Future Views of Field Data Collection in Statistical Surveys

Recent research in mobile computing for survey data collection has focused on implementing paper-based procedures for field activities on handheld and tablet devices using a structured client-server interaction model developed for computer-assisted telephone interviewing labs. As these applications have evolved, little attention has been given to new and emerging information technologies. The goal of Project Battuta is to conduct research that focuses on the developing next-generation field and infrastructure technologies for mobile data collection, with an emphasis on using digital geospatial information resources within the field data collection process. To do so requires a new paradigm for field data collection that draws upon the ability to integrate distributed geospatial information resources in a mobile environment, modern computing paradigms for mediated infrastructures that increase the simplicity and flexibility of the user’s interactions with data resources, and future mobile technologies such as wearable computers and augmented reality in the computer-assisted field data collection environment. We discuss research in these three areas and their potential for transforming the field data collection process for statistical surveys.