Combining Adobe Forms and Dropbox to Obtain a Low-Cost Electronic Data Collection System.

Background: The method used to collect, store, and analyze data can affect the quality of data obtained. Many studies have shown the advantages of electronic systems over paper. Numerous tools are available for this purpose; however, they tend to be implemented only in high-budget protocols as they tend to be expensive.

Introduction: We report the experience of the Affective Disorders' Clinic of the National Institute of Psychiatry in Mexico City using Adobe Acrobat Forms combined with Dropbox as storage and distribution method for clinical protocols.

Materials And Methods: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro was used to create personalized forms to capture data for seven different clinical purposes. Dropbox was used to share the distributed forms with fellow researchers. Completed forms were stored in Dropbox and the main researcher kept the data collection file, from where the forms were gathered for analysis.

Results: Sixteen forms created for different clinical purposes had an average of 1.2% missing fields.

Discussion: The main drawbacks relate to remote filling and the time spent in fine-tuning complex forms. The main advantages relate to the simplicity of the implementation of the method and the fact that no software other than the one available at the Institute is required.

Conclusions: Compared with other types of electronic data collection systems, the combination of these tools achieves similar goals and is low cost, requiring minimal knowledge of informatics.