The lowdown on the best data collection platform for integrated, real-time field data visualization
If you collect primary data, you need to keep an eye on that data for the duration of your project. What this looks like will depend on the nature of your project, how sensitive your data is, and what type of compliance regulations or industry standards you follow. But generally, keeping a close on your data can mean checking on incoming submissions on a weekly, daily, or even hourly basis.
Since exporting data on a weekly or more basis is unrealistic, using a data visualization tool to view data digitally is a must for busy teams. Most data collection software offers at least a basic feature for quickly visualizing your incoming data. More sophisticated platforms also understand that data collection software is just one tool in a data tech stack and often provide integrations, which allow for more in-depth visualizations through data dashboards created with best-in-class tools.
In this article, we’ll:
- Fully break down the options for real-time field-level visualization of incoming data
- Explain why we think SurveyCTO is the best data collection software on the market for fast data visualization, and
- Provide insider tips on getting the most out of our platform when it comes to data visualization
Table of Contents
Using native functionality for quick data visualization: SurveyCTO’s Data Explorer
Almost all digital data collection tools offer some form of in-platform visualization options for your data. And in more sophisticated platforms, this visualization goes beyond basic functionality: It’s easy to navigate, provides an accessible look into incoming submissions, and gives you the option to be selective about the data you see.
SurveyCTO’s Data Explorer lets you easily summarize your form’s data in a variety of ways, including by individual form fields or the relationship between those fields. It also lets you drill down to take a deeper look at individual submissions.
With the Data Explorer, you can start learning from your data the minute it starts flowing in, long before your project is complete.
In-platform visualization tools should be available in most data collection software, making them easy to use and set up. And since data doesn’t need to be streamed to another platform, you can visualize collected responses as soon as they come in.
For best visualization results out of SurveyCTO’s Data Explorer, do the following:
- Set up a Workbook via the Monitor tab in your server console. You can also access the Explorer through the Export tab, but this provides a different UI more focused on lengthy exploration than keeping up-to-date on what’s happening on the ground.
- Once you have a Data Explorer workbook set up in the Monitor tab, you can then filter down to the data you really need to see on a consistent basis, instead of deep-diving into every question. The Monitor tab also lets you utilize SurveyCTO’s automated quality checks as part of your quick data visualization strategy.
- For best results with automated quality checks, configure checks for your incoming submissions that warn you if there’s a problem in the field.
- For example, you could identify outliers in a market research survey taking place on college campuses by flagging your age field if the response is under 18 or over 30. It’s not impossible for a student on a college campus to be outside that age range, but it’s unlikely enough that you may want to inspect such submissions in the Data Explorer to ensure their accuracy and completeness.
Quick data visualization with integrated external tools: Google Sheets and Zapier
Ambitious teams wanting to move beyond the capabilities provided in their software’s native data visualization feature have many data visualization tool options, but they must be using data collection software that easily integrates with other tools for data visualization to get the most out of these visualization platforms.
While there are lots of tools out there, one stands out to us as the go-to choice for fast data visualization. When it comes to familiarity, ease of use, and seriously robust options for manipulating and showcasing data, you really cannot go wrong with Google Sheets.
This popular and powerful tool can work as the basis for a variety of data dashboards and high-frequency checks, all of which can give you a real-time look at data as it is being gathered on the ground.
SurveyCTO’s integration with Google Sheets is easy to set up. We call the process “publishing to Google Sheets,” and it involves a few simple steps:
- First, you will need to create a SurveyCTO dataset to hold the data collected one or more of your SurveyCTO forms
- Then, enable cloud publishing in your server console and authorize your Google
- Finally, set up “Publish to Google Sheets” for that dataset, map the fields you want to carry over from that dataset into your Sheet, and start visualizing your data!
Get the full details with all steps here.
Once you have enabled publishing to a Google Sheet from SurveyCTO, you have options for flexible data visualization dashboards, data quality checks, and further integrations with platforms like Zapier.
You can get the most out of SurveyCTO’s integration with Google Sheets with the following:
- Real-time data dashboards: A dynamic or real-time dashboard in Google Sheets will flow data in automatically as it is submitted, or as close to “real time” as possible. With a real-time dashboard in a tool as widely accessible as Google Sheets, all need-to-know stakeholders can easily review submissions.You can also use Google Sheets tools like pivot tables to summarize and analyze your incoming data for more granularity.
- High frequency checks: Google Sheets dashboards aren’t only for reviewing individual submissions. They are also a very effective tool for monitoring and identifying errors or potential fieldwork issues in your data. Influential organizations like the World Bank use SurveyCTO’s integration with Google Sheets to set up a systematic and standardized dashboard for tracking and monitoring a high volume of survey data.
3. Zapier workflows: Once you are publishing your SurveyCTO data to Google Sheets, you also have the option to connect with the platform Zapier.
Zapier is a digital platform that enables connections between multiple applications so that you can streamline repetitive tasks—no programming required. Using SurveyCTO and Google Sheets in combination with Zapier, you can automate data tasks by sending form data to other applications automatically.
For example, if you need data collected in the field to be immediately visible in an SMS, Slack, or other type of message to someone on your team, you can set up “Zaps” that will publish selected SurveyCTO form fields to the connected app of your choice.
It’s clear: SurveyCTO is the best data collection platform for quickly visualizing your data
Busy projects, tight deadlines, and high volumes of data being collected all mean that supervisors and field managers need to keep track of many moving parts—fast.
While data collection platforms by design are going to be more limited compared to data visualization platforms built specifically for robust data visualization, analysis, and reporting, by our calculations, SurveyCTO is the best data collection tool for getting eyes on data quickly, whether that’s for standard visualization purposes or for downstream data workflows.
If you collect data in person, there’s never been a better time to optimize your data visualization processes and upgrade to your next data collection platform. Start a free trial or get in touch with our team at the links below.
