What tools will you use to collect data?

As you design your monitoring plan, you will likely need to make decisions about what kind of tools your program will use to collect and record data. In many cases, it will be important to record spatial coordinates for the data that you are collecting using a GPS or other means. Sometimes, you will need specialized equipment to take measurements or collect samples, such as a water sampling meter or fishnets. Equipment can be expensive, so consider a balance between quality and cost, and ensure that equipment is well cared for and maintained.

Information can be entered onto paper forms, survey forms, or handheld devices like tablets, phones, laptops, etc. In some cases you may want to photograph or video document observations, or leave remote cameras behind to capture footage. Increasingly, guardian programs have been making creative use of tools like drones, mapping and GIS, social media and open-source and custom applications to gather and document information. Regardless of the data collection tool used, it important to test your methods in the field (and on the analysis and reporting end) and refine and adapt them as you go.

There are pros and cons to using different approaches. Paper forms are easy to use but must be manually input into your data management system. This can be time consuming and create opportunities for error. Hand-held devices can be more efficient and transfer information directly into your database or data management system once back in the office or on wifi. However, these can be expensive, require technical skills or frequent software upgrades, or be affected by cold temperatures, battery issues, software glitches, data loss, etc.

It’s a good idea to reach out to other organizations and communities who have walked this path before you and who are operating in the same geographical, cultural or monitoring context. Connect and ask what tools they have found successful or lessons they have learned along the way

Community resource

Data Collection and Management Software App List

This document lists some of the data collection apps and data management software being used by Indigenous Guardian programs across Canada. This list of apps and software may be useful as people consider what tools may be a good fit for their Indigenous Guardian programs. The list is not exhaustive, and the descriptions may not represent everything the particular app or software can do.

Community resource

Data Collection and Management Software App List

Additional resources

Story

From Australia to BC: Improving Data Collection with CoastTracker

Community resource

Indigenous Mapping Workshop

The 5th annual Indigenous Mapping Workshop took place August 20 - 23, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec.  The workshop hosted more than 300 community mapping practitioners from across North America, including people involved in Indigenous Guardian programs.  Participants learned how to use various tools (including Google, Esri Canada, QGIS, and other

Community resource

Indigenous Mapping Workshop

Worksheet

Data Collection and Management Tools

This worksheet provides an introductory overview to some of the pros and cons of different approaches to collecting data and poses some questions to consider re. data management tools.

Worksheet

Data Collection and Management Tools