Equality and research

The process of verifying data from field interviews in a target group of approximately 100 000 persons is both complex and time consuming. Together with students of computer science at the University of Lund in Sweden the research center CIDS in the Nicaraguan city Leon has started to develop a computer-based system for entering of data that has until now been entered manually. So far in its pilot stage, the idea is that data should be entered with Palm pilot PDA’s by the field investigators and then fed to the database. Maria Teresa Orozco collection data with her Palm pilot PDA “One advantage is that we will not have to save thousands of questionnaires over the time. The validation and correction of data will also be made much easier. With Lund we have worked together in order to develop the methodology. As part of their thesis the students there has developed a open source platform,” says Maria Teresa Orozco, computer scientist and data base specialist in the CIDS team and one of those who have been working closely to the students in Lund.Maria Teresa Orozco Being a woman in a traditionally male dominated area as computer science has not been easy: “I’m the only woman in my team and I believe that as a woman I have to work much harder than the men to get accepted. In the beginning I had to be firm in order for them really to listen to what I’m saying. Now, when they see the result, they listen much better. But still, men have difficulties in accepting successful women”, she says.