Paper
Vs Electronic data capture
With
the rise in popularity and the drive towards greater use of the
Internet, organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the need
to ensure that they are not left behind in the great advances being
made by this technology. It means that decisions, sometimes hasty,
are being taken to abandon paper based systems in preference for
electronic data capture methods. We are often asked by users the
relative advantages and disadvantages of each data capture type
when compared to others. A further consideration is always the number
of technology types available as well as whether they can be mixed,
i.e. issue the same questionnaire in both electronic and paper based
formats at the same time then file/collect the data into a single
source. The following is designed to assist clients in making the
right choice:-
Web
data capture options running either on an intranet or Internet
are becoming increasingly popular and have the advantage of being
accessible by any user having access to a computer. The disadvantages
are that you must have access to a computer, be reasonably computer
literate and, if traffic is heavy, be prepared for a slow response.
E-Mail data capture has the advantage of being sent to specific
addresses as well as allowing users to work off-line from any servers
(network or Internet). The main disadvantage is that the sender
must have a big address book, may encounter fire-wall security problems,
allow time for the files to be transmitted and the user must again
have a degree of computer literacy.
Network data capture has the advantage of security and being
accessible to anyone in a controlled environment. A big disadvantage
is that it is tied to a relatively small number of access points
(when compared to the Web or E-Mail) and the results can be very
spectacular in the way the system reacts if too many users try to
log on at the same time.
Optical Mark Reading uses paper-based forms which respondees
simply mark (using a dash) to answer a question. Needs no special
equipment to mark a form other than a pen/pencil. Can achieve very
high throughput speeds with very low error rates (less than half
percent). Main disadvantages are more administration needed to gather
data, specialised scanners and cannot pick up names, dates or other
text easily.
Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) again uses paper
based forms which respondees can enter names, dates etc. as well
as marks with no special equipment needed other than a pen/pencil.
Also can be used with relatively low cost image scanners. Disadvantages
are that it is far slower than OMR with high user intervention required
to verify data due to differences in a respondees handprint, needs
far more administration and hence increases operating costs.
Combination Paper & Electronic Systems have the advantage
of using a mix of both technology types, which can be administered
to suit the requirements of particular locations, i.e. using paper
based forms where no connections to computers/networks etc. are
available at one site and an Internet solution at another one. Disadvantage
is that most suppliers cannot cover all technology types easily
and questionnaire formats vary from one technology to another.
Whatever
option you may wish to use we, at Trax UK, will be able to
assist you as our Print & Scan software meets the criteria
for any of the above solutions.
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