- Describe the flow of data in CommCare
- Explain how CommCare functions when there is no network
- Define and provide examples of the different data types in CommCare: Worker Activity Data and Raw Data
- Provide examples of Worker Activity Data available in CommCare
- Distinguish between the two types of Raw Data available in CommCare- Form Data and Case Data
1. CommCare Data Overview
In CommCare, the general flow of data is from a mobile user to CommCareHQ. From CommCareHQ it is visible to any CommCareHQ/web user with permission to view it.
In some cases, where mobile users are sharing the same case list, one mobile worker may be able to see data that was submitted by another mobile worker. However, case sharing is an advanced concept; you can learn more about it here.
In general there are two levels of data in CommCare:
- Raw Data – this is data from the questions contained in a form. For example, if you have a question like “what is the patient’s birthday,” that data is then visible in CommCareHQ as raw or key indicator data. This is also sometimes called programmatic data.
- Worker Activity Data – this is data about how and when mobile workers are submitting forms. The technically inclined can think of this as “metadata.” This may be information like “yesterday mobile worker Samantha submitted 10 forms”
CommCare Without Connectivity
What happens to data collected on a phone when there is no signal? It stays on the phone until there is signal! CommCare was designed to function in places where there is not always consistent access to network.
In addition, on CommCareHQ you can view lots of important data about a form:
- Which mobile worker submitted it?
- How long did it take to complete the form?
- When was the form sent to the CommCareHQ server over the mobile data or WiFi network?
- What are the answers to the questions in the form (raw data)?
- Was the form related to a case, and if so which one? (see case management)
2. Worker Activity Data
There are a variety of reports available on CommCareHQ which use worker activity data . These reports are derived from form submission metadata and are very useful for monitoring workers and providing supportive supervision.
These reports are discussed in-depth elsewhere on the CommCare help site. Some examples include:
- Case Activity - how frequently does a given mobile worker submit a form related to a given case
- Daily Form Submissions - how many forms does a given mobile worker submit over a time period
- Submissions by Form - which forms are being submitted by a given mobile worker over a time period
Here is an example of a report based off of worker activity data. This report is called Daily Form Submissions:
This report shows the number of forms each mobile worker submitted on each day over a specified time period. There is lots of useful information in this report. For example, you can see that user06 has not submitted any forms during this time frame, while user07 submitted 22.
This information can inform decisions about which workers may need extra attention.
3. Raw Data
There are two forms of raw, or programmatic, data that can be downloaded or exported:
- Form Data - you can download submissions for any form in an application.
- Case Data - all of the data which has been flagged as part of the case file.
Raw, or programmatic, data includes anything that is specific to the form design, including the answers to questions and calculations. Examples could include text fields, numbers, dates, and GPS coordinates.
There is a lot more detail about CommCare Data in this section of the Help Site.
The next section is not about CommCare technology, but how projects are structured for effective implementation.
Check out the other pages: