Automated Data Collection: Which Approach is Best?

1. Automated Data Collection: Which Approach is Best? Long gone are the days when mail survey responses were collected manually and key entered into digital format. Today, the question isn’t whether you should automate, but rather which approach to use. The most commonly used data capture technologies in the survey industry today are OMR (optical mark recognition) and Image Scanning, each with inherent advantages and disadvantages. While both provide exceptional accuracy and cost efficiency, OMR is significantly faster while Image Scanning offers more flexibility. Choosing a data collection technology for your project is something you will need to do early in the planning process, before your survey forms are designed. Your survey partner can help you determine which solution will work best for your unique project. Following are detailed descriptions of these industry-best data collection technologies: OMR Technology OMR technology detects the absence or presence of a mark. It is the fastest multi-modal data collection technology in the industry and is particularly adept at measuring the darkness of a mark to help determine whether the mark is a valid response or an erasure. OMR is commonly used in standardized school testing such as S.A.T. bubble forms. OMR forms are very specialized documents that require critical registration. This means that the forms must include precise “timing marks” along the edge of the form to let the OMR scanner know where to look for data. If this is not done correctly, data collection will be adversely affected. Therefore, you must work with a printer who has experience with OMR forms. Color is also extremely important with OMR documents. Only colors that contain no black as part of their PMS color can be used. If pen will be allowed, only various shades of red can be used, which further limits color choices. In addition, the paper stock requires the proper reflectance and fluorescence so that it will not read false marks during the data collection process.. As the forms are being scanned, the data is immediately written to the data file. OMR scanning has an accuracy rating of 99.9%, but only when the forms are filled out correctly. Respondents need to use the correct writing instrument and fill the bubbles completely to achieve this type of accuracy rating. A drawback to OMR technology is that it requires you to produce pre-printed documents, which some clients have found to be inflexible, costly (especially with small quantities) and incapable of meeting design change requirements on short notice. Know more on Forms Processing services Project consulting services