Summer Evaluation Institute Attendees on Low-cost No-cost Tools for Evaluators Part IV

At the AEA/CDC Summer Evaluation Institute, over 150 attendees went to a session on Low-cost/No-cost Tools for Evaluators. Here are some of the great ideas on data collection and management tools recommended from the audience.

Microsoft OneNote: OneNote is Microsoft’s free-form note-taking and information-management software where one can capture ideas, information, and other data in an electronic dynamic fashion. OneNote is $79.99 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/ Recommended by: Misty Guard

Google Forms: Google Forms, part of the Google Docs suite, allows for the creation of forms and basic online surveys. The system has limitations in terms of conducting large and complex survey endeavors, but should be sufficient for basic projects. Google Forms is free https://docs.google.com Recommended by: Shelagh Cooley

SurveyMonkey: SurveyMonkey, a popular paid online survey service, offers a little more than Google Forms in terms of conducting more extensive survey campaigns. SurveyMonkey has a free account for up to ten questions per survey, but starts at $16.99 per month for unlimited use http://www.surveymonkey.com Recommended by: Al Forbes

NutriSurvey: NutriSurvey is the english translation of the German nutrition software EBISpro. It contains such useful functions as nutrient analysis and calculation of energy requirements, planning of diets, diet history, food frequency, and more. NutriSurvey is free http://www.nutrisurvey.de/ Recommended by Julia Suryantan

ArcGIS Explorer: ArcGIS Explorer explorer is 3D geographic information system (GIS) viewer that gives researchers a way to explore, visualize, and share GIS information. Amongst other things, it allows researchers to fuse local data with map services to create custom maps. ArcGIS Explorer is free www.esri.com/software/arcgis/explorer/index.html Recommended by Neil Sardana

CDC EZ-Text: CDC EZ-Text is software developed to assist researchers create, manage, and analyze semi-structured qualitative databases. After creating a data entry template, researchers can paste text transcription into the software to code the data and manage the process as a whole. CDC EZ-Text is free http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/software/ez-text/index.htm Recommended by Robin Shrestha-Kuwahara

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