NARS Data Extraction Tool Shiny App
The National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) historically used paper forms to collect field data, which took months to process. NARS then switched to using mobile apps to allow field crews to collect data using an iPad, rather than paper forms. To submit data from the mobile app, crews email a set of JSON files from the iPad to NARS Information Management (NARS IM). Initially, crews received back from NARS IM a PDF file of the paper field forms with the submitted data filled in. However, over time, the mobile app diverged from the original paper forms, and maintaining the ability to provide PDF forms to crews was not practical. As an alternative to this approach, an application was developed using R Shiny code to allow crews to reformat the data files that were submitted from iPads into a readable format for their own review and use. The JSON files are accessible to crews either by copying the submission email to a separate email address of their choice or accessed from their Sent email folder. These JSON files can be then be uploaded into the R Shiny app to parse the JSON files into more recognizable data in flat file format. Different types of data are saved into separate comma-delimited files or worksheets within a single Excel workbook. In addition, a basic field visit summary can be produced from uploaded files and saved as HTML format to provide to landowners or for their own files. This Shiny app is available to the public via the EPA’s cloud environment, so the user does not need to have access to R to use it.