database

Does anyone have info on databases? I'm looking for a database that will give me access to view the database from remote locations, hold 2,000 to 5,000 records, and should have the capacity to import and export all data collected to allow for bulk inclusion of our existing data and for distributing data.

Also, would like evaluations added this database. If anyone have any info please let me know.

Hi,

A capacity of 2,000-5,000 records is well within the reach of any database product assuming your computer hardware is at least of a moderate standard.

A capacity to import and export records is commonly found in most databases, however the ease with which you can do this is largely dependent on the formats you want to use - Are you looking to import/export to or from any other specific software product? (i.e. Excel etc?)

Remote access to a database usually involves installing "middleware" software, although some databases come prepackaged with an ability to generate web pages (eg: MS Access data pages). You might or might not find these suitable in your application. Many orgs use a VPN for remote access to a database because of security concerns.

Being able to add evaluations to a database (I'm guessing you mean being able to customise the database) is a feature of all major generic database products however not necessarily a feature of "customised databases" (a database you buy to meet a specific purpose) - If considering a customized database I would certainly look into this aspect.

We could give a better recommendation if you are able to provide more info on your specific requirements.

Best regards, Don

Thank You for your response.

I want to be able export & import from Access and Excel. I'm considering a customized database. I'm not sure what specific requirements you mean.

Most databases are good at handling some combination of your information management needs, but are less good at handling every one of your needs. This is typical, but depends on your specific data management requirements.

Requirements include describing the data you need to collect, how you need to filter/search it and what outputs are important (describe reports, exports, etc). Also included in your requirements are boundary issues such as staff technology skills & availability, budget, timeline, existing hardware/software. It often helps to start by describing how you do the work you do (ie your tasks and processes) and then identify where information is collected and retrieved at each point in this process.

Check out some of the Database Planning Materialsfor more information about identifying your requirements. Without some more information on your requirements, it is difficult to point you to possible database candidates.

Best,

Eric

I'd check out Alphafive v6 - wonderful database and Techsoup carries it for $34. Alphafive v6 has a weserver component (not cheap however) that you can use to put your databases on the web. No problem connecting to Access or Excel databases or importing and exporting in a variety of formats. Great support forum also. http://www.alphafive.com

No affiliation - just a long time user.

Cheers,
John

I would suggest MySQL. However, I say that without knowing what all of your goals are. It sounds like you need an entire application (software plus database) and not just a database program. So if you give us a little detail on what your expected outcomes are for making this purchase, we could make some more informed suggestions for you.

Thanks so much for the response. This what i'm trying to upload in a database. The only problem is that, the organization i'm working with is testing out a pilot program and there issue on spending to much money for a pilot program.


Data to Collect

The new database should track information regarding four primary constituencies – ReServists, CBOs, donors and outreach partners. Complete contact information must be tracked for all contacts (name/organization, addresses, day/evening/cell phone, fax, email/web, preferred contact method) as well as information pertaining to what role they play within ReServe, subscriptions to mailing lists, list serves, and a contact log.

1. ReServist (Volunteers) – ReServists will include individuals who retired or are soon-to-be-retired teachers, lawyers, accountants, social workers, consultants, advertising and public relations specialist, librarians, human resources specialists, and anyone with skills and experience to share.

General Information

a. Personal Information (Link to separate screen with entire application – name only unless request this information – user clicks on name)
i. Name
1. First Name
2. Last name
ii. Address
1. Residence
2. City
3. State
4. Zip
iii. Phone Numbers
1. Home
2. Work
3. Fax
4. Additional (Cell)
iv. Emergency Contact Info.
1. Name
2. Relationship
3. Home Number
4. Additional Number
v. Email Address

b. Status (Drop Down Box)
1. Application
2. Phone Screening
3. Interview
4. Orientation
5. Active
6. Inactive

c. Application Information
i. Highest Educational Degree – Field (Drop Down Box)
1. High School Diploma
2. Bachelors
3. Masters
4. Ph. D
5. Certificate
6. Other: (With Open Ended Box)
ii. Languages besides English (Drop Down Box)
1. Spanish
2. French
3. Hebrew
4. Arabic
5. Chinese
6. Italian
7. Portuguese
8. Sign-Language
9. Other:
iii. Skill Set (Drop Down Box)
1. Accounting
2. Marketing
3. Communications/Public Relations
4. Computer (Word, Excel, etc.)
5. Human Resources
6. Insurance
7. Consulting
8. Information Technology
9. Administrative
10. Social Work
11. Psychology
12. Medicine
13. Law
14. Teaching
15. Finance
16. Arts
17. General science
iv. Past Work Experience (Industry) (Drop Down Box)
1. Financial Services
2. XXXXX
3. XXXXX
4. XXXXX
v. Retired Status (Drop Down Box)
1. Retired
2. Part-Time
3. Not Retired
vi. Project Availability (Drop Down Box)
1. Project-to-project
2. Regular
vii. Frequency Available (Drop Down Box)
1. Less than 15 hours a week
2. 15-20 hours a week
3. Full time
viii. Time Availability (Drop Down Box)
1. Flexible
2. Weekday mornings
3. Weekday afternoon
4. Weekday evenings
5. Weekend mornings
6. Weekend afternoons
7. Exceptions (With Open Ended Box)
ix. Past Volunteer Experience (Open Ended)
1. No
2. United Way
3. Habitat for Humanity
4. ETC…
x. Transportation Commonly Used (Drop Down Box)
1. Public
2. Private
xi. Willingness to Travel (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
xii. Valid Driver’s license (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
xiii. Referral Information (Drop Down Box)
1. Senior center newsletter/publication/ announcement
2. Professional association newsletter/publication
3. From friend/volunteer
4. University newsletter/publication
5. Internet
6. Other
xiv. Initial Pilot Interest
1. Name (Drop Down Box)
2. Type (Drop Down Box)
3. Function (Drop Down Box)
xv. Comments (Open Ended)
1. Including Name and Date Inputted
Notes from phone screening and other interactions

d. Entrance Questionnaire
i. How much time do you expect to work at your host organization per week? (Drop Down Box)
1. Less than 10 hours
2. 10-15 hours
3. 16-20 hours
4. 21 or more hours
ii. Please indicate the importance of each stated factor to your desire to work as a ReServist: (Drop Down Box)
1. Help others
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
2. Contribute to my community
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
3. Boost monthly income
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
4. Change my daily routine
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
5. Interact with others
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
6. Use my professional skills
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
7. Learn new skills
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
8. Gain personal satisfaction
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
9. Other (please specify):
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
ii. Are you interested in a position that will not use your professional skills? (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
iii. Would you have signed up if no stipend? (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
iv. Have you considered any alternatives?
1. Yes
2. No
v. Current Health Condition
1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
vi. Stress – Most days are
1. Not at all stressful
2. not very stressful
3. a bit stressful
4. quite stressful
5. extremely stressful
vii. Capacity to Perform
1. Excellent Capacity
2. Good Capacity
3. Moderate Capacity
4. Severely Impaired Capacity
viii. XXXXXX
ix. XXXXXX (Drop Down Box)

e. Placement
i. Current (Drop Down Box)
ii. Previous Placements (Drop Down Box)
iii. Number of Projects in the Previous Three Years (Calculated when projects entered) why 3 years? (MK)

f. Pilot(s) Served
i. Name of Pilot (Drop Down Box)
ii. Dates Served (Open Ended or Drop Down Box with Year and Season)
iii. Type (Drop Down Box)
iv. Function (Drop Down Box)

Evaluation

a. Exit Interview (Link to separate screen with entire inputted fields and questionnaire) (Extract Standardized Information)
i. Meaningful and Valuable (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes / No
ii. Plans to apply to another position (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
3. Not sure
iii. Felt Prepared (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
3. Neutral
iv. Clear and Reasonable Expectations (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
3. Neutral
v. Satisfied with Work Accomplished (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
3. Neutral
vi. Enjoyed Using Professional Skills(Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
3. Neutral
vii. Felt Appreciated (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
3. Neutral
viii. Did Stipend Affect Satisfaction and Commitment (Drop Down Box)
1. Yes
2. No
3. Neutral

b. Exit Questionnaire (Link to separate screen with entire inputted fields and questionnaire) (Extract Standardized Information)
i. Work Hours Per Week (Drop Down Box)
1. Less than 10 hours
2. 10-15 hours
3. 16-20 hours
4. 21 or more
ii. Type of Assignments (Drop Down Box)
1. Individual Assignments
2. Team of staff or volunteers
3. With Organization’s Constituents
iii. Hours Using Professional Skills (Drop Down Box)
1. Less than 10 hours
2. 10-15 hours
3. 16-20 hours
4. 21 or more
iv. Efficiency of Time and Effort Utilized (Drop Down Box)
4. Very Efficiently
5. Somewhat Efficiently
6. Not Efficiently
v. Expression of Appreciation by Host (Drop Down Box)
4. Often
5. Sometimes
6. Infrequently
7. Rarely
vi. Daily Routine before versus after (Drop Down Box)
4. Before ReServe
5. Working as a ReServist
6. Neutral
vii. Would you work with no stipend (Drop Down Box)
4. Yes
5. No
6. Maybe
7. Not Sure
viii. Possible Alternatives (Drop Down Box)
1. Insurance Benefits
d. Very important
e. Somewhat important
f. Not important
2. Meals Provided
a. Very important
b. Somewhat important
c. Not important
3. Transportation Subsidy
d. Very important
e. Somewhat important
f. Not important
4. Transportation Provided
g. Very important
h. Somewhat important
i. Not important
5. Theater (or other entertainment) tickets
j. Very important
k. Somewhat important
l. Not important
6. Other (please specify)
m. Very important
n. Somewhat important
o. Not important
ix. Importance of These Personal Accomplishments (Drop Down Box)
1. Help others
g. Very important
h. Somewhat important
i. Not important
2. Contribute to my community
p. Very important
q. Somewhat important
r. Not important
3. Boost monthly income
s. Very important
t. Somewhat important
u. Not important
4. Change my daily routine
v. Very important
w. Somewhat important
x. Not important
5. Interact with others
y. Very important
z. Somewhat important
aa. Not important
6. Use my professional skills
bb. Very important
cc. Somewhat important
dd. Not important
7. Learn new skills
ee. Very important
ff. Somewhat important
gg. Not important
8. Gain personal satisfaction
hh. Very important
ii. Somewhat important
jj. Not important
9. Other (please specify):
kk. Very important
ll. Somewhat important
mm. Not important
x. Change in Satisfaction Compared to Previous Experience (Drop Down Box)
5. Yes
6. No
xi. Future Volunteering (Drop Down Box)
7. More Likely
8. Equally Likely

c. Comments (Open Ended / Notes)

2. Community Based Organizations – CBOs include established social and cultural institutions that wish to gain institutional support and/or direct volunteer services from highly skilled and experienced retired individuals. CBOs that work with ReServe will provide us with specific job descriptions that older adults can perform and the number of ReServists they will require.

General Information

a. Organization Information
i. Name
ii. Address
1. Business Mailing Address
2. City
3. State
4. Zip
iii. Contacts
1. Name
2. Position
3. Office Phone
4. Additional Number
5. Fax Number
6. Email
7. Notes
iv. ReServe Contact
1. Staff member (Drop Down Box)
2. Date of last contact (Open Ended)
v. Recruited or Inquired
1. Recruited
2. Inquired
vi. Issue Area (Drop Down Box)
1. XXXXX
2. XXXXX
3. XXXXX
vii. Job Description(s) (Multiple) with Comments (Drop Down Box and Link to another screen with descriptions)

– is this entered? Upload a document? Does it belong in the database (MK)

b. Status (Drop Down Box)
i. XXXX
ii. XXXX
iii. XXXX

c. Number of ReServists
i. Current (Drop Down Box)
ii. Cumulative (Drop Down Box)
iii. Additional Positions Created (Drop Down Box)

d. Types of Pilots (Drop Down Box)
i. Intergenerational
ii. Institutional Support
iii. Senior-to-Senior
iv. Re-entry
v. Other (With Open Ended Box)

e. Training
i. Number of Orientations held
ii. Number of Trainings held

f. Oversights
i. Number Sight Visits

g. Unique Goals / Objectives (Link to another screen with descriptions)
i. XXXX
ii. XXXX
iii. XXXX

h. Unexpected Benefits (Link to another screen with descriptions)
i. XXXX
ii. XXXX

i. Expectations (Drop Down Box)
i. Exceed
ii. Met
iii. Unmet
iv. Comments
Evaluation

a. Exit Interview (Link to separate screen with entire inputted fields and questionnaire) (Extract Standardized Information)
ix. Meaningful and Valuable (Drop Down Box)
2. Yes / No
x. Plans to apply to another position (Drop Down Box)
4. Yes
5. No
6. Not sure
xi. Felt Prepared (Drop Down Box)
4. Yes
5. No
6. Neutral
xii. Clear and Reasonable Expectations (Drop Down Box)
9. Yes
10. No
11. Neutral
xiii. Satisfied with Work Accomplished (Drop Down Box)
4. Yes
5. No
6. Neutral
xiv. Enjoyed Using Professional Skills(Drop Down Box)
8. Yes
9. No
10. Neutral
xv. Felt Appreciated (Drop Down Box)
7. Yes
8. No
9. Neutral
xvi. Did Stipend Affect Satisfaction and Commitment (Drop Down Box)
8. Yes
9. No
10. Neutral

b. Exit Questionnaire (Link to separate screen with entire inputted fields and questionnaire) (Extract Standardized Information)
xii. Work Hours Per Week (Drop Down Box)
5. Less than 10 hours
6. 10-15 hours
7. 16-20 hours
8. 21 or more
xiii. Type of Assignments (Drop Down Box)
4. Individual Assignments
5. Team of staff or volunteers
6. With Organization’s Constituents
xiv. Hours Using Professional Skills (Drop Down Box)
7. Less than 10 hours
8. 10-15 hours
9. 16-20 hours
10. 21 or more
xv. Efficiency of Time and Effort Utilized (Drop Down Box)
12. Very Efficiently
13. Somewhat Efficiently
14. Not Efficiently
xvi. Expression of Appreciation by Host (Drop Down Box)
11. Often
12. Sometimes
13. Infrequently
14. Rarely
xvii. Daily Routine before versus after (Drop Down Box)
10. Before ReServe
11. Working as a ReServist
12. Neutral
xviii. Would you work with no stipend (Drop Down Box)
11. Yes
12. No
13. Maybe
14. Not Sure
xix. Possible Alternatives (Drop Down Box)
7. Insurance Benefits
j. Very important
k. Somewhat important
l. Not important
8. Meals Provided
nn. Very important
oo. Somewhat important
pp. Not important
9. Transportation Subsidy
qq. Very important
rr. Somewhat important
ss. Not important
10. Transportation Provided
tt. Very important
uu. Somewhat important
vv. Not important
11. Theater (or other entertainment) tickets
ww. Very important
xx. Somewhat important
yy. Not important
12. Other (please specify)
zz. Very important
aaa. Somewhat important
bbb. Not important
xx. Importance of These Personal Accomplishments (Drop Down Box)
10. Help others
m. Very important
n. Somewhat important
o. Not important
11. Contribute to my community
ccc. Very important
ddd. Somewhat important
eee. Not important
12. Boost monthly income
fff. Very important
ggg. Somewhat important
hhh. Not important
13. Change my daily routine
iii. Very important
jjj. Somewhat important
kkk. Not important
14. Interact with others
lll. Very important
mmm. Somewhat important
nnn. Not important
15. Use my professional skills
ooo. Very important
ppp. Somewhat important
qqq. Not important
16. Learn new skills
rrr. Very important
sss. Somewhat important
ttt. Not important
17. Gain personal satisfaction
uuu. Very important
vvv. Somewhat important
www. Not important
18. Other (please specify):
xxx. Very important
yyy. Somewhat important
zzz. Not important
xxi. Change in Satisfaction Compared to Previous Experience (Drop Down Box)
11. Yes
12. No
xxii. Future Volunteering (Drop Down Box)
15. More Likely
16. Equally Likely

c. Comments (Open Ended / Notes)

If you already have Access I'm not sure what more you need.

If you wanted remote access you can always connect to Access via ODBC DSN (a connection setup to a database on a web/application server). Cost is pretty cheap if you use a webhost instead of maintaining internal. If nothing special security wise is needed (one log in that's an admin and one login that just views information) it wouldn't take much work to create.

Only hinderance with Access is that your file size cannot exceed 2 GB. You can have as many records as you like (but only 255 fields/columns I believe). MySQL is good except you have to get an interface or make your own for it (so if you have a rough time with Access right now I don't believe MySQL would be great for ya).

Each of the drop downs would be considered a look up table (in Access you make the table for whatever you want to have in the drop down menu then in the table you want the drop down menu go into design view... for the field type pick lookup wizard and you should have no problem taking it from there).

MS Access will do all that you require. If you have it, use it.

You can also set up OpenOffice to work with Postgres, and it will do even more than Access can do, and it's all free. But getting it set up requires deeper technical skills.

mobile search - coming soon

Well, you can use Access as a front-end to MySQL. Set up MySQL on a system (preferably a server) and install the ODBC drivers to connect to it on a workstation. Then you can use all the tables in the MySQL database, etc and still use Access to design your forms, reports, etc. This allows you do use Access and not worry about a 2GB file size limit.

However, it sounds to me like you haven't developed a database before. What I would suggest is rentacoder.com. You could find someone there to make a web application for what you're looking for pretty cheap. They'd likely do it with PHP and MySQL (free products). So all you're paying for is labor.

Hi ~

In your initial post you said you needed the data to be viewed from remote locations. When you say "view", do you mean just looking at the data, or do you need interactivity to view, edit, delete from remote locations?

Also, would remote users need individual login ID's? That is, would individual users have different permissions where one user might only be able to view one set of records, and another user might only be able to view a different set of records?

When you say remote, are you thinking about the Web? Or are you thinking about some other method such as Citrix or remote terminal login, etc.

And -- I've made this offer before to TechSoup members - I will program this application at minimal cost and license it back to you. No one else has jumped on this, maybe you? If so, send a private email to me.

This is for Steve,

I'm interested in learning more about your product and talking about the possibility of using your program.

How do you want to proceed? You are welcome to call me at 800-779-7789 (I'm on the West Coast)

I'd suggest using MySQL for the backend, and using PHPMaker or Codecharge to generate a front end for your database.

-Matt
techorganize.blogspot.com

If you are an Alpha5 Version 6 user and you wish to host a web enabled application - www.webhosthero.com offers AlphaFive hosting (so you dont have to buy the application server). You have to email their sales dept. at sales@webhosthero.com