Numeric paper forms for NGOs

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in disadvantaged communities have a variety of data-collection and analysis needs, for example, for performing surveys or monitoring programs. Because much of this data collection occurs in environments with insufficient IT support and infrastructure, and among populations not always comfortable with technology, paper forms rather than electronic methods remain the predominant means for data collection. We consider the design of machine-readable paper forms for NGOs. We first examine the unique needs of NGOs that interact with underprivileged populations through interviews with eleven organizations and an in-depth investigation of one NGO´s specific form-filling requirements. These explorations led to a focus on numeric forms forms with questions requiring responses largely constrained to numbers. We then present an experiment which evaluates how a variety of formats for numeric data would fare with users from backgrounds similar to those who might fill out such forms. Our goal was to balance the tradeoff between ease-of-use among our intended population and machine readability. Combining the results of the experiment with an analysis of machine-readability from a technical perspective, we propose the best numeric input methods for different NGO form filling requirements.