Pocket Observer Android App

Imagine children on a playground, customers in a busy supermarket, a herd of sheep in a paddock, a group of monkeys at the zoo, or visitors in a museum. They are constantly on the move and you need to observe them unobtrusively. In these situations, Pocket Observer on a smartphone is the ideal solution. With Pocket Observer, you can record observational data in great detail. And Pocket Observer makes data coding easy with its user-friendly interface. 

Now introducing the Pocket Observer for Android smartphones

• Maximum freedom in moving.
• Observe unobtrusively.
• Code up to 250 behaviors or modifiers on your smartphone.
• Cost-effective.
• User-friendly.

What is Pocket Observer?
If you need to be mobile during observations, but also require accu­rate coding and analysis, Pocket Observer offers the best solution for your research by combining the power of The Observer® XT with the portability of a handheld device. Pocket Observer allows you to code behavior while literally looking over the shoulder of free ranging test participants, in just about any location. Furthermore, you can choose almost any Android smartphone as recording device making the Noldus Pocket Observer Android app a very cost-effective coding solution. 

Pocket Observer on a smartphone
Pocket Observer is software that runs on handheld devices, such as smartphones. When using an Android platform 2.2 or higher, you can use this event recording tool on your smartphone which does not attract nearly as much attention as a clipboard.

This app has many advantages. You can code behavior of multiple subjects live, on-site, and still obtain a high level of accuracy. The interface of Pocket Observer has been tested and redesigned to make it more intuitive. For example, you can customize your event recorder by magnifying behavior buttons in order to code behaviors simply and accurately by tapping the touchscreen. You can use Pocket Observer in both portrait and landscape mode.

 How does Pocket Observer work?

• Set up your project in The Observer XT research software. The software allows you to setup a coding scheme and define your independent variables. An Android platform smartphone can handle up to 250 coding scheme elements which is exactly the same as The Observer XT software. The Android platform offers many interesting features for users and developers.
• Download this coding scheme onto Pocket Observer, running on your smartphone, and you are ready to start collecting your data. Check which code corresponds with which behavior, subject, or modifier. When you discover a new behavior during a live observation, you can add this to your coding scheme on the smartphone. You do not have to go back to your PC to make changes. With Pocket Observer software, you can use both time (instantaneous) and continuous sampling. Time sampling is a straightforward method that is often used in live observations.
• During your observation you can code subject, behaviors, and modifiers by tapping the touchscreen. You can also insert markers. For example, when noticing an interesting event, something unexpected, or an event that cannot be adequately described by the elements in the coding scheme, you can insert a marker. A marker is added to the comment field. Therefore, the marked event can easily be retrieved after the observation.
• After observing, you simply upload the observation data to your computer for analysis. You can integrate your handheld observation data with audio, video, or physiological data. When uploading your data to The Observer XT, you can integrate all files into one observation project for joint visualization and analysis.