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Message Board Posting Guidelines
Citation: Jung,BC (2003 - 2012) Epi Forums Message Board Posting Guidelines.
Web Address: http://www.bettycjung.net/Epiforums.htm
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(No longer functional, historical)

6/2003 - Hi, I have kept one message board that you can use to post messages to me, if you like. The initial message boards on this page no longer exist. I am maintaining this Web page for historical purposes. This page offers a structure with which to systematically organize online postings. The original purpose I had in mind was to provide a permanent place at which those interested in Epi Info and Epi Data can share information and solutions.

It is no longer necessary for me to maintain these message boards as the CDC and EpiData have set up their own message boards for the free exchange of information about their software.

For Epi Info, go to CDC .

For EpiData, go to EpiData

PURPOSE

These message boards are devoted to providing a haven for practical information about the use of Epi Info & EpiData sofware packages in conducting epidemiological research as well as a forum for the free exchange of ideas and solutions. These boards are meant to be freely available to anyone interested in using these software programs for collecting and analyzing data. If you would like to post messages, then you must register (which is not hard to do - just follow what the screens ask for, and it's policy of the message board host company).

My only interest is that I am providing a needed service that would otherwise be unavailable to the Public Health Community. My only bias is that I am an Epi Info 5 fanatic (I know of no other program that takes up so little room and do so much, on any computer [88 to Pentium 3 machines], from menu-driven MISs to relational databases - I've been able to do them all! I have used it for everything, and I have never lost any data.)

Message boards are great for the exchange of practical information:

  1. Archiving previous communications that would eventually result in solutions that have lasting impact on what we do;
  2. Allow people to ask questions of others who can offer concrete solutions that may be useful to others as well;
  3. Provide a place to share solutions that we find work, which may not necessarily be in response to a burning question from someone else;
  4. Share the expertise we have developed from working with these software problems;
  5. Help our colleagues in ways that are mutually beneficial while enhancing the whole profession.

Basic Premise - Message boards are organized under 3 main categories:

  • Problem/solution reports - for reporting successful solutions to problems you have encountered
  • Help me - where you can ask for help in 3 specific areas: hardware/software (computer) problems, data management problems, & data analysis problems;
  • Show me - where you can share all those fantastic qes, chk, pgm files that made your life (probably someone else's, if they knew about it) with others. Post them here.

These categories are available for each of the 3 software programs (Epi Info 6, Epi Info 2000, EpiData)

Where's the FAQ section? No such thing. But if you are interested in developing one from the content of these message boards, you're welcome to do so, and I will store them on my Web site and add a link to those files from this page. Or, you can put them on your site, and I will include a link from this page to that or those pages.

CAPABILITIES - What you can do with these message boards....

YOU CAN SEARCH, READ & POST MESSAGES

BEFORE YOU POST ANYTHING, DO A SEARCH. By doing a search, you may find what you are looking for. This will reduce the number of potentially duplicate messages, thus, making it easier for the next person.

SEARCH

  • You can search through all the message boards using keywords - either by author, or message content.

READ

  • Anyone coming to the main page can read any message posted under any topic heading.
  • If you want to post a message, then you must register. Registration information includes providing an e-mail address. This information will not be shared with anyone else. It, however, helps me to tailor the site for those who use it.

POST

  • You can either post a new message under a topic, or respond to an already posted message. When you respond to an already posted message, it stays connected to the original message so readers can follow "the train of thought". This is known as a thread (nobody ever explains this, so I decided to).
  • If someone responds to your request for help, please send a personal E-mail to that individual, and not post your thanks on the message board. We know you're grateful, but it would be more meaningful to the helper with a more private message.
  • All messages will stay up for 6 months. After that, they are deleted by SwiftSolutions.Com, the message board host.
  • I reserve the right to delete any messages that are inappropriate, per the terms of use I have agreed to when I signed up for this service. Inappropriate, as I define it, is anything you wouldn't want your child or parent to see.

THE AVAILABLE TOPICS

Epi Info 6

Forum TopicWhat It Contains
Epi 6 - Problem/Solution Reports What crashed the computer and what you did to resolve the problem
Epi Info 6 - Help me - hardware, software questions Problems with hardware, software, configuration, incompatibliities, etc.
Epi Info 6 - Help me - data management questions Developing surveys, how to collect data, types of data, data entry issues, etc
Epi Info 6 - Help me - data analysis questions How do you analyze a particular kind of data collection instrument, the appropriate statistical procedure for a particular data set, etc.
Epi Info 6 - Show me - hardware and software solutions Configuration tricks, etc.
Epi Info 6 - Show me - data management solutions Examples of qes, chk files, etc., program files for managing data
Epi Info 6 - Show me - data analysis solutions Examples of pgm files for analyzing data

Epi Info 2000

Forum TopicWhat It Contains
Epi 2000 - Problem/Solution Reports What crashed the computer and what you did to resolve the problem
Epi Info 2000 - Help me - hardware, software questions Problems with hardware, software, configuration, incompatibliities, etc.
Epi Info 2000 - Help me - data management questions Developing surveys, how to collect data, types of data, data entry issues, etc
Epi Info 2000 - Help me - data analysis questions How do you analyze a particular kind of data collection instrument, the appropriate statistical procedure for a particular data set, etc.
Epi Info 2000 - Show me - hardware and software solutions Configuration tricks, etc.
Epi Info 2000 - Show me - data management solutions Examples of qes, chk files, etc., program files for managing data
Epi Info 2000 - Show me - data analysis solutions Examples of pgm files for analyzing data

EpiData

Forum TopicWhat It Contains
EpiData - Problem/Solution Reports What crashed the computer and what you did to resolve the problem
EpiData - Help me - hardware, software questions Problems with hardware, software, configuration, incompatibliities, etc.
EpiData - Help me - data management questions Developing surveys, how to collect data, types of data, data entry issues, etc
EpiData - Help me - data analysis questions How do you analyze a particular kind of data collection instrument, the appropriate statistical procedure for a particular data set, etc.
EpiData - Show me - hardware and software solutions Configuration tricks, etc.
Epi Info 6 - Show me - data management solutions Examples of qes, chk files, etc., program files for managing data
EpiData - Show me - data analysis solutions Examples of pgm files for analyzing data

THE BASICS - When posting a message

  1. Post under the topic that is the most appropriate. The topics are organized by software, and then whether you are:
    • Reporting a problem that has a solution,
    • Asking for help (with hard/software; data management, data analysis),
    • Sharing solutions you found useful.
  2. Be as specific (descriptive) as possible about your posting on the heading line.
  3. Always include at the bottom of each posting:
    • Name
    • E-mail (so people can reach you, if needed)
    • Other contact information that you can be reached at.

THE SPECIFICS - When posting a message

Main Topic The minimum content you should include:
Problem/Solution Reports Brand name of computer - Model #
Operating System
Megahertz
Description of problem:
Solution you came up with
Help me - software, hardware Brand name of computer - Model #
Operating System
Megahertz
If software - name, version
Description of problem
What you tried, but didn't work, and what happened
Help me - data management Description of problem: What you've done that didn't work
What are you trying to do?
Help me - data analysis Description of data; What you've done that didn't work
What are you trying to do?
Show me - software, hardware Brand name of computuer - Model #
Operating System
Megahertz
If software - name, version
Description of problem
What you tried, but didn't work, and what happened
Show me - data management Description of file (qes, chk, pgm)
Description of what it's supposed to do
Example of qes, chk, pgm
Example of output, if applicable
Show me - data analysis Description of file (pgm)
Description of what it's supposed to do
Example of program, and output

PUBLISHED ON THE WEB: March 1, 2001
UPDATED: November 24, 2011 R74
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