Creation of a Mobile Web Application for Scientific Data Entry

Undergraduate #56
Discipline: Computer Sciences and Information Management
Subcategory: Computer Science & Information Systems

Joshua Bailey - Mississippi Valley State University

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The Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) provides high-quality information about the status and trends of coral reef ecosystems. The collected data and data products are distributed to resource managers, policymakers, and the public. My mentor, Jesse Abdul, a former member of CRED, developed a web-based data management application to allow CRED’s scientific staff to enter survey data directly into a local database while in the field. This flexible application allows the scientist to manage a variety of data sets. When scientists must handwrite their data on paper forms before entering it into a database system, it presents numerous potential data problems because there are no constraints on paper forms; data loss or corruption can occur in these situations. To mitigate these data collection/data entry issues, the data management web application was developed to help streamline the data entry process. This improvement will increase data quality/accuracy because the application informs the user when given data elements look abnormal or are outside a defined acceptable range of values. This application prevents common data errors and trains scientists to avoid these problems. The data management application was never designed for use on mobile devices and there are situations in the field where using a desktop or laptop is infeasible; the development of the mobile web application allows scientists the flexibility to utilize the application in more situations. Providing the mobile application to scientists will reduce the need for handwritten survey data and ensure the integrity and quality of the collected data.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): Educational Partnership Program/Undergraduate Scholarship Program.

Faculty Advisor: Timothy Holston,