Pulling the Data

• Generally, there are 3 main ways you can access the data from your consumer wearable device. 
• The first option is to manually plug in the device and upload whatever files are available. 
• Unfortunately, not all brands offer this option, and if they do, it’s usually either: 
• 1- incomplete
• 2- unreadable, in incompatible formats
• 3- disorganized, not clearly timestamped or organized in an efficient manner, requiring weeks to months of labor on your part
• We’ve had numerous instances of researchers approaching us stating they’ve got months of data collected, but are unable to access it, and wondering if we could retroactively collect that valuable data for them. 
• Had they thought about this final step beforehand, they could have spared themselves getting into this situation. 
• As an aside, we actually can collect the data retroactively at times, but accessing the data after the study has been completed is not ideal, requires time and costs you may not have budgeted for, and is not recommended as a best practice.
• The second option is to hire a developer to use a device’s API or SDK. 
• Asides from the cost of labor for a full time developer, the downside here is the lack of scalability or reusability. 
• Building this technology takes constant upkeep through software updates etc. which costs money, time and is often infeasible long term. 
• The last option, and arguably the best, but we’re biased, is to go with a third party system that helps do all of that heavy lifting for you. 
• A platform like Labfront allows researchers to run their study from start to finish remotely, and pulls all of the participant data into one, centralized place in neatly organized CSV files. 
• These files are not only timestamped but are also compatible with affordable tools you’re familiar with, like Excel or MatLab.

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