“Birth to Twenty” is the largest and longest running study of child and adolescent health and development in Africa. In 2009, it embraces the mobile era by connecting several thousand participants to the Mobile Researcher platform, facilitating real-time mobile data collection.

For seven weeks between March and June 1990, following Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, 3273 children were born in the metropolitan area of Johannesburg-Soweto and enrolled into a long-term birth cohort study that would follow them and their families for the next 20 years.

18 years into the study, colloquially nicknamed “Mandela’s Children”, the unprecedented adoption of mobile technologies by almost every segment of society, particularly the youth, presents the research team with an opportunity to connect with and collect data from the participants using entry level mobile phones and the Mobile Researcher platform.

A tiny mobile application installed on each participant’s phone will synchronise and download any surveys designed by the research team and guide participants, question by question, through submitting their responses. The ability for researchers to obtain information quickly, without the need to print, distribute, collect and capture responses manually is set to significantly enhance existing research capabilities and provide new opportunities for groundbreaking research.

By leveraging mobile phones, participants will be able to answer questions on a range of topics using an interface intimately familiar to them. Surveys containing complex logic can be designed from the system’s web-based console and deployed to specific individuals within minutes.

As the Birth to Twenty cohort moves from adolescence to adulthood, a new study called the “3G Study” has been launched in which female participants who are expecting babies and those who may already have children may enroll. This will provide further insight in a study which to date has had its findings presented at over 250 conferences and workshops worldwide, produced over 100 scientific papers and had a direct impact on government policy.

About Populi.net Mobile Researcher
Powered by the Populi.net platform, Mobile Researcher transforms the ubiquitous mobile phone into a cutting-edge research tool.

Leverage web and mobile technologies to design and deploy surveys to fieldworkers in minutes, monitor, manage and communicate with your team and analyse responses in real-time.

Developed by Digital Solutions company Clyral, Mobile Researcher presents a breakthrough in research technology. Learn more at mobileresearcher.com.

The MRC selected Mobile Researcher, a locally developed research platform, for a large-scale baseline study conducted in Umlazi, KZN. Equipped with standard cellphones, fieldworkers were able to capture and upload responses from within the mobile application, eliminating the need for paper and subsequent data capture.

The Medical Research Council of South Africa is one of the largest research organisations in the country. It has as its mandate to promote and conduct research for the improvement of health and quality of life of the public.

The intention of the study was to collect baseline data on a large number of households within the Umlazi area, located near Durban, South Africa. The study included questions pertaining to the structure of dwellings and access to basic services. Statistics on female inhabitants and infant mortality were also captured as part of the baseline study to provide reference points for future intervention projects. The surveys conducted were relatively brief with 60 data fields captured per household on average.

A team of approximately 25 fieldworkers was assembled to conduct interviews with Umlazi residents on an ongoing basis. Each fieldworker was issued with a low cost Nokia 2626 handset. The Mobile Researcher application was installed on each phone to allow surveys to be conducted and uploaded using low cost GPRS. SMS was not a viable technology for the study due to survey length, data complexity and intermittent reception. SMS was however used to assist in logistics with all fieldworker communication managed and logged via the Mobile Researcher system.

Key Successes

• Low cost Nokia 2626 handsets were successfully used by fieldworkers to conduct surveys.
• On average, over 400 households were surveyed daily with data available for analysis and reporting before the fieldworkers returned to the field the following day.
• Research staff and management were able to isolate and rectify issues whilst the study was in progress.
• Fieldworker activity could be monitored routinely via the web-based console for training, quality assurance and remuneration purposes.
• More than 25,000 households were surveyed in the first 3 months.
• In total over 85,000 surveys were conducted.

The resounding success of the project illustrates the potential of leveraging web and mobile technologies for the conduction of large-scale field research ? particularly in rural areas. Combining even entry-level mobile phones and the Mobile Researcher system enables high quality, affordable research to be conducted even where no cell phone reception is available.

About Populi.net Mobile Researcher
Powered by the Populi.net platform, Mobile Researcher transforms the ubiquitous mobile phone into a cutting-edge research tool.

Leverage web and mobile technologies to design and deploy surveys to fieldworkers in minutes, monitor, manage and communicate with your team and analyse responses in real-time.

Developed by Digital Solutions company Clyral, Mobile Researcher presents a breakthrough in research technology. Learn more at mobileresearcher.com.