Table 1.

Comparison of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance System Data-Collection Processes

Characteristic	Paper Based (1982–1983 Through 2004–2005)	Web Based
		2004–2005 Through 2008–2009	2009–2010 Through 2013–2014
Recording method	Paper forms	Electronic medical record software provided by the NCAA for participating ATs	Electronic medical record software currently being used by ATs or Injury Surveillance Tool provided by the Datalys Center
Non–time-loss injuries included?	No	Some years	Yes
Method of entering time-loss data	Manually by participating AT	Manually by participating AT	Depends on electronic medical record software being used by AT
Method of entering exposure data	Manually on weekly exposure sheet	Manually per practice or competition; did not account for inactive players	Manually per practice or competition; whether inactive players were accounted for depends on electronic medical record software being used by AT
Double entry required?	Yes	No	No
Method of data transfer	Mail or fax	Electronically	Electronically
Data protection?	None	Data stripped of all personally identifiable information before inclusion in datasets	Data pass through sonic wall hardware and software firewalls and are stripped of all personally identifiable information before inclusion in datasets
Verification of data quality	Manually by data quality-control staff	Manually by data quality-control staff	Automated verification engine that flags invalid data for data quality-control staff

Abbreviation: AT, athletic trainer.