Epi Info 7 Introductory Training

Harold Collins
Information Technology Specialist
Module 1: Introduction
12 June 2012

Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services

Epidemiology and Analysis Program Office

Introductions

Your name

Your organization

What you hope to get out of this course

Module 1 Outline

Purpose of the Course

Explanation of Course Material
Course Instruction Methods
Quick Overview: What is Epi Info 7?
Downloading and Installing Epi Info 7
Resources

Objectives of this Course

To provide broad overview of the softwares features

and functions

To provide hands-on experience with the software

Designing simple data entry forms

Implementing simple data entry validation
Basic analysis and data management
Basic mapping

Objectives of this Course

After completing this course the participant will be

able to:

Understand the workspace of the different modules and identify its key
features
Design simple data entry forms using the Form Designer
Implement intelligence to data entry forms using Check Code
Enter records into an Epi Info 7 form
Read multiple data sources and utilize the Visual Dashboard and/or
Classic Analysis modules for manipulating, managing, and analyzing data
Generate statistics like Frequencies, 2x2 Tables, and Means
Output results into HTML, Excel or Word formats
Generate cluster case or choropleth maps using Epi Map

Explanation of Course Materials

Training Agenda for Epi Info 7

Copy of the Epi Info 7 Quick Start Guide (Optional)

Epi Info 7 PowerPoint Slides

Student Worksheets

Module 1 Introduction

INSTRUCTION METHODS

Modules

This course is broken down into eight sections:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Introduction
Designing Forms
Adding validation logic to forms
Data Entry
Using the Dashboard
Classic Analysis
Maps
Best Practices

Method of Instruction

This is an introductory session

Students will be exposed to a broad overview of the

features and functions in Epi Info 7

Hold questions until Question and Answer Sessions

Order of instruction for each module:

PowerPoint Presentation
Demonstration
Practice
End-of-Lesson Questions

Module 1 Introduction

WHAT IS EPI INFO?

What is Epi Info?

A suite of free data management, analysis, and

visualization tools designed specifically for the public
health community.

Features include:
Rapid electronic form creation & data entry
Statistical analysis
Mapping & visualization

Used extensively throughout CDC, domestically and

internationally.

System Requirements

Generally, any Windows computer that has recently run

Windows Update.

Specifically:
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
.NET Framework 3.5
256 MB of RAM

Epi Info 7 Core Principles

Free

Easy to use

Flexible
Lightweight & Agile when responding to emergencies
Robust when performing large-scale, multi-user data collection

Standards based

No IT guys needed in most cases

Form Designer
Used to create electronic data entry forms. Templates can be utilized
to facilitate form design. The data entry experience can be tailored
with intelligence, such as skip patterns, logical branching, and
automatic calculations.

Enter
Used to collect data into the form. Addresses can be geocoded into
latitude and longitude. Data entry follows the Intelligence rules
tailored in the Form Designer.

Classic Analysis
Used for data management and analysis. Can read data, relate data
tables, perform comparisons and run a wide variety of statistics.
Supported data types include text files, Excel spreadsheets, Access
databases, and MS SQL Server databases. Output is saved as HTML.

Visual Dashboard
Used for quick analysis where only minimal data management is
needed. Supports almost all of the statistics as Classic Analysis and
supports the same data types. Output is saved as HTML.

Maps
Used to create case cluster or choropleth maps. Time lapse
functionality is supported. Choropleth maps can be generated using
shape files or from map servers such as nationalmaps.gov.

StatCalc
Basic Statistical Calculator. Can perform analyses of single or stratified
two-by-two tables, determine sample size for studies, and more.

Epi Info 7 Projects

Projects are the standard file format in Epi Info 7,

much like DOCX files are the standard file format used
in Microsoft Word.

Certain Epi Info 7 modules can also work with data

that resides in other formats.

A project may contain one or more data entry forms.

These forms are created in the Form Designer module.

Epi Info 7 Forms

Forms may have one or more pages

Each page on the form has its own data table

As users enter data into a form, the collected data is

stored within that pages corresponding data table

How data is stored

The data you collect must be stored somewhere and in

some sort of standard format.

Epi Info 7 collects two different types of data:

Metadata: The data that describes the number of pages in a form
and the placement and size of the questions that appear on the
form.
Collected data: The data that is entered into that form.

How data is stored (continued)

Both metadata and collected data are stored in a single

database.

Each Epi Info 7 project contains a pointer to this

database.

Allowable databases include Microsoft Access and

Microsoft SQL Server.
Access does not need to be installed in order to use Access
databases.

To sum it up

Your Epi Info 7 Projects consist of two files: The

project file and the database.
The database contains all of the information about how to display
the form AND contains all the data entered into that form.
The project file contains a pointer to the database.

Projects may contain one or more forms.

Forms may contain one or more pages.
Each page has its a corresponding table in the
database that stores data collected into that page.

Why use Microsoft SQL Server?

MS SQL Server can collect far larger quantities of data

than Access databases.

Better management tools for MS SQL Server and more

powerful queries are available.
Similar to Proc-SQL in SAS

Its much faster, meaning data analysis is quicker.

A free version is available SQL Server Express

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/editions/express.aspx

Data Access Model

Module 1 Introduction

DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLATION

Downloading and Installing

Epi Info 7 program files can be accessed on the Web

http://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo/7/index.htm

Setup Installation (.exe file)

Provides standard way of installing Windows applications.
Requires administrator privileges to run.

Zip File Deployment (.zip file)

Comes in a standard zip archive.

Does not require administrator privileges to run.
Needs one folder with read/write/execute privileges.
Can usually be placed on the desktop.

Using the ZIP File Deployment

Steps:
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

Navigate to the CDC Epi Info website at

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/epiinfo/7/index.htm
Click on the ZIP file download.
When prompted, select Open (or Run). After the download
finishes, an explorer window opens to reveal the files in the ZIP
archive.
Double-click on the Epi Info 7 folder in the explorer window.
Drag the files you see to your desktop.
Double-click on the Launch Epi Info icon.

Step 1: Navigate to the website

Visit http://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo/7/index.htm

Step 2: Download the ZIP package

Step 3: Opening the package

Select Open (or Run) when prompted, depending on your web
browser. Internet Explorer 8 is shown here.

Step 4: Viewing the contents

Double-click the Epi Info 7 item in the explorer window. Note that
on some computers, this file may have opened in another ZIP archive
program.

Step 5: Drag the files to your desktop

Select the two items in the folder and drag them to your desktop.

Step 6: Run the Launch program

Double-click on the Launch Epi Info 7 icon to start!

The Epi Info 7 Main Menu

Module 1 Introduction

RESOURCES

Resources and Technical Support

Download at http://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo

Helpline: epiinfo@cdc.gov or call 404.498.6190

Epi Info Community of Users in phConnect

http://www.phconnect.org/group/epiinfo

Send your comments and suggestions to

hcollins@cdc.gov or epiinfo@cdc.gov

This Slide Presentation

This slide presentation can be downloaded from the

Epi Info Community of Users in phConnect:

http://www.phconnect.org/group/epiinfo/forum/topics/e
pi-info-7-training-module-1

EPI INFO 7 DEMONSTRATION

On YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uTHl9E6NK8&feature=player_embedded

Questions?

For more information please contact Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333
Telephone, 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)/TTY: 1-888-232-6348
E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Web: www.cdc.gov
The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official
position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services

Epidemiology and Analysis Program Office