Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Comparison of electronic data capture (EDC) with the standard data capture method for clinical trial data
PLoS ONE, Volume 6, No. 9, Article e25348, Year 2011
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Background: Traditionally, clinical research studies rely on collecting data with case report forms, which are subsequently entered into a database to create electronic records. Although well established, this method is time-consuming and error-prone. This study compares four electronic data capture (EDC) methods with the conventional approach with respect to duration of data capture and accuracy. It was performed in a West African setting, where clinical trials involve data collection from urban, rural and often remote locations. Methodology/Principal Findings: Three types of commonly available EDC tools were assessed in face-to-face interviews; netbook, PDA, and tablet PC. EDC performance during telephone interviews via mobile phone was evaluated as a fourth method. The Graeco Latin square study design allowed comparison of all four methods to standard paper-based recording followed by data double entry while controlling simultaneously for possible confounding factors such as interview order, interviewer and interviewee. Over a study period of three weeks the error rates decreased considerably for all EDC methods. In the last week of the study the data accuracy for the netbook (5.1%, CI95%: 3.5-7.2%) and the tablet PC (5.2%, CI95%: 3.7-7.4%) was not significantly different from the accuracy of the conventional paper-based method (3.6%, CI95%: 2.2-5.5%), but error rates for the PDA (7.9%, CI95%: 6.0-10.5%) and telephone (6.3%, CI95% 4.6-8.6%) remained significantly higher. While EDC-interviews take slightly longer, data become readily available after download, making EDC more time effective. Free text and date fields were associated with higher error rates than numerical, single select and skip fields. Conclusions: EDC solutions have the potential to produce similar data accuracy compared to paper-based methods. Given the considerable reduction in the time from data collection to database lock, EDC holds the promise to reduce research-associated costs. However, the successful implementation of EDC requires adjustment of work processes and reallocation of resources. © 2011 Walther et al.
Available Materials
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC3179496/bin/pone.0025348.s001.doc
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC3179496/bin/pone.0025348.s002.bz2
Authors & Co-Authors
Walther, Brigitte
Gambia, Banjul
Medical Research Council Laboratories Gambia
Hossin, Safayet
Gambia, Banjul
Medical Research Council Laboratories Gambia
Townend, John A.
Gambia, Banjul
Medical Research Council Laboratories Gambia
Abernethy, Neil F.
United States, Seattle
University of Washington
Parker, David
Gambia, Banjul
Medical Research Council Laboratories Gambia
Jeffries, David J.
Gambia, Banjul
Medical Research Council Laboratories Gambia
United States, Washington, D.c.
Population Services International
Statistics
Citations: 131
Authors: 6
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0025348
e-ISSN:
19326203
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Study Design
Grounded Theory