Experiences with Enketo Smart Paper

ODeeKers,

I'm in Haiti working on a project with the Red Cross and I've been using Enketo
https://enketo.org/in conjunction with ODK Collect and ODK Aggregate and
thought I would share with the community how well it's going and what the
ups and downs are.

Haiti speaks French and Creole, and until I was here I didn't make the
connection that "Survey" in French is "Enquête". Thus, Enketo. (Martijn can
tell us why he didn't go with the Dutch translation "overzicht")

First off, Enketo Smart Paper is basically a way to run Xforms in a
browser, it is like ODK Collect for your computer. It runs entirely in the
browser, so there is no application to install. That means that you can
distribute a form to people just by sending them a link. It's put together
by the affable, ineffable, unstoppable Martijn van de Rijt...a Dutchman who
I think is based in Colorado, and if I recall correctly, Enketo is the
result of his Computer Science Master's Thesis.

Can I just say how long in coming this was? Why did it take so long for
there to be a workable solution for Xforms in the Browser? I feel like we
banged on this problem for years. I talked to Martijn about Enketo when it
was in a more embryonic stage and was excited about it then, and now I'm so
impressed by the utility and beauty of the product.

Enketo integrates with Formhub (or Formhub is running its own Enketo
server? I can't tell). It would be more accurate to say that it integrates
with ODK Aggregate http://blog.enketo.org/enketo-aggregate. On the form
management page of ODKAgg, you will see an Enketo button for each form
(there is a little set up http://blog.enketo.org/enketo-aggregate, I will
skip the details) and clicking that button will take you to your Enketo
version of that form. The same form that you run in ODK Collect on your
phone also runs in Enketo. You do not have to build a separate version.

What i see as the central benefit here is that if you are running a data
collection effort, you will be able to design the same form to be used on
phones, in browser, and even on paper. You can print an Enketo form on
paper, complete it, and use the Enketo webform for data entry. More
efficiently, users can enter data directly into the browser form and* save
the planet* by not printing our hundreds of versions of their 88 page
survey. Your collected data, regardless of how it was collected, will all
end up in the same database.

Pros

  • You can set up a form to run across multiple
    pageshttp://blog.enketo.org/pages/.
    Collect sets of questions as a group, each group gets its own page.
  • There is a free version
    http://blog.enketo.org/plan-prices-reduced/allowing up to 5 forms,
    no branding, no email support, but effective
    support through the Google Group.
  • There is a super cool API (which you reach through a too subtle link
    on your Enketo account page) that allows you to interact with your account
    in interesting ways. I would like to see more about how to make better use
    of the API.
  • The Blog http://blog.enketo.org/ is a great resource for help with
    features.
  • Email support from Martijn is fast and competent. I sometimes post my
    questions to the Google
    Grouphttps://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/enketo-users and
    Martijn is very responsive there as well.
  • Hey, social science nerds, your select-one/select-multiples can be
    displayed as Likert Scales http://blog.enketo.org/likert-widget/!
  • You can save a draft http://blog.enketo.org/draft-records/of a
    survey, then open it later to complete it.
  • Enketo appears to work offline, though you have to be online to load
    the survey and to submit results. Can you open a survey offline that you
    have previously loaded? Not sure. I would go and check, but I am
    downloading Orphan Black right now.
  • Integration with Aggregate and Formhub is easy and great.

​Cons (correct me if I am wrong, and none of these are heartbreakers, some
of these are just a wishlist)

  • If you include an image for your survey, you will see this image in
    ODK Collect, but the same form in Enketo will not display the image.
  • Deleting a form is kind of a pain in the tuchus. You have to do it
    through the API, and the form must be deleted from your ​Aggregate server
    first.
  • The Enketo interface has no way to see a list of your forms with links
    to them. You must get to your forms through your Aggregate server. (UPDATE:
    Wrong! I found the way, it's just a little weird. Go to the Forms link at
    the top, click the gear for settings, enter your Agg or Formhub server.)
  • There is not a lot of support material, other than the regular Blog
    entries. Is there a Getting Started Guide somewhere?
  • The Free version is pretty great. I am using this in a business
    context, so I though it fair to take a step up to the paid version. I only
    need a few forms, but I do need branding. So, I got the
    "Smallhttps://accounts.enketo.org/"
    tier paid version. For $29/mo. you get to brand your forms with an image,
    you can have 5 forms (same as free), and you get email support. I put this
    in the Cons column because you can pay $19 a month for no branding, but
    with twice as many forms. I feel like for $29 a month you should get the
    same number of forms as someone who is paying $19 a month. Paying more, how
    do I get less? I only really need 3 working forms, but i deploy a lot of
    tests and experiments, so every time I get past five I have to go through
    the delete process which is weird in itself.
  • Formhub also uses Enketo, and it includes the XLSform engine to create
    your forms from a spreadsheet (crazy useful). Enketo doesn't have the
    XLSform engine anywhere, so you have to go make your form at Formhub or ODK
    and then upload it to Aggregate, then push it to Enketo. If I were
    not a Hacky
    Dude
    , this might be too clunky. I would have a hard time
    recommending a *neophyte
    *to go figure this out and put it all together. Enketo would be well
    served, I think, to provide a built in Aggregate server and XLSform engine
    in order to provide an all inclusive service.
  • Branding gives you a pretty small icon on your form. I would like to
    be able to provide a larger, banner sized image for branding.
  • You can iFrame a form to present it on your website, instead of
    linking to the Enketo website, but it's not easy. I was able to do it with
    Martijn holding my hand (another Yay for good support), but the form is
    hard to integrate into your site design.
  • In XLSform, there is a quickie way to add "other specify" follow up
    questions to a Select question. This adds the option for "Other", the
    follow up text entry question, and the Skip logic that makes it work.
    However, Enketo does not seem to recognize this. Am I wrong?
  • There is a small glitch (i'm nitpicking now) that will allow text to
    overlap when viewed in Internet Explorer (the preferred browser of
    grandmothers and marketing consultants everywhere). Martijn has promised an
    upcoming fix.

All said, this is a fantastic tool. I will never again run a survey without
an Enketo element. I nominate Martijn van der Rijt for *ODeeKer of the
Weeker. *If you go to the trouble of building an ODK form for any purpose,
do yourself a favor and load it into Enketo just to try it out and give it
a whirl. I have no idea how many users Enketo has, though the Google Group
enketo-users https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/enketo-users has a
positively shocking 18 users! Maybe that is a sign that the users don't
need much support, Enketo being fairly easy to use. Even if you are running
a fully digital data collection effort, the ability to print forms for
training and as backup methodology is priceless.

From Port au Prince, Haiti;
☞§※☼:airplane::open_umbrella::slight_smile:
~Neil

2 Likes

Neil, this is great feedback and very useful! :slight_smile: Thanks a lot for the
taking the time to share this. I’ve taking note of your suggestions and
will work on incorporating many of them in future updates.

Let me clarify a few things:

  • Yes, formhub has their own installation of Enketo, separate from
    enketo.org.
  • You do not have to be online to load an Enketo form (only the very
    first time - at which time a copy of the form/app is stored in your
    browser).
  • Image labels are supported in Enketo too (see at bottom of
    https://widgets.enketo.org/webform). There was a bug in this feature
    with multi-language forms that was fixed last week. If you experience an
    issue please send me a webform link and I’ll fix it!
  • You can see a list of your forms in the Enketo account interface too,
    but this can easily be overlooked. It’s located in the Quota Usage tab.
    Click on the large grey button. (This is one of the things we need to
    improve on.)
  • An all-inclusive service is tempting indeed and certainly much better
    for users. I am for now happy to let others explore this opportunity though
    (and they can link with enketo.org behind the scenes).
  • Or_other support in select_one: This proved to be a unknown bug! It
    will be fixed and can be tracked here:
    https://github.com/MartijnR/enketo-core/issues/184.

Happy Enketo-ing and please keep the feedback coming (on the
enketo/formhub/opendatakit forum of your choice, or by email)!
Cheers,
Martijn

P.S. enketo is Esperanto for survey. It is also fairly easily
recognizable by (those few) Dutch-speaking, and (I'm told) Russian-speaking
people in the world.

··· On Sunday, April 27, 2014 10:39:57 AM UTC-6, m0j0 TeXas wrote: > > ODeeKers, > > I'm in Haiti working on a project with the Red Cross and I've been using Enketo > in conjunction with ODK Collect and ODK Aggregate > and thought I would share with the community how well it's going and what > the ups and downs are. > > Haiti speaks French and Creole, and until I was here I didn't make the > connection that "Survey" in French is "Enquête". Thus, Enketo. (Martijn can > tell us why he didn't go with the Dutch translation "*overzicht*") > > First off, *Enketo Smart Paper* is basically a way to run Xforms in a > browser, it is like ODK Collect for your computer. It runs entirely in the > browser, so there is no application to install. That means that you can > distribute a form to people just by sending them a link. It's put together > by the affable, ineffable, unstoppable Martijn van de Rijt...a Dutchman who > I think is based in Colorado, and if I recall correctly, Enketo is the > result of his Computer Science Master's Thesis. > > Can I just say how long in coming this was? Why did it take so long for > there to be a workable solution for Xforms in the Browser? I feel like we > banged on this problem for years. I talked to Martijn about Enketo when it > was in a more embryonic stage and was excited about it then, and now I'm so > impressed by the utility and beauty of the product. > > Enketo integrates with Formhub (or Formhub is running its own Enketo > server? I can't tell). It would be more accurate to say that it > integrates with ODK Aggregate . > On the form management page of ODKAgg, you will see an Enketo button for > each form (there is a little set up, > I will skip the details) and clicking that button will take you to your > Enketo version of that form. The same form that you run in ODK Collect on > your phone also runs in Enketo. You do not have to build a separate version. > > What i see as the central benefit here is that if you are running a data > collection effort, you will be able to design the same form to be used on > phones, in browser, and even on paper. You can print an Enketo form on > paper, complete it, and use the Enketo webform for data entry. More > efficiently, users can enter data directly into the browser form and* > save the planet* by not printing our hundreds of versions of their 88 > page survey. Your collected data, regardless of how it was collected, will > all end up in the same database. > > Pros > > - You can set up a form to run across multiple pages. > Collect sets of questions as a group, each group gets its own page. > - There is a free versionallowing up to 5 forms, no branding, no email support, but effective > support through the Google Group. > - There is a super cool API (which you reach through a too subtle link > on your Enketo account page) that allows you to interact with your account > in interesting ways. I would like to see more about how to make better use > of the API. > - The Blog is a great resource for help with > features. > - Email support from Martijn is fast and competent. I sometimes post > my questions to the Google Group and > Martijn is very responsive there as well. > - Hey, social science nerds, your select-one/select-multiples can be > displayed as Likert Scales ! > - You can save a draft of a > survey, then open it later to complete it. > - Enketo appears to work offline, though you have to be online to load > the survey and to submit results. Can you open a survey offline that you > have previously loaded? Not sure. I would go and check, but I am > downloading *Orphan Black* right now. > - Integration with Aggregate and Formhub is easy and great. > > ​Cons (correct me if I am wrong, and none of these are heartbreakers, some > of these are just a wishlist) > > - If you include an image for your survey, you will see this image in > ODK Collect, but the same form in Enketo will not display the image. > - Deleting a form is kind of a pain in the *tuchus*. You have to do it > through the API, and the form must be deleted from your ​Aggregate server > first. > - The Enketo interface has no way to see a list of your forms with > links to them. You must get to your forms through your Aggregate server. > (UPDATE: Wrong! I found the way, it's just a little weird. Go to the Forms > link at the top, click the gear for settings, enter your Agg or Formhub > server.) > - There is not a lot of support material, other than the regular Blog > entries. Is there a Getting Started Guide somewhere? > - The Free version is pretty great. I am using this in a business > context, so I though it fair to take a step up to the paid version. I only > need a few forms, but I do need branding. So, I got the "Small" > tier paid version. For $29/mo. you get to brand your forms with an image, > you can have 5 forms (same as free), and you get email support. I put this > in the Cons column because you can pay $19 a month for no branding, but > with twice as many forms. I feel like for $29 a month you should get the > same number of forms as someone who is paying $19 a month. Paying more, how > do I get less? I only really need 3 working forms, but i deploy a lot of > tests and experiments, so every time I get past five I have to go through > the delete process which is weird in itself. > - Formhub also uses Enketo, and it includes the XLSform engine to > create your forms from a spreadsheet (crazy useful). Enketo doesn't have > the XLSform engine anywhere, so you have to go make your form at Formhub or > ODK and then upload it to Aggregate, then push it to Enketo. If I were not > a *Hacky Dude*, this might be too clunky. I would have a hard time > recommending a *neophyte *to go figure this out and put it all > together. Enketo would be well served, I think, to provide a built in > Aggregate server and XLSform engine in order to provide an all inclusive > service. > - Branding gives you a pretty small icon on your form. I would like to > be able to provide a larger, banner sized image for branding. > - You can iFrame a form to present it on your website, instead of > linking to the Enketo website, but it's not easy. I was able to do it with > Martijn holding my hand (another Yay for good support), but the form is > hard to integrate into your site design. > - In XLSform, there is a quickie way to add "other specify" follow up > questions to a Select question. This adds the option for "Other", the > follow up text entry question, and the Skip logic that makes it work. > However, Enketo does not seem to recognize this. Am I wrong? > - There is a small glitch (i'm nitpicking now) that will allow text to > overlap when viewed in Internet Explorer (the preferred browser of > grandmothers and marketing consultants everywhere). Martijn has promised an > upcoming fix. > > > All said, this is a fantastic tool. I will never again run a survey > without an Enketo element. I nominate Martijn van der Rijt for *ODeeKer > of the Weeker. *If you go to the trouble of building an ODK form for any > purpose, do yourself a favor and load it into Enketo just to try it out and > give it a whirl. I have no idea how many users Enketo has, though the > Google Group enketo-usershas a positively shocking 18 users! Maybe that is a sign that the users > don't need much support, Enketo being fairly easy to use. Even if you are > running a fully digital data collection effort, the ability to print forms > for training and as backup methodology is priceless. > > From Port au Prince, Haiti; > ☞§※☼✈☂☻ > ~Neil >
1 Like

Update:

··· On Tuesday, April 29, 2014 12:11:43 PM UTC-6, Martijn van de Rijdt wrote: > > Neil, this is great feedback and very useful! :) Thanks a lot for the > taking the time to share this. I’ve taking note of your suggestions and > will work on incorporating many of them in future updates. > > Let me clarify a few things: > > > - Yes, formhub has their own installation of Enketo, separate from > enketo.org. > - You *do not* have to be online to load an Enketo form (only the very > first time - at which time a copy of the form/app is stored in your > browser). > - Image labels are supported in Enketo too (see at bottom of > https://widgets.enketo.org/webform). There was a bug in this feature > with multi-language forms that was fixed last week. If you experience an > issue please send me a webform link and I’ll fix it! > - You can see a list of your forms in the Enketo account interface > too, but this can easily be overlooked. It’s located in the Quota Usage > tab. Click on the large grey button. (This is one of the things we need to > improve on.) > - An all-inclusive service is tempting indeed and certainly much > better for users. I am for now happy to let others explore this opportunity > though (and they can link with enketo.org behind the scenes). > - Or_other support in select_one: This proved to be a unknown bug! It > will be fixed and can be tracked here: > https://github.com/MartijnR/enketo-core/issues/184. > > Happy Enketo-ing and please keep the feedback coming (on the > enketo/formhub/opendatakit forum of your choice, or by email)! > Cheers, > Martijn > > P.S. `enketo` is Esperanto for `survey`. It is also fairly easily > recognizable by (those few) Dutch-speaking, and (I'm told) Russian-speaking > people in the world. > > > On Sunday, April 27, 2014 10:39:57 AM UTC-6, m0j0 TeXas wrote: >> >> ODeeKers, >> >> I'm in Haiti working on a project with the Red Cross and I've been using Enketo >> in conjunction with ODK Collect and ODK Aggregate >> and thought I would share with the community how well it's going and what >> the ups and downs are. >> >> Haiti speaks French and Creole, and until I was here I didn't make the >> connection that "Survey" in French is "Enquête". Thus, Enketo. (Martijn can >> tell us why he didn't go with the Dutch translation "*overzicht*") >> >> First off, *Enketo Smart Paper* is basically a way to run Xforms in a >> browser, it is like ODK Collect for your computer. It runs entirely in the >> browser, so there is no application to install. That means that you can >> distribute a form to people just by sending them a link. It's put together >> by the affable, ineffable, unstoppable Martijn van de Rijt...a Dutchman who >> I think is based in Colorado, and if I recall correctly, Enketo is the >> result of his Computer Science Master's Thesis. >> >> Can I just say how long in coming this was? Why did it take so long for >> there to be a workable solution for Xforms in the Browser? I feel like we >> banged on this problem for years. I talked to Martijn about Enketo when it >> was in a more embryonic stage and was excited about it then, and now I'm so >> impressed by the utility and beauty of the product. >> >> Enketo integrates with Formhub (or Formhub is running its own Enketo >> server? I can't tell). It would be more accurate to say that it >> integrates with ODK Aggregate . >> On the form management page of ODKAgg, you will see an Enketo button for >> each form (there is a little set up, >> I will skip the details) and clicking that button will take you to your >> Enketo version of that form. The same form that you run in ODK Collect on >> your phone also runs in Enketo. You do not have to build a separate version. >> >> What i see as the central benefit here is that if you are running a data >> collection effort, you will be able to design the same form to be used on >> phones, in browser, and even on paper. You can print an Enketo form on >> paper, complete it, and use the Enketo webform for data entry. More >> efficiently, users can enter data directly into the browser form and* >> save the planet* by not printing our hundreds of versions of their 88 >> page survey. Your collected data, regardless of how it was collected, will >> all end up in the same database. >> >> Pros >> >> - You can set up a form to run across multiple pages. >> Collect sets of questions as a group, each group gets its own page. >> - There is a free versionallowing up to 5 forms, no branding, no email support, but effective >> support through the Google Group. >> - There is a super cool API (which you reach through a too subtle >> link on your Enketo account page) that allows you to interact with your >> account in interesting ways. I would like to see more about how to make >> better use of the API. >> - The Blog is a great resource for help >> with features. >> - Email support from Martijn is fast and competent. I sometimes post >> my questions to the Google Group and >> Martijn is very responsive there as well. >> - Hey, social science nerds, your select-one/select-multiples can be >> displayed as Likert Scales ! >> - You can save a draft of a >> survey, then open it later to complete it. >> - Enketo appears to work offline, though you have to be online to >> load the survey and to submit results. Can you open a survey offline that >> you have previously loaded? Not sure. I would go and check, but I am >> downloading *Orphan Black* right now. >> - Integration with Aggregate and Formhub is easy and great. >> >> ​Cons (correct me if I am wrong, and none of these are heartbreakers, >> some of these are just a wishlist) >> >> - If you include an image for your survey, you will see this image in >> ODK Collect, but the same form in Enketo will not display the image. >> - Deleting a form is kind of a pain in the *tuchus*. You have to do >> it through the API, and the form must be deleted from your ​Aggregate >> server first. >> - The Enketo interface has no way to see a list of your forms with >> links to them. You must get to your forms through your Aggregate server. >> (UPDATE: Wrong! I found the way, it's just a little weird. Go to the Forms >> link at the top, click the gear for settings, enter your Agg or Formhub >> server.) >> - There is not a lot of support material, other than the regular Blog >> entries. Is there a Getting Started Guide somewhere? >> - The Free version is pretty great. I am using this in a business >> context, so I though it fair to take a step up to the paid version. I only >> need a few forms, but I do need branding. So, I got the "Small" >> tier paid version. For $29/mo. you get to brand your forms with an image, >> you can have 5 forms (same as free), and you get email support. I put this >> in the Cons column because you can pay $19 a month for no branding, but >> with twice as many forms. I feel like for $29 a month you should get the >> same number of forms as someone who is paying $19 a month. Paying more, how >> do I get less? I only really need 3 working forms, but i deploy a lot of >> tests and experiments, so every time I get past five I have to go through >> the delete process which is weird in itself. >> - Formhub also uses Enketo, and it includes the XLSform engine to >> create your forms from a spreadsheet (crazy useful). Enketo doesn't have >> the XLSform engine anywhere, so you have to go make your form at Formhub or >> ODK and then upload it to Aggregate, then push it to Enketo. If I were not >> a *Hacky Dude*, this might be too clunky. I would have a hard time >> recommending a *neophyte *to go figure this out and put it all >> together. Enketo would be well served, I think, to provide a built in >> Aggregate server and XLSform engine in order to provide an all inclusive >> service. >> - Branding gives you a pretty small icon on your form. I would like >> to be able to provide a larger, banner sized image for branding. >> - You can iFrame a form to present it on your website, instead of >> linking to the Enketo website, but it's not easy. I was able to do it with >> Martijn holding my hand (another Yay for good support), but the form is >> hard to integrate into your site design. >> - In XLSform, there is a quickie way to add "other specify" follow up >> questions to a Select question. This adds the option for "Other", the >> follow up text entry question, and the Skip logic that makes it work. >> However, Enketo does not seem to recognize this. Am I wrong? >> - There is a small glitch (i'm nitpicking now) that will allow text >> to overlap when viewed in Internet Explorer (the preferred browser of >> grandmothers and marketing consultants everywhere). Martijn has promised an >> upcoming fix. >> >> >> All said, this is a fantastic tool. I will never again run a survey >> without an Enketo element. I nominate Martijn van der Rijt for *ODeeKer >> of the Weeker. *If you go to the trouble of building an ODK form for any >> purpose, do yourself a favor and load it into Enketo just to try it out and >> give it a whirl. I have no idea how many users Enketo has, though the >> Google Group enketo-usershas a positively shocking 18 users! Maybe that is a sign that the users >> don't need much support, Enketo being fairly easy to use. Even if you are >> running a fully digital data collection effort, the ability to print forms >> for training and as backup methodology is priceless. >> >> From Port au Prince, Haiti; >> ☞§※☼✈☂☻ >> ~Neil >> >

A post was split to a new topic: Linking Enketo to Google Sheets