Observing animals in their natural habitat or in a zoo? Then a mobile coding solution might be just what you are looking for! Rely on the Pocket Observer to collect detailed information about your animals' behavior on your PDA, smart phone, or handheld computer.  

• Combine the power and flexibility of The Observer XT with the portability the Pocket Observer on a handheld computer.
• Benefit from the advantages of both live and offline scoring of behaviors, using the sampling method of your choice (continuous or interval).
• Choose the handheld computer model best suited to the environmental conditions you are working in.
• Concentrate completely on the animals and their behavior while The Observer XT automatically adds time stamps to the logged events.
• Select data for analysis in order to calculate statistics on a selection of observations, animals, or event types.

Introduction
Many investigations regarding research questions about ecology, social behavior, or hierarchy, are conducted in the field observing wild animals. Alternatively, behavioral observations of zoo animals are often conducted to investigate their welfare or to monitor the behavioral consequences of, for instance, the introduction of a new animal into an established group.

Whether you are observing wild animals in the field or zoo animals in their enclosures, you need to be mobile. But you also require detailed behavior coding and analysis. Use The Observer® XT software and one of our handheld computers with Pocket Observer to get the best of both; powerful observation tools in a mobile format. Our knowledgeable staff is always ready to help you to find the perfect combination to tackle your research questions.

How it works
Your experiment starts with designing a coding scheme (ethogram) with The Observer XT Base installed on a desktop or laptop. This coding scheme, containing every behavior you want to study, is then transferred to the handheld computer that has Pocket Observer installed. You are now ready to start scoring these behaviors in the field or at your observation spot in the zoo. Scoring is easy: just tap the corresponding key of the built-in keyboard. When your observation is finished, the data is transferred back to your desktop or laptop for analysis. If desired, you can also record a video for more detailed scoring offline.

You can choose from a variety of handhelds, suitable for various environmental conditions. Rugged handhelds can withstand extreme environmental conditions, making them suitable for use in locations ranging from arid deserts to tropical rainforests. Protective accessories are available for rainy days or high humidity. Handhelds with a touch screen and stylus provide a clear overview of accessible functions, while keyboard based handhelds allow you to fully concentrate on the animal while observing. Some handhelds provide both features, making them flexible and versatile for most situations. Pocket Observer also runs on a selection of smart phones.

Any behavior can be included in the coding scheme and subsequently scored. Observations can have independent variables, such as subject age or gender, environmental conditions, or observer name. And behaviors can have so-called ‘modifiers’ that specify or add extra information. For example, while observing chimpanzees in the zoo, the behavior ‘eat’ can be extended with the modifier ‘apple’ or ‘banana’ from the modifier group ‘food items’. When you have finished scoring your observations, data can be selected for analysis by subject, behaviors, or independent variables. For instance, you can select all data belonging to male adolescent chimpanzees, or data collected by a specific observer.