Research data collection and management isn’t simple. Though many platforms, tools, and features exist, navigating the various options – and knowing how to use them – can be a challenge. That’s why IHSI's REDCap team is constantly seeking ways to make Illinois REDCap more accessible and able to meet the needs of Illinois research teams and participants.
Communicating with participants via MyCap
For data collection, researchers aim to remove barriers and make things easy and comfortable for participants. The most recent REDCap version upgrade comes with an exciting new feature called MyCap, a participant-facing mobile app that allows for easy data collection and communication with participants.
MyCap offers an intuitive participant view and allows researchers to communicate with research participants more easily, making it a great option for projects with frequent data collection, such as daily or weekly surveys. For a project using MyCap, a participant will log into the app on their personal device with a 6-digit passcode. Once logged in, the participant will see all the questionnaires or tasks they need to complete for the day and will complete them from their device. MyCap can send push notifications to remind participants to complete tasks. Researchers can also send announcements or individual messages to study participants.
REDCap Application Manager Michelle Lore encourages researchers to explore MyCap’s capabilities to determine whether the tool would improve their data collection efforts. “Vanderbilt has put together a great demonstration page that allows interested users to explore the app from the participant perspective. That way, researchers can get a feel for the user experience and see if MyCap is the right tool for them.”
MyCap also offers the robust security measures that researchers have come to rely on from REDCap. Like REDCap, MyCap is capable of collecting Protected Health Information (PHI) and other high risk or sensitive data, as well as non-high risk data. Data are never stored on the device, unless the participant is without an internet connection, in which case data are stored in an encrypted database until a connection is re-established.
Reducing barriers with multi-language management
The multi-language management (MLM) module is a useful tool for projects involving researchers or research participants who speak languages other than English. The MLM module allows users to create and configure multiple display languages for their projects, allowing REDCap users or survey participants to choose their preferred display language on a survey or data entry form. Illinois REDCap offers a demonstration project so that researchers can try out a multi-lingual survey.
The module provides a platform for the inclusion of translations and allows participants and researchers to select their preferred display language on a survey or data entry form. A research participant's language preference can also be applied to survey invitations, reminders, and other email communications REDCap can send on behalf of the research team. "This will streamline research conducted in multiple languages and make the data-cleaning stage much easier," said Lore. It is important to note that this module does not translate content or check for translation accuracy.
Features to streamline data management
Action tags help to improve the quality and accuracy of data collected on surveys and forms. When a particular action tag is added to a question, a corresponding action occurs. For instance, adding a “@NONEOFTHEABOVE” action tag to a checkbox question prevents the survey participant from selecting “none of the above” in addition to other options. Researchers also commonly use a @WORDLIMIT tag to limit the length of an open-ended survey response. Researchers can check out a demonstration project to better understand how action tags work in a survey.
A calculated field can take information entered elsewhere in a project and run a real-time calculation that can be exported with the other data, such as using age to calculate maximum heart rate or scoring validated measures like the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.
“Calculated fields are a powerful tool with a lot of versatility,” said Lore. “REDCap can even use dates in calculations. This is useful if you need to calculate the amount of time between two dates, such as hospital admission and release dates.”
Speech and Hearing Science Professors Marie Moore Channell and Laura Mattie utilized calculated fields in their study evaluating autism screening tools for people with Down syndrome. “We found the REDCap feature for creating calculated fields particularly useful for our project. Some of our questionnaires have complex scoring systems, so the ability to customize REDCap’s algorithms to automatically compute scores for each of our participants is an invaluable time-saving feature,” they said in a recent REDCap User Spotlight.
Illinois REDCap users can learn more about working with calculated fields during the next Advanced REDCap Training on March 21, 2023, at 2 p.m.
Layers of support for Illinois REDCap users
Such a robust program may seem intimidating to a new user. Professors Mattie and Channell encourage researchers to connect with the Illinois REDCap team and the various resources Illinois REDCap has to offer. “It can be overwhelming to start a new project from scratch in REDCap when you don’t even know what features are available, much less which ones are right for your project. However, there are built-in layers of support. Illinois REDCap comes with video tutorials, live training sessions, and access to highly-skilled support staff who understand the research process. Whenever our team wanted to know if something could be done, Michelle Lore and other IHSI REDCap team members would work with us to find a solution” they said.
Lore wants to underscore the value of reaching out to the Illinois REDCap team. “Sometimes users are hesitant or apologetic about reaching out to us, but they don’t need to be. We want to make Illinois REDCap accessible to Illinois researchers. We enjoy helping REDCap users understand how to make REDCap work best for their research.”
If you have questions or wish to discuss your research needs, you can register for Illinois REDCap Office Hours or submit a support request form.