REDCap

REDCap (REsearch Data Capture) is a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases developed by a multi-institutional consortium initiated at Vanderbilt University. While REDCap can be used to collect virtually any type of data, it is specifically geared to support online or offline data capture for research studies and operations. Using REDCap's stream-lined process for rapidly developing projects, you may create and design databases and surveys using an Online Designer and/or an Offline method of constructing a "data dictionary" file in Microsoft Excel and uploading it to REDCap. REDCap provides user-friendly web-based case report forms, real-time data entry validation (e.g. for data types and range checks), audit trails, and the ability to set up a calendar to schedule and track critical study events such as blood-draws, participant visits, etc.

Advantages of REDCap

• Secure and web-based.
• Input data from anywhere in the world with secure web authentication, data logging, and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.
• Fast and flexible.
• Rapid conception to production-level database.
• Multi-site access. Projects can be used by researchers from multiple sites and institutions.
• Fully customizable. You are in total control of shaping your database or survey.
• Advanced question features. Auto-validation, branching logic, and stop actions. Mid-study modifications. You may modify the database or survey at any time during the study.
• Data import functions. Data may be imported from external data sources to begin a study or to provide mid-study data uploads.
• Data comparison functions. Double data entry / Blinded data entry.
• Export survey results to common data analysis packages. Export your data to Microsoft Excel, SAS, STATA, R, or SPSS for analysis. Save your survey or forms as PDFs. Generate a PDF version for printing in order to collect responses offline.

The small print...

We make a small administrative charge per project created in REDcap to cover our administrative work in maintaining and configuring the system for your use. This is currently set at £100 per project per annum. The Project owner will be billed for the project at registration time and annually thereafter whilst the project remains active.

Users are encouraged to use REDcap as a stage in the data collection process and not as a long term repository of research data. There are good data export capabilities and once collection is finished, data should be exported for further analysis and storage. Those who do not require the offline data collection options and require only a sophisticated survey tool may wish to investigate alternative tools listed below.

A Project will be created by by MSD IT Services for those registering as a project owner. Co-workers on the same project can register to use REDCap after which the project owner will then be able to give them rights in their project. Project owners may request a limited number of external co-workers to be added to a project - please contact redcap@medsci.ox.ac.uk if this is a requirement.

Registration gives access to our main server but also unlimited use of our test REDcap server at no cost. The test server is offered so that experimental methods can be modelled before being put into production. You may create any number of projects on the test server but the test server MUST NOT be used for live research as test projects may be deleted from time to time. You should export your experimental data from the test server regularly. The test server is only accessible from within Oxford University networks, whilst our main server is accessible worldwide.  You may have an unlimited number of co-workers participate in a registered project at no further cost. It may also be possible to define a limited number of co-workers from other institutions as participants in your project.

REDCap is a community supported project.  MSD IT Services have no special experience of the use of this software which is offered to users on the understanding that support will involve a co-operative approach between developers, the REDCap user community and MSD IT Services staff and that any identified deficiencies and faults in the core software may take some time to resolve.

Register to use the REDCap service

Limesurvey

Limesurvey is no longer available and access to all existing projects has ceased.  

Alternative survey tools

JISC Online Survey (formerly Bristol Online Survey - BOS) is available via central IT Services and is recommended for gathering confidential data.

There are also survey options available in WebLearn and also Microsoft Forms via Nexus365.