REDCap

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure online system designed for the capture of research data for clinical and translational projects (ie those that represent a systematic effort to convert basic research knowledge into practical applications to enhance human health and wellbeing). It combines features of a database and online survey tool.

Reasons to use REDCap in Flinders research projects include:

• Security – Access is by two factor-authentication: your FAN login and an additional source (such as SMS from a mobile), through any device with Internet access. User permissions are fully customisable giving control over the level of access to projects. Data is housed locally (encrypted) on Flinders servers maintained by IDS.
• Data integrity – Improved reliability and consistency of data collection are possible through inbuilt data validation and advanced data entry form features. The REDCap system maintains a full audit trail of all activity on a project.
• Ease of use – No database or programming experience is required. Creating a simple project can be very quick, with an intuitive interface to streamline the creation of data collection instruments. REDCap is flexible; users can make project changes evenafter data collection has started.
• Data export – Data can be easily downloaded (in de-identified form if required) to Microsoft Excel, Adobe PDF, and statistical packages such as SAS, R, SPSS, and STATA. Data exported to statistical packages includes labelling for the variables and the values.
• Ethics approval – The Flinders University implementation of REDCap was presented to the Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee (SAC HREC) in late 2018. Two projects using REDCap have been approved by the Committee so far.

Quicklinks

The REDCap Consortium, an active online community of REDCap users, offers comprehensive training and support material

REDCap is offered by the University on an 'as-is' basis. Self-service support is available from the REDCap Consortium, an online community of REDCap users and resources.

DRS support for REDCap is restricted to:

• Upgrading REDCap annually
• Updating REDCap in response to an identified security threat
• Facilitating REDCap server operating system updates
• Installing REDCap database updates
• Ensuring REDCap is available for use through provision of access and monitoring of the ssytem and its database
• Assessing system errors, such as pages not being displayed, being unresponsive, or displaying an error message.

For all other support, in the first instance contact the IDS Service Desk on 12345 or raise a support call via Service One.