Dear EpiData list,

After spending a whole day to explore the newly released EpiData Manager and EpiData EntryClient, I have some comments:

1. The new EpiData Manager is not as flexible as the older version in which I can add code for check file. For example, I cannot use EpiData Manager to calculate BMI. Or if I have 10 questions about mental health then I have no way to calculate the total score. The patients in some studies should be referred to psychiatrist if they have a mental health score > cutoff point at the time of assessment. There should be “EDIT” like the olde version.

2. Another example to show that “EDIT” to check data entry should be included. In the old EpiData, I can add some codes to do extra things. Ex: when I enter postal code for Vietnam, the city/province variable includes only cities or provinces in Vietnam. Or if I enter postal code for Australia, the city/province variable only has option to choose among Australian cities. No way to do this in this version.

3. I can enter data using Unicode font but when I export the data to CSV or STATA…, they do not work. It does not appear correctly (Vietnamese).

4. I love the way the old Epidata align fields because the variable names are aligned to the right of the screen.

5. The undo, redo symbol should be on the menu bar as users may need them

6. In Epidata Manager, Tools > EpiData EntryClient should open the form that users are working on. This is because the data manager will need to look at the format of the data entry form or want to test the form.

7. The Tools > Report should have an option for “code book” as we may need it to check the data. In the old version, the code book includes information about the mean, …

8. If the double entry file has password, then “Incorrect Password” message appears when validating data. No box appear for entering password in this case.

9. In the old EpiData, we can create parent-child data file which is very helpful in community survey or longitudinal data with the same baseline information. I cannot do this in this new version.

I have some year experience teaching EpiData at the university, so I am happy to be the tester or to contribute something to this very interesting and helpful version.

Thank you,

Truc

Thai Thanh Truc (♂), MPH Department of Biostatistics - Faculty of Public Health - HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy Email: mailto:thaithanhtruc@gmail.com thaithanhtruc@gmail.com or mailto:thaithanhtruc@fphhcm.edu.vn thaithanhtruc@fphhcm.edu.vn or mailto:thai@connect.qut.edu.au thai@connect.qut.edu.au Mobile: +84 908 381 266