ODK Build: Component is used for designing a questionnaire for ODK. It works as a drag-and-drop form designer for ODK XForms. It is used for data collection campaign e.g. for Health Sites
* ODK-Sensor:[18] using Open data kit sensors for mobile data collection with wired and wireless sensors, that submit the data to the mobile device and collect the data on the mobile device.
* ODK-Briefcase: ODK can collect the database records with GPS coordinates on a mobile device. ODK Briefcase is a Java application for fetching and pushing forms and their contents. With briefcase helps make billions of data points from ODK portable and use the data points e.g. for Decision Support Systems.
* ODK Aggregate: The ODK Aggregate is the backend of ODK infrastructure, receiving the data from the mobile devices. To be multiplatform it is designed as Open Source Java server, that stores, analyzes, and presents survey data. Decision support is build on the collected data.

## See also

* Collaborative Mapping
* Crowdsourcing
* Humanitarian Aid and OpenStreetMap
* International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
* Docker

## External links

* Open Data Kit - Open Source GitHUb Repository https://github.com/opendatakit
* Healthsite.io[19] for collaborative mapping of a health care facilities, which is helpful for emergency response or disaster management.

## References

1. ↑ Hartung, C., Lerer, A., Anokwa, Y., Tseng, C., Brunette, W., & Borriello, G. (2010, December). Open data kit: tools to build information services for developing regions. (p. 18). ACM.
2. ↑ Benchmarking of Mobile Data Collection Solutions - What aspects to consider when choosing a tool/platform Terre des Hommes, CartONG, UNHCR, (2017) URL: http://blog.cartong.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Benchmarking_MDC_2017_CartONG_2.pdf \- Accessed 2019/11/18
3. ↑ Tom-Aba, D., Olaleye, A., Olayinka, A. T., Nguku, P., Waziri, N., Adewuyi, P., ... & Shuaib, F. (2015). Innovative technological approach to Ebola virus disease outbreak response in Nigeria using the open data kit and form hub technology. PLOS One, 10(6), e0131000.
4. ↑ Macharia, P., Muluve, E., Lizcano, J., Cleland, C., Cherutich, P., & Kurth, A. (2013, May). Open Data Kit, A solution implementing a mobile health information system to enhance data management in public health. In IST-Africa Conference and Exhibition (IST-Africa), 2013 (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
5. ↑ Wireless sensor network system design using Raspberry Pi and Arduino for environmental monitoring applications
6. ↑ Aranha, D. F., Ribeiro, H., & Paraense, A. L. O. (2016). Crowdsourced integrity verification of election results. Annals of Telecommunications, 71(7-8), 287-297.
7. ↑ Alam, I., Khusro, S., Rauf, A., & Zaman, Q. (2014). Conducting surveys and data collection: From traditional to mobile and SMS-based surveys. Pakistan Journal of Statistics and Operation Research, 10(2), 169-187.
8. ↑ Maduka, O., Akpan, G., & Maleghemi, S. (2017). Using Android and Open Data Kit Technology in Data Management for Research in Resource-Limited Settings in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: Cross-Sectional Household Survey. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 5(11).
9. ↑ Nyaku, M., Wardle, M., Eng, J. V., Ametewee, L., Bonsu, G., Opare, J. K. L., & Conklin, L. (2017). Immunization delivery in the second year of life in Ghana: the need for a multi-faceted approach. The Pan African medical journal, 27(Suppl 3).
10. ↑ "Gender and Information and Communication Toolkit" of USAID - PDF-Document for Mobile Solutions and Technical Assistance (accessed 2018/09/13) - https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/15396/Gender_and_ICT_Toolkit.pdf
11. ↑ Haskew, J., Kenyi, V., William, J., Alum, R., Puri, A., Mostafa, Y., & Davis, R. (2015). Use of mobile information technology during planning, implementation and evaluation of a polio campaign in South Sudan. PLOS One, 10(8), e0135362.
12. ↑ Wilbrink, J. G. (2017). Remoteness as a proxy for social vulnerability in Malawian Traditional Authorities An open data and open-source approach (MS thesis) see https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/355343 \- accessed Feb. 3rd, 2019.
13. ↑ Privett, N. (2016). Information visibility in humanitarian operations: Current state-of-the-art. In Advances in managing humanitarian operations (pp. 159-183). Springer, Cham.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Cobb, C., Sudar, S., Reiter, N., Anderson, R., Roesner, F., & Kohno, T. (2018). Computer security for data collection technologies. Development Engineering, 3, 1-11.
15. ↑ Boritz, J. "IS Practitioners' Views on Core Concepts of Information Integrity". International Journal of Accounting Information Systems. Elsevier. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
16. ↑ Open Data Kit Developer Community - https://github.com/orgs/opendatakit/people (accessed 2019/05/12)
17. ↑ ODK Collect - Docker Image on GitHub https://github.com/cuipengfei/odk-aggregate-docker (accessed 2019/05/15)
18. ↑ Chaudhri, R., Brunette, W., Goel, M., Sodt, R., VanOrden, J., Falcone, M., & Borriello, G. (2012, March). Open data kit sensors: mobile data collection with wired and wireless sensors. (p. 9). ACM.
19. ↑ Saameli, R., Kalubi, D., Herringer, M., Sutton, T., & de Roodenbeke, E. (2016, May). Healthsites. io: The Global Healthsites Mapping Project. (pp. 53-59). Springer, Cham.

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