Once your REDCap project is created, you will be configuring your project and creating instruments to use during data collection. As REDCap is very customizable and can be used for various use cases, we will only touch on the basics of configuring a REDCap project here. If you have certain use cases that require a more in depth explanation, we have a whole range of knowledge articles that can be of help.
Online Designer
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When you enter the Online Designer, you will be greeted with a list of instruments that are configured for your project. In this page, you can create an instrument from scratch, upload a ZIP file of an instrument that has already been configured, or search within the REDCap Shared Library to find an instrument that has already been created by a fellow REDCap community user. you will also be able to copy, delete, download, and rename instruments when you select the "Choose action" button. When you first create a REDCap project, the first instrument will be automatically named “Form 1”. Rename this form by clicking “Choose action”.
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There are many other buttons visible here. Some of them provide in-app help that could be crucial to your project, or take you to other REDCap functionality that may be useful. Try clicking around to see where they take you.
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Here, you will be able to add new fields by selecting the "Add Field" button . as shown below:
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In REDCap, data is associated with a variable, which will have various attributes such as variable name, labels and other features such as validation, action tags etc. The variable and its associated attributes is called a field.
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Note: variable names should be short and meaningful, using a minimal number of characters. The maximum allowed is <24 to prevent issues when conducting statistical analysis on your data. |
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When creating a field, a variable name, a field type, and a field label are required. Other attributes are optional and can be used to add further information and conditions to a field.
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Field types can be categorized into five types:
Unstructured field types
Structured field types
Special field types
Display field types
Matrix field types
Unstructured field types
Unstructured field types are used to collect free text information. These include the Text Box and Notes Box field types.
Text Boxes are great for collecting short pieces of free text. Validation can be added for data such as dates, numbers, emails, and phone numbers. If collecting numeric values, you can also set maximum and minimum ranges.
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Note: it is best to limit text box usage and opt for structured field types when possible. This allows for more granular reporting and prevents typos. |
Notes Boxes are great for collecting longer pieces of text, such as clinical notes, comments to elaborate on a previous answer, or descriptions.
Structured field types
Structured field types provide a limited set of pre-defined answers for selection during data entry. These include drop-downs and radio buttons for single answer choices, and checkboxes for multiple answers.
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Calculation fields are used to calculate values from data associated with other variables. The end result for a calculation field must be a value, and the calculation field can only access data from variables within that particular record. There are also various special functions and smart variables that can be used to aid with calculation. These fields are useful for creating scoring tools or simple calculations.
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Section headers can be used to separate different blocks of variables. These can also be used to create separate pages within surveys.
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Note: section headers help to save data intermittently. If you have a long list of questions and the user closes the survey, data captured to date is lost if there are no section headers. |
Matrix field types
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Matrix field types are a little distinct from the others, as they are a grouped set of variables together. These are useful when you have multiple variables that rely on the same choices. When adding a matrix of variables, you can use either radio buttons or checkboxes as options. The columns of the matrix are the options, and the options for all of the variables within the matrix will need to match. Rows will be the variables (questions).
Now we’ve covered all of the field types that you can add to an instrument, but what do you do when you only want some fields to show conditionally? We’ll discuss this next!
Head over to the next section of REDCap 101, or head back to the table of contents.