title: Handheld computers. A feasible alternative to paper forms for field data collection.
abstract: Recent advances in handheld computer hardware and software may provide alternatives to paper-based data collection methods. The authors compared data collected with paper forms to data collected with handheld computer-based forms in a field observation study of alcohol purchase attempts at 47 community festivals in a large metropolitan area. Agreement between data collected with paper forms and data collected with handheld computers was greater than 95%. Computer-based forms handled branching patterns better and yielded data that were immediately available for analyses. Paper forms handled written comments better. Handheld computers are a feasible alternative to paper forms for field data collection.
authors.affiliation: Alcohol Epidemiology Program, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: Darin J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.forename: Traci L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Toomey
authors.forename: Alexander C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Wagenaar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D034201:Computers, Handheld / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010209:Paper