ODK is an open-source mobile data collection platform that supports online and offline collection of structured data on people, places, and things and allows previously collected data to be updated over time.
ODK is primarily used for field data collection, including infrastructure assessment80% of public health facilities are substandard: Government survey https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/111350919.cmsTanzania Nationwide Mills Census https://www.wfp.org/publications/tanzania-nationwide-mills-census-report-2022, service deliveryAfrica's largest polio vaccination drive since 2020 targets 21 million children https://www.afro.who.int/news/africas-largest-polio-vaccination-drive-2020-targets-21-million-childrenRescuelog: A Shiny (and ODK) Based Monitoring System for Lifeguards https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05312032v1, environmental and agricultural monitoringEMBAL- European Monitoring of Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382149967_EMBAL_-European_Monitoring_of_Biodiversity_in_Agricultural_LandscapesCSIRO marine litter monitoring methods handbook https://doi.org/10.25919/2ztr-pz04A Continental-Scale Framework for Harmonised Soil Monitoring in African Agricultural Lands https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8789/10/7/79, disease surveillanceA clinically oriented antimicrobial resistance surveillance network https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(26)00308-5/fulltextElectronic data capture for large scale typhoid surveillance, household contact tracing, and health utilisation survey https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32934993/, and longitudinal research studiesThe Rural Household Multiple Indicator Survey, data from 13,310 farm households in 21 countries https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-020-0388-8Seasonal malaria vaccination: protocol of a phase 3 trial of seasonal vaccination with the RTS,S/AS01E vaccine, seasonal malaria chemoprevention and the combination of vaccination and chemoprevention https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32933955.
Features ODK supports online and offline collection of structured data on Android devices and through browser-based web forms in low-connectivity environments. Forms can capture text, numbers, selections, dates, multimedia, barcodes, signatures, and metadata such as time, location, and user actions.Question types https://docs.getodk.org/form-question-typesElectronic Data Management for Vaccine Trials https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34805059
ODK forms support conditional branching, validation rules, calculations, and repeating groups for complex workflows.Form logic https://docs.getodk.org/form-logic/ ODK also includes geospatial data collection functionality, allowing users to collect points, lines, and polygons, use online or offline map layers, and apply spatial constraints such as geofencing and intersection checks.ODK pour la collecte de données géo https://geotribu.fr/articles/2021/2021-06-08_odk_postgis_1/
Collected data is synchronized to a server for storage and management. The system provides tabular and map-based monitoring, accept/reject workflows, audit logs, end-to-end encryption, and role-based access control.Pentest & Review of ODK Mobile Apps, Server & Threat Model https://cure53.de/pentest-report_ODK.pdf ODK includes a feature called Entities that enables persistent longitudinal records representing people, places, or things, which can be updated over time and accessed in both online and offline environments. ODK Entities https://docs.getodk.org/entities-introField Mapping is the Future: A Tasking Manager Workflow Using ODK https://www.hotosm.org/en/news/field-mapping-is-the-future-a-tasking-manager-workflow-using-odk-available-in-english-spanish-portuguese-french
ODK integrates with external systems through a REST API and supports data exchange with third-party tools, including automation platforms, business intelligence software, and analysis environments in Python and R.Downloading submissions with Power BI or Excel https://docs.getodk.org/central-submissions/#downloading-submissions-with-power-bi-or-excelpyODK https://getodk.github.io/pyodkruODK https://zenodo.org/records/5559164
History ODK (formerly called Open Data Kit) was founded in 2008 by Gaetano Borriello, Yaw Anokwa, Waylon Brunette, and Carl Hartung. It was designed to be an extensible, open-source suite to build information services for developing regions.Hartung et al. (2010) Open Data Kit: Tools to Build Information Services for Developing Regions http://anokwa.com/publications/2010_ICTD_OpenDataKit_Paper.pdf
References
External links ODK website