As the world navigated the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers turned to the tried and true method of the telephone survey to gather vital data. And to aid in this endeavor, the SoTLab of ARCED Foundation developed the Stata program catigen, a tool that seamlessly converts any SurveyCTO CAPI into SurveyCTO CATI format using the advanced template.

Latest version available at Github: ARCED-Foundation/catigen: A Stata command to automatically generate SurveyCTO advanced CATI from a SurveyCTO CAPI. (github.com)

catigen is a Stata module to automatically generate SurveyCTO advanced CATI from a SurveyCTO/ODK CAPI XLSForm. This program uses SurveyCTO advanced CATI template to generate a new CATI based on a CAPI XLSForm.

With catigen, researchers need not worry about learning the ins and outs of SurveyCTO from scratch. Instead, they can focus on designing and administering their surveys, analyzing and visualizing the collected data, and making informed decisions based on their findings.

The program does the followings:

  • Downloads the templates from ARCED’s GitHub repo.
  • Generates the CATI XLSForm
  • Create the xml file for server dataset
  • Saves a sample do file that can be used to generate preload file for server dataset

What and how

You need Stata 15 or above to use catigen. You just need to create a SurveyCTO CAPI questionnaire only with the questions – the program automatically adds the basic fields, such as start time, end time, text audit, and even a consent field. In case you already have these fields, the program will report you to get rid of them from your form and try again because it is conflicting. If you already have a consent note, you can copy that into the appropriate consent field in the CATI. It is important because the CATI workflow works differently than our regular CAPI workflow.

Installation

catigen is currently only available on GitHub. You only need to install this once by running the following code in your Stata console. 

** Install from GitHub
    net install catigen, all replace from(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ARCED-Foundation/catigen/master)

Usage

catigen is very easy to use, with minimum options. With the command just show the name and path of the CAPI that you have already developed and add two options:

saving – the path and file name the CATI should be saved

attachment – the path where the necessary attachments should be saved. The CATI requires multiple attachments as part of the system. The program will save them in this folder. If the folder does not exist, don’t bother, the program will automatically create one with the name you passed here.

Below is a very simple example command:

catigen using "Baseline/dropout_survey_2022.xlsx", ///
        saving("Baseline/Dropout Survey CATI Form.xlsx") ///
        attachment("Baseline/Attachments")

The program also comes with a help file. After installation, you can type help catigen and hit enter at your Stata console to read the help file or just visit the GitHub page to read further.

If you have further questions or face any difficulties, please feel free to log an issue here or directly send an email to SoTLab here: sotlab@arced.foundation.

ARCED Foundation, ever mindful of the global nature of research, published catigen on GitHub for the benefit of the entire SurveyCTO user group. And so, researchers the world over can take advantage of this invaluable tool, streamlining their work and making the most of their time.

In these times of uncertainty and change, catigen stands as a beacon, guiding researchers toward reliable and accurate data collection. Its automated conversion process is a blessing, allowing researchers to focus on the bigger picture and the impact their findings will have on the world.