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Technical Note: Use of hand-held computers for collecting water quality data in developing countries

Technical Note: Use of hand-held computers for collecting water quality data in developing countries
Technical Note: Use of hand-held computers for collecting water quality data in developing countries
A novel system is described for recording and storing details of water samples collected from rural African households and the water sources that they use. The system makes use of handheld computers for data entry instead of paper-based records. Bar codes are used to track water samples from the field to the laboratory, where total coliforms and Escherichia coli counts are enumerated for each sample. Participating household members and their water sources are documented using instamatic photography, enabling more rapid identification on subsequent visits. The system significantly reduces the lag-time between data collection and analysis. The use of bar codes and direct data entry reduces transcription errors that occur with paper-based recording.
517-522
Wright, J.A.
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Gundry, S.W.
238b7e36-88a2-4b7c-898f-aa605b9f67bb
Genthe, B.
c5c0617b-2125-4aa7-b338-070893a175a9
du Preez, M.
c1d869ab-8385-401b-a0ac-5e3b7dea729a
Moyo, S.
d7421ade-4663-42fd-ac26-8462899b661a
Potgieter, N.
64c3f33f-faa3-4d55-af16-a1c3b3f71a3e
Ndamba, J.
a940e03a-5d0a-45b1-8041-b2305f6f3173
Wright, J.A.
074e0ca5-3868-4682-8c49-5c8526dc38a6
Gundry, S.W.
238b7e36-88a2-4b7c-898f-aa605b9f67bb
Genthe, B.
c5c0617b-2125-4aa7-b338-070893a175a9
du Preez, M.
c1d869ab-8385-401b-a0ac-5e3b7dea729a
Moyo, S.
d7421ade-4663-42fd-ac26-8462899b661a
Potgieter, N.
64c3f33f-faa3-4d55-af16-a1c3b3f71a3e
Ndamba, J.
a940e03a-5d0a-45b1-8041-b2305f6f3173

Wright, J.A., Gundry, S.W., Genthe, B., du Preez, M., Moyo, S., Potgieter, N. and Ndamba, J. (2004) Technical Note: Use of hand-held computers for collecting water quality data in developing countries. Water International, 29 (4), 517-522.

Record type: Article

Abstract

A novel system is described for recording and storing details of water samples collected from rural African households and the water sources that they use. The system makes use of handheld computers for data entry instead of paper-based records. Bar codes are used to track water samples from the field to the laboratory, where total coliforms and Escherichia coli counts are enumerated for each sample. Participating household members and their water sources are documented using instamatic photography, enabling more rapid identification on subsequent visits. The system significantly reduces the lag-time between data collection and analysis. The use of bar codes and direct data entry reduces transcription errors that occur with paper-based recording.

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Published date: 2004

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 15685
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/15685
PURE UUID: 033cab67-aac5-4839-980b-b00a69fd33fb

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Date deposited: 18 May 2005
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:42

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Contributors

Author: J.A. Wright
Author: S.W. Gundry
Author: B. Genthe
Author: M. du Preez
Author: S. Moyo
Author: N. Potgieter
Author: J. Ndamba

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