Longitudinal StudiesStandard Data's flexible platform allows organizations to structure their project specifically to meet their goals. In order to structure your Standard Data project for a longitudinal study, here are the components you'll need.

Components of Standard Data used in Longitudinal Studies

1. Custom Forms
2. One-way and Two-way Sync
3. Dashboard
4. User Roles

Now, how do we leverage each of these components to create surveys for a longitudinal study in Standard Data? Let's dive in to each one.

Custom Forms

A good case management system collects data using the following form types. The forms and their content can be customized to collect data specific to your organization's goals.

• Subject — This form collects information about the subject. It will almost always collect demographic information, as well as other information specific to your focus area.
• Survey (Baseline and Followups) - This form is the core of your research. You can complete this form multiple times for each subject, once as a baseline assessment and again as followups over the period of your study.

One-Way or Two-Way Sync

Now we can utilize Standard Data's one or two way sync to determine if the record should be submitted once and never touched again, or if a record should have the ability to be modified and viewed in the field.

• One-way sync — data can be submitted, but not viewed or edited from the mobile device. We recommend using this setting for the form containing information about your Subject, as it will not likely change.
• Two-way sync — data can be both submitted, and viewed and edited from the mobile device. We recommend this setting for the form containing your core survey, as it's not uncommon to need to edit after the initial submission for various reasons.

This can be set at the form-level, meaning one form can utilize one-way sync, while another utilizes two-way sync.

Dashboard

Time to talk about the best part — visualizing and interacting with your data! For longitudinal studies we recommend setting up at least one real-time interactive dashboard, covering information about the subjects in your study and the information as it changes over time. A dashboard for a longitudinal study might have a section visualizing the demographics of your subject, as well as a section showing each indicator as it's changing over time.

User Roles

We have comprehensive user roles which allow you to collaborate with your team and determine who should do what. For a case management project, we recommend the following setup:

• Admin — This access should be given to one person or a small team of people who manages the entire project and has access to everything.
• Collect — The ability to collect data should be given to enumerators who interact with subjects regularly, and will need to complete the forms.
• View / Edit — This role allows the user to view and edit all of the data, and should be given to the data manager on your project.