If already posted, please direct me to the location. 1. Help in creating a full, detailed, ‘software-type’ citation for Kobo Toolbox. 2. Also if there is a published article by the creators of the Toolbox and/or a review of it. I am assisting a young researcher on this and have run out of sources.
Hi @salty3dog, welcome to the forum! 
You can cite KoboToolbox using the following formats:
APA (7th Edition)
KoboToolbox. (2026). KoboToolbox [Computer software].
https://www.kobotoolbox.org/
MLA (9th Edition)
KoboToolbox. KoboToolbox, 2026.
www.kobotoolbox.org.
Chicago (17th Edition)
KoboToolbox. KoboToolbox. Computer software. KoboToolbox, 2026.
https://www.kobotoolbox.org/
Harvard Style
KoboToolbox (2026) KoboToolbox.
Available at: https://www.kobotoolbox.org/
IEEE Style
KoboToolbox, KoboToolbox. 2026. [Software].
Available: https://www.kobotoolbox.org/
Feel free to use whichever style matches your requirements 
2 Likes
Thank you for the feedback. I am not a specialist, just helping some young researchers. One thing I urge them to do is to document and cite as fully as they can, for their research notes and that it is especially important to fully cite open source and credit developers . I tell them they would appreciate the same credit for their work.
When citing for a journal, the data you provided is, of course, sufficent. But for their research notes, more is better. I use Zotero, and their software item type is much more robust. Below is what I have cobbled together. It maybe inaccurate, thanks to Google trying to help. Any feedback for a detailed note would be appreciated.
Phuong Pham and Patrick Vinck. KoboToolbox. Python (Django); JavaScript / Node.js (Enketo); Java / Kotlin (KoboCollect). Version 2.026. With Tino Kreutzer. KoboToolbox | Kobo Inc., released 2026. Web Based /Android (cross-platform). [link needed]
KoboToolbox
Item Type Software
Programmer Phuong Pham
Programmer Patrick Vinck
Contributor Tino Kreutzer
Abstract Open-source, continuous-deployment framework for offline-first mobile data collection. Originally developed in 2005. Back-end built in Python/Django; web forms rendered via Enketo (JavaScript/Node.js); Android mobile client (KoboCollect) written in Java/Kotlin. Hosted as an international non-profit project in partnership with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. No fixed commercial release cycle — cite by assessment year and access date
Date 2026
URL [link needed]
Accessed 2026-05-23, 5:41:04 a.m.
Extra Pham, P., & Vinck, P. (2026). KoBoToolbox (Version 2.026) [Computer software]. Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. https://www.kobotoolbox.org Open-source (continuous-deployment, non-profit)
Programming architecture: Python/Django (server), JavaScript/Node.js (Enketo web forms), Java/Kotlin (KoboCollect Android app). Continuous deployment — no fixed release versioning. genre: Computer Software
Place Cambridge, MA, USA
Version 2.026
System Web Based /Android (cross-platform)
Company KoboToolbox Kobo Inc.
Prog. Language Python (Django); JavaScript / Node.js (Enketo); Java / Kotlin (KoboCollect)
Date Added 2026-05-23, 5:53:49 a.m.
Modified 2026-05-23, 6:03:07 a.m
