REDCap User Guides
From guidance on how to register for a REDCap account to more comprehensive guides on how to navigate the platform to meet your research needs, this page contains information for all stages of the REDCap project management process.
Getting Started
Creating a REDCap Account (UF-affiliated users)
How to register for a REDCap account or to change the email or name associated with your account.
Project Setup Page
This guide describes REDCap’s Project Setup page, which contains the checklist of items to be completed before moving the project into Production (going live).
Making Changes to a Project in Production
This guide describes how to make changes to your project once it’s in production and best practices for making database changes.
Optional Modules and Customizations
This guide describes all of the features found in the Optional Modules and Customizations header under the Project Setup page, such as repeatable instruments and events, auto-numbering for records, the randomization module, designating an email field to use for survey invitations and setting a custom record label.
Project Creation User Guide
Covers how to create a new project, how to add or edit data fields, field types available and branching logic and piping.
User Rights (adding UF/UF Health users to a project)
This guide explains what each user right is, how to create roles, how to add users to a project, and how to remove users from a role or a project.
Updating Project Ownership, PI Info and IRB #
It may be necessary to update the PI Name, IRB Number or Project Ownership information due to staff changes. This guide describes how to update the Project Owner, PI information and IRB Number in REDCap.
Requesting REDCap accounts for external users
(if you don’t want to get external users GatorLink accounts), CTS-IT will create a table-based (external) accounts for any non-UF user who is sponsored by a UF-affiliated REDCap user. CTS-IT will charge $32.50 for this service and $32.50 every 6 months thereafter.
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Table-based accounts are for users who are not affiliated with the University of Florida. If the user has Gatorlink credentials or a UF-affiliation, they do not need a table-based account
Building Guides
Using Branching Logic
This guides describes how to format and apply branching logic, also known as skip logic, to questions using the Online Designer method to build a database in REDCap.
Using Calculated Fields
This guide describes how to create and format calculated fields, such as BMI, using height and weight fields and a subject’s age using two date fields.
Using the Matrix of Fields
This guide describes what a Matrix of Fields is and how to create one in REDCap.
Repeating Instruments and Events
REDCap has the ability to repeat a data collection instrument or an entire event of instruments an unlimited number of times without having to specify the amount needed.
Setting up e-consents in your REDCap project
The IRB has approved REDCap as a platform to perform informed consents remotely and electronically using REDCap’s survey features. Using this PDF guide (link to guide), you can set up an e-Consent for your REDCap project to remotely obtain a subject’s consent. Note: IRB approval is needed to perform e-consenting through REDCap.
Action Tags
Action Tags provide a way to customize the data entry experience for surveys and forms. They are special terms that begin with the ‘@’ sign that can be placed inside a field’s Field Annotation box when adding or editing a field. Each action tag has a corresponding action that is performed for the field when displayed on data entry forms and survey pages.
Project Deletion, Exporting Data & Files and Saving REDCap Projects for Future Use
Before you delete your REDCap project, you should, at a minimum, download the project’s data. This guide goes over exporting data, downloading files contained in File Upload fields, downloading Informed Consent PDFs, downloading the project’s XML file (used to recreate an exact copy of the project at other institutions of at UF) and how to delete a project.
Data Entry and Surveys
Longitudinal Data Entry
This guide describes how to enter data into a project that is collecting data longitudinally.
Creating and Distributing a Single Survey
This guide describes how to create and distribute a single survey, methods for collecting anonymous and non-anonymous survey data, how to set up longitudinal survey collection and how to get notified when a participant submits a survey.
Distributing Multiple REDCap Surveys
This flowchart describes the ways you can send out multiple surveys to participants at one time point or longitudinally, either using the Public Survey URL (anonymous) or using the Participant List (not anonymous).
Modules Help
Creating a Customized Report
This guide describes how to create a customized data report in REDCap.
Data Exports
This guide describes how to export your project’s data from REDCap into Excel or a statistical package, such as SPSS or SAS.
Using the File Repository
This application may be used for storing and retrieving project files and documents, such as a blank copy of your consent forms or data entry guides. You may upload files here to save for retrieval later or download previously uploaded files. After a data export, the resulting data and syntax files are stored here also.
Randomization Module
The randomization module in REDCap will help you implement a pre-defined randomization model within your project, allowing you to randomize your subjects (i.e. records in your project). This guide describes how to set up and use the Randomization Module within REDCap.
REDCap Orca Search Module
The Orca Search REDCap External Module is an alternative to the built-in Add/Edit Records. It is a customizable, searchable list dashboard.
Alerts and Notifications
The Alerts and Notifications feature allows you to construct alerts and send customized email notifications. These notifications may be sent to one or more recipients and can be triggered or scheduled when a form/survey is saved and/or based on conditional logic whenever data is saved or imported
Custom Record Auto-Numbering
This module allows users to create a custom record auto-numbering schema for their REDCap project, such as having the first record ID created start at 1000 or 001 instead of 1, append all record IDs with a prefix (ABC-1, ABC-2, ABC-3, etc.), or having the DAG name appear in the record ID (UF-1, UF-2, UF-3) instead of the DAG ID (98-1, 98-2, 98-3, etc.) when utilizing DAGs in a project.
Prevent Past or Future Dates External Module
This REDCap module adds the new actions tags @PREVENT-FUTUREDATE and @PREVENT-PASTDATE that can be applied to date fields – i.e., a text field with date or date/time validation applied – to disallow entry of dates in the future or past, respectively
Add-ons
REDCap Mobile App Setup
The REDCap Mobile App adds a new dimension to the software’s versatility by providing users with a tool for offline data collection when an internet connection is not available.
nedCAPTCHA
This REDCap module protects a public survey with a CAPTCHA. This option will allow users to add protection to their public survey using Google’s CAPTCHA functionality, which can prevent bots from entering trash data into a public survey.
Mosio SMS Services
REDCap has the capability to send SMS text messages for surveys and for Alerts & Notifications by using a third-party web service named Mosio (www.mosio.com). In this way, you could invite a participant to take a survey by sending them an SMS message, in which the data would be collected in REDCap directly from their phone without having to check their email account.