ODK & KoboToolbox for Digital Data Collection

Course Overview

ODK and KoboToolbox are the two most widely used digital data collection platforms in the world — trusted by UNICEF, WHO, governments, NGOs, and research institutions to collect millions of surveys annually in the most challenging field environments.

This practical 3-day course teaches you to design, program, deploy, and manage digital surveys from start to finish. You'll build real survey instruments including surveys with complex skip logic, calculations, GPS capture, and photo collection.

Whether you're conducting household surveys, clinical assessments, or humanitarian needs assessments, this course gives you the skills to move beyond paper efficiently and professionally.

What You Will Learn

• Understand the ODK and KoboToolbox ecosystems and choose the right platform
• Design logical, user-friendly survey instruments following best practices
• Use KoboToolbox Form Builder to create surveys with a drag-and-drop interface
• Build surveys using XLSForm — the universal standard for ODK-compatible forms
• Implement skip logic and relevance conditions for intelligent, branching forms
• Use calculations to auto-compute values from respondent inputs
• Configure constraint validation to prevent data entry errors in the field
• Capture GPS coordinates, photos, barcodes, and audio using mobile devices
• Build repeat groups for household roster and asset-level data collection
• Deploy surveys to field teams and monitor submissions in real time
• Export data to Excel, SPSS, CSV for analysis

Who Should Enroll

• M&E officers and data managers in NGOs, government, and development organizations
• Researchers designing and conducting field surveys and assessments
• Public health professionals running community surveys and surveillance
• Program staff responsible for data collection in humanitarian programs
• Consultants who design and manage data collection for clients
• Anyone currently using paper forms or basic Excel for field data collection

Requirements

• •No prior ODK or KoboToolbox experience required
• •Basic understanding of survey design and data collection concepts is helpful
• •Laptop with internet access; smartphone or tablet for field app testing
• •Free KoboToolbox account (we guide you through account setup)