Hello, I am a political scientists but used to work with public health people at The Carter Center. I am comparing EpiData, SPSS Data Entry Builder, and File Maker Pro as options for entering media incident reports of election violence. I am interested in "epidemiology of political violence" and eventually plan to map incidents. I am leaning toward Epi because it is freeware and many other great qualities, but a couple of questions remain:

(1) I would like to have people entering data at the same time from multiple locations. Is it possible to have a remote and immediate data deposit on a central server via the web using EpiData? If not, how have people handled data management when field staff enter data? Do they just use the same .qes and then send the .rec files periodically, which are appended. Are there any problems with this method? I was thinking of setting up a web site where people could upload their files, then I would combine them.

(2) I am a bit confused about text fields. Is it possible to enter open-ended questions and narratives (paragraph length)? This is what is attractive to me about SPSS DEB. They have remote entry as well as long text fields.

If anyone has considered these issues I would welcome assistance.

Best wishes, Megan Reif

Megan E. Reif Department of Political Science University of Michigan 5700 Haven Hall 505 S. State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1045

Mobile: 734.730.6024 Home: 734.763.6916 Fax: 734.764.3522 reifm@umich.edu