1. Introduction
What is Open Dynamic Interaction Network (ODIN)?
ODIN is a system designed to create dynamic, real-time, participant-driven data collection. The ODIN server receives data from the ODIN app installed on Android and IOS mobile devices. ODIN provides a reliable physical, contextual, social network, and psychological data on topics relevant to social and behavioral health researchers. This cutting-edge cohort tracking and retention software was designed and prototyped with the support of NSF grant SMA1338485 and NIH R01GM118427 to change the nature of longitudinal cohort studies. ODIN allows for
Anonymously tracking network interactions of study participants;
Allowing for context-based and conditional remote querying of participants to provide interpretive feedback on interaction data; and
Providing synchronized biomarker data via integration with the latest health sensors
By operating on a smartphone, ODIN facilitates participant retention through continuous feedback monitoring and, when necessary, direct reminder messages. Researchers are able to use a survey “grammar” capable of referencing spatial, social, and biomarker contexts to create automated questions for individual participants in pre-identified situations. The use of this sort of responsive Ecological Momentary Assessment (rEMA) via participants’ phones represents an innovative strategy for reaching study populations in real time and retaining study participants during longitudinal data collection.
The ODIN software consists of three core components:
Researcher website
Backend server
ODIN Android/iOS app
