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Types of Data Collected

In CommCare, data falls into three main categories: raw data collected from users, reference data that supports workflows, and system metadata that structures and manages the system.

Raw Data (User-Generated and Collected Data)

This includes information entered directly by users.

• Case Data stores details about entities like patients or households, with case properties capturing attributes such as name, age, or visit history. Case indexes link related cases, such as a mother and child.

• Form Data includes digital forms used for data collection. Form questions capture responses (text, numeric, multiple-choice), and form submissions record each completed entry.

• Multimedia Data supports data collection with images, audio, and video stored in forms or cases.

Reference Data (Preloaded and Lookup Data)

This structured data ensures consistency and supports user workflows.

• Lookup Tables (Fixtures) provide preloaded datasets for selection lists and validation, such as village names or medication lists. You can read more here: Lookup Tables

• Location Data represents geographic or administrative structures (e.g., country, region, district) and includes attributes like name and assigned users.

System Metadata (App and User Management)

This manages users, app functionality, and system behavior. You can read more at Metadata Glossary .

• User Data tracks mobile workers, their roles, locations, and group assignments.

• Application Metadata includes app configuration, workflows, reports, and version history.

Submitting & Storing Data

The process by which data is collected and transmitted to the CommCare server involves several steps, streamlined for ease of use and efficiency.

This is further described on this page: Data Submission & Storage

Accessing Your Data

Data is accessed and downloaded by any web user with permission to view it. 

In some instances, where mobile users are sharing the same case list, one mobile worker may be able to see some of the data that was submitted by another mobile worker. This is called case sharing. However, case sharing is an advanced concept so we won't review it here. If your project will be using case sharing or you are simply interested in the concept, you can learn more about it here: Case Sharing

Inspecting & Visualizing your Data

In the Data Inspection section, we cover ways that you can explore your data in CommCare. This includes both your Raw Data and Metadata.

As part of this, you may also want to make edits directly to your data if there are errors. You can learn more about this in this section: Data Cleaning

Finally, as a final step, we cover how you can analyze and visualize your data in Data Analysis & Visualization