Phenobook: An open source software for phenotypic data collection

CRESCENTE J. M.; GUIDOBALDI F.; DEMICHELIS M.; FORMICA M. B.; HELGUERA M.; VANZETTI L. S.

GigaScience

Oxford

Año: 2016

Background: Many research projects often involves observation, registration and data processing starting from information obtained in field experiments. In many cases these tasks are carried out by several persons in different places, times and ways adding different levels of complexity and error in data collecting. After that, data processing can be time consuming and input errors may produce unwanted results. Main text: We have developed a novel software called Phenobook, an easy, flexible and intuitive tool to organize, collect and save experimental data for further analyses. Phenobook was conceived to collect phenotypic observations in an user-friendly, cost-effective way. It consists of a web-based software for experiment design, data visualization and exportation, combined by a mobile application for remote data collecting. We provide in this article a detailed description of the developed tool. Conclusions: Phenobook is a software tool that can be easily implemented in collaborative research and development projects involving data collecting and forward analyses. Adopting Phenobook is expected to improve the involved processes by minimizing input errors, resulting in higher quality and reliability of the research outcomes.