Data Collection in the Palm of Your Hand: A Case Study

Portable computing is an emerging technology that allows computing to occur practically anywhere. Going beyond the typical use as the "pocket-sized organizer," new methods of using handheld devices are being developed. One new method is to use handheld devices to collect data in the field. The portability of handheld devices allows for data collection in virtually any setting and frees the researcher from the confines of the laboratory. This article describes the process of converting a paper-and-pencil method of data collection to a 3Com Palm Pilot(tm)III application. An iterative design process was used to evaluate the ease of use of the new application. The new application (a) substantially reduced time to transfer the data to a database, (b) did not interfere with the task, (c) allowed the user to accomplish the same tasks as with the paper method while adding functionality beyond the paper method, and (d) was rated as easy to use.