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External Modules & Customizations Overview

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External Modules & Customizations Overview

Owned by Mary Irion
Last updated: Oct 03, 2023 by Alyssa Hill
3 min read

External Modules are individual packages of software that can be enabled on your project by a REDCap administrator. Modules provide customizations and enhancements to REDCap's core functionalities.

  • External Modules are not part of the REDCap software but instead add-on packages, typically created by software developers at other REDCap institutions. Be aware that the entire risk as to the quality & performance of the module as it is used in your REDCap project is borne by you.

The BMIC team will conduct a cursory test of the product prior to enabling it for your project. However, some of the EMs are not widely utilized and thus have had less time to ferret out potential issues. This is not to discourage you from using these applications, but provided as an informative piece of information. Many of the EM are widely used, have proven the test of time and have added significant enhancements and functionality to the projects which use them.

Often, after these EMs have been available for some time, they are incorporated into the REDCap at the system level. Once incorporated into REDCap they are not labelled as EMs but often must still be enabled by a REDCap administrator.

Below are some of the more frequently used Customizations:

Record Labels, Auto-Numbering & Unique Identifiers

  • Record keeping customizations such as a custom record label display.

Randomization

  • It is strongly recommended that you have your statistician involved in both the project design as well as development of the allocation tables. All projects using Randomization MUST be reviewed by BMIC Faculty prior to project start.

Text To Speech

  • The Text to Speech function reads the survey to the participant. When enabled, icons will be displayed next to all text on the survey, and when clicked, the text will be read out loud to the participant.

REDCaptcha

  • Forces Google reCaptcha on your public survey url. Can only be used for public survey links. Has been embedded into REDCap at the system level. Admin approval no longer needed for project level use.

REDCap Mobile App

  • For offline data collection, particularly in environments with poor internet connectivity. Not officially an External Module but does require Admin approval.

API Token Requests

  • The REDCap API is an interface that allows external applications to connect to REDCap remotely. It is necessary to have an API in order to implement the REDCap Mobile App, MYCap, the Multilingual App or to perform data import/export using languages like Tableau.

Promis & CATs (Computer Adaptive Tests)

  • A set of person-centered measures that evaluates and monitors physical, mental, and social health in adults and children that can be imported as a instrument to your project using the shared library

Project Dashboards

  • Project Dashboards provide the capability to build webpages from the content in your project.

Missing Data Codes

  • Fields that have a blank/missing value may be marked with a custom 'Missing Data Code' to note why the value is blank. These missing codes may be used to aid in data analysis by specifying why a field lacks a value.

Data Resolution Workflow

  • DRW is a set of features that allow you to track changes to project data field by field (i.e. it provides documentation of changes made to the field). DRW is useful for clinical trials as it allows you to track changes for regulatory compliance.

Double Data Entry

  • DDE should be enabled before data collection during development mode.

MyCap (particpant mobile app)

  • A mobile device application that can be used by participants to complete surveys and tasks associated with REDCap projects. It is particularly helpful for researchers who wish to communicate and collect data from participants on a frequent basis.

 

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