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MEIRU Data Processing Description
📋 Paper-based Workflow
1. Form Preparation & Field Collection
- Forms printed and allocated to interviewers
- Blank or pre-filled with participant info
- Administered in field
- Completed forms returned to data office
2. Double Data Entry
- Two separate databases
- Discrepancies resolved
- One authoritative database
- Free text coded using lookup tables
3. Validation & Cleaning
- Standard validation checks
- Errors resolved by officers
- Field revisits for verification
4. Research & Analysis
- Consistency checks
- Multi-study merging
- Analysis-ready datasets
- Researcher feedback
5. Archiving & Sharing
- Standard based metadata created for each study
- Final archiving on local servers
- Anonymized subsets
- Shared with researchers on MEIRU Microdataportal and other platforms
- Harmonized datasets visualized on MEIRU Viewer Dashboard
📱 Electronic Workflow
1. Digital Form Administration
- Interviewers use tablets/phones
- Blank or pre-filled
- End-of-day transfer
- ODK, RedCap, SurveyCTO
🔓 ODK Data Transfer
- Tablets → LAN → Server
- C# middleware
- ODK Server to Operational Database Data Loading
🔐 SurveyCTO Encrypted Transfer
- Public-key encryption on device
- Double encryption (local + SSL)
- Private key decryption
- CSV → C# → Operational Database
- Weekly transfers
3. Validation & Cleaning
- Operational Database quality checks
- Cleaning
- Liaison with interviewers
- Field revisits
4. Research & Analysis
- Consistency checks
- Multi-study merging
- Analysis-ready datasets
- Researcher feedback
5. Archiving & Sharing
- Standard based metadata created for each study
- Final archiving on local servers
- Anonymized subsets
- Shared with researchers on MEIRU Microdataportal and other platforms
- Harmonized datasets visualized on MEIRU Viewer Dashboard
MEIRU Viewer Dashboard
Visualizations
from harmonized datasets
