Dear Leticia Grize
Your questions are as well relevant and very much to the point of what we are all asked from our IT-departments. E.g. from the IT-department in the health region where I work at a University Hospital.
I think the tendency for all Health Regions, Non-profit organizations like yours, hospitals in general and universities is to impose very strict control on which software may be installed.
Therefor allow me to give a quite lengthy explanation.
The EpiData Association does not have a larger organization and it is quite impossible within the means we have and the time constraints to adopt, e.g. as well a Microsoft developer account, a qualification for the Mac (Apple environment) and also secure standard open-source principles for the Linux users. Another issue is whether we would actually approve of such a principle (Microsoft/Apple) - the answer is currently no.
Based on your other questions I will add a few comments:
1. Never use test versions for production. The file structure might change, such that you cannot use it in future public release versions. We clearly warn against such use on the development pages.
2. For production/real projects only use software from Http://www.epidata.dk/download.php
3. The current public production versions are: Maintained and continously developed software: *OS:* _Manager_ *v4.4.2.1* _EntryClient_ *v4.4.3.1* _Analysis_ *v1.2.2.0*
Software which is available, but will NOT be developed further: EpiData Classic: Analysis V2.2 Rel. 3 (Build 187 ) EpiData Classic *3.1 * Build: (* (27jan2008)*
As long as the v3.1 works to the satisfaction and sufficient function it is a very strong tool and widely use. In relation to analysis there are good reasons to use Analysis Classic v2.2. until the rewritten Analysis (now at v1.2.2.) can do the same analysis. Another aspect is that for some commands the syntax is a bit more difficult - due to principles of maintenance of the software for the three operating systems (Linux, Windows and Mac).
We DO NOT suggest that new users use the Classic Software 3.1, since the principles of rec+chk file is no longer maintained. This is now replaced with the epx (XML) based file principles and for most uses of data definition and entry the functionality of Manager and EntryClient is much preferred in modern OS, e.g. Windows 10, Mac or Linux. And user logging principles and encryption of data has been implemented in the new software.
If you look in the archives of this mail-list you may see many documents on the development principles, the roadmap and the phases of coming development.
In short what are the plans: Basically I DO NOT expect to develop Manager and EntryClient with more functionality than what you have now - bugs will be fixed obviously, like just now we identified a bug in the "Unarchive" tool found in EpiData Manager, which will lead to a new version on the public production pages.
For EpiData Analysis (v 1.2.2) the datamanagement functions are almost in place, more analysis commands are coming, a graph module and more specific adaptations to enhanced functionality for routine automatic analysis will come. Towards the end of development I also hope that we will be able to simplify some of the aspects, which are now a bit tricky for beginners.
In relation to testing new public versions and implemented principles we have the following: a. See the page http://www.epidata.dk/documentation.php.
b. For analysis a validation package compares all estimates with reference values that we take either from Stata or a reference data analysis commands from the NIST system. We have more than 1000 tests being done in batch mode. An example report is here: http://epidata.dk/php/downloadc.php?file=epidata_analysis_validate.pdf
c. For Manager we have a spreadsheet with quite many tests that are done manually every time before release of a new public version.An example report is here: http://epidata.dk/php/downloadc.php?file=epidata_manager_entryclient_quality...
So all in all - I think users (and possibly IT-departments) will accept and acknowledge that EpiData Software is a quite comprehensive addition to public health, clinical research and project management. And also that we have quite extensive quality assurance and version control principles implemented.
Please also ask your IT-department to compare the costs of attaining the EpiData software with the expectations (donations for further aspects welcomed).
Finally I suggest that you look at the very instructive course material available at this address. All based on the new software and for analysis the EpiData Classic. This is done thanks to Hans Rieder with moderate input from me and others. https://tbrieder.org/epidata/epidata.html
Best wishes Jens Lauritsen Coordinator and Initator of EpiData Software Denmark
On 20/03/2019 18:38, EpiData development and support wrote:
Dear EpiData Association team / epidata-list,
I work at a non-profit organization conducting studies in different parts of the world. Several of these studies at our institute are still using EpiData v3.1.
At the moment all collaborators of our institute are being migrated from Windows 7 to Windows 10.
Our IT department has included EpiData Manager V4.4.2.1 in the software package being installed in our new computers since it is the 'newest' version (a test version but not the current version!) . Since several studies are in the process of entering data using V3.1 we encountered the fact that the entry mask does not work on the newer version (as expected). Using V4.4.2.1 means for us the re-design of the masks, which we have tried but encounter difficulties with the part of the '.chk' e.g no conditional jumps can be applied and calculations can be cumbersome, etc...
We would rather work with V3.1 but out IT department would like to know the following to go back to EpiData V3.1:
1.) Which is your 'Road Map' for the development of V4.4.2.1 from 'test' to a 'current' version? Would you have an estimate of the date of availability of the V4.4.2.1 as a current version? 2.) They asked if V3.1 was designed for Win 10, but I rather ask: are there known errors in the use of V3.1 when running under Win10? 3.) Would you have 'security' updates for V3.1? Since it is an old software, the IT team is refusing to install V3.1 because if could introduce 'insecurity' in the Institute's system.
- If we were forced to use the test version, is there an easy way to
implement the check files from V3.1?
- Would you have a manual for the users? We are in the middle of several
studies going on and we would like to have reassurance that things are done properly. I would really appreciate your help!
Best regards and thank you, Leticia Grize
Leticia Grize PhD Biostatistics Unit Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute Office address: Eulerstrasse 77, Basel Phone: +41-(0)61-284-87-12 Fax: +41-(0)61-284-81-01 Email: leticia.grize@swisstph.ch Postal address: Swiss TPH / P.O. Box / CH-4002 Basel / Switzerland STPH website: http://www.Swisstph.ch
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