Use email to collect data with EthnoHub

We just launched a feature that makes adding data to EthnoHub incredibly easy. We're very excited about this addition, and we think you're going to find it really convenient.

You can now email data directly to a project. This means you can enter data without even being logged into the project website. Just send a message via email from a desktop application, webmail, tablet, or mobile phone — and it will post instantly to EthnoHub as project data.

Email is perfect for people on the move, using smartphones and tablets. Whatever device and platform they use, wherever they are, they can instantly add data to your project. EthnoHub works with iOS (iPhone, iPad), Android, Windows Phone, etc. Your informants already have the basic elements to participate in your project. No need to download or install any specialized app.

Absolutely any device with a web browser or email application can be used to enter data into your EthnoHub projects.

How it works

Each participant and researcher has a unique email address they can use to send notes and images. The unique email address created for each user is how EthnoHub knows which project you want to post data to, and who is authoring the data.

Users can find their personal input email address by visiting your site and clicking on their personal "Hello" menu choice at the top of the screen. Then select the "Email Input" tab to see a clickable unique email address, with detailed instructions. The address is a clickable link, so it opens immediately in your preferred mail application. You may want to add that email address to your address book, so you have it ready any time you want to post data to the project.

Remember, every user in every project has a unique inbound email address. Do not share your own email address with other people — everyone in your project will see their personal email address when they visit the "Email Input" tab.

Now your informants have the options to submit diary entries via the web interface (usually on a desktop or laptop), or to simply email notes and photos (probably on a smartphone or tablet). They can pick whichever method is most convenient to their current context or task. Conversely, researchers already had the options to send prompts via the website or email, or both.

Good to know

Data posted via an email address is considered to be authored by the corresponding user. The data is assigned to their diary session (if a participant) or email session (if a researcher).

Files attached to the email are included in the project data. The subject line, if any, is included in the diary entry.

We hope you find this new feature really useful. Thanks for using EthnoHub!

Wait! There's more! What makes this announcement even more exciting for us is that —behind the curtains— we have engineered a platform that gathers data from all sorts of channels, not just the Web or email. We believe the future of qualitative research will involve many other sources: audio, video, discussion rooms, physical sensors, social network feeds, etc. EthnoHub is designed and built for that future!