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Qualtrics is a valuable tool for survey delivery at the university but is not optimized for clinical research protocols. Dr. Bridget Walsh, Associate Professor of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, is conducting a study that delivers surveys to parents, children, and speech language pathologists. She found that using Qualtrics to manage the complex needs of the project was lacking, leading to significant manual effort and parallel systems to support the following tasks:
To streamline these workflows, BRIC created a unified REDCap project incorporating all the surveys. Existing data were migrated into the new project and active participants were transitioned to the new invitation system. This migration process was thoroughly tested by the study team and invitation lists were validated against existing procedures before launching the new system. REDCap’s calculated field logic, replaced an external R script used for scoring, enabling real-time scoring instead of quarterly batch processing. This allowed for dynamic features based on the score such as automated email alerts to study staff and conditional display logic to present custom messages to participants. REDCap also supports daily study operations through customized reports. For example, the financial manager accesses a report listing participants eligible for gift card remuneration, with details such as survey completion date, payment amount, and email address. After issuing a payment, the manager records the payment date, order number, and internal eDoc number. Role-based permissions ensure the manager has access only to the fields needed for their role, preserving data privacy while allowing direct data entry. A comparison of Qualtrics and REDCap services is available for those considering the best fit for their research needs. This migration highlights the customized support that CTSI offers investigators in the MSU community. If your study could benefit from a platform designed for clinical research, please contact us. | |
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Join us for an informative seminar on REDCap Survey Design and Distribution. This session will provide an overview of key tools and techniques for building effective surveys in REDCap. Topics will include:
This session is ideal for users of all experience levels. Whether you are just getting started with REDCap or looking to enhance your current projects, this seminar will offer valuable tips and insights. Who should attend:
All are welcome — no prior REDCap experience required. We look forward to having you attend the event! MSU Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
Please contact us if you have further questions. | |||
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Event: Improving Data Quality with REDCap Date: Feb 20th, 2025 Time: 1:30 PM Duration: 40 minutes Recording: REDCap Data Quality Training Slides: Powerpoint |
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In this session we will cover REDCap features that help ensure data quality over the life of your project including:
- Specific value formats
- Locating missing values
- Range constraints
- Controlled design updates
- Data resolution workflow
While it is easiest to include data quality controls as part of initial study design, this session will cover how they can be added at any phase of a project. Don’t miss out on this chance to learn from our experts and enhance your research capabilities. This is the second in a series of training sessions that aims to cover the wide variety of features available in REDCap. Session One
We will try to answer general questions during the training. If you have data quality questions that are specific to your project, we suggest visiting the open help desk hours.
We look forward to seeing you there!
MSU Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
Please contact us if you have further questions.
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In this 40-minute session, you’ll gain essential skills for designing your REDCap projects. We’ll cover:
And more! Whether you’re new to REDCap or looking to refresh your skills, this training is designed to get you started building projects with confidence. Don’t miss out on this chance to learn from our experts and enhance your research capabilities. This is the first in a series of training sessions that aims to cover the wide variety of features available in REDCap. We look forward to seeing you there! MSU Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
Please contact us if you have further questions. | |||
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BRIC has been supporting the Flint Registry since it was created 2017. In collaboration with Hurley Medical Center, we created a tool to move data entered by survey participants and registry staff directly into the Epic Electronic Health Record System. This connection has managed over 400,000 updates since it was originally implemented. This approach allows the registry team to leverage the advantages of both REDCap and Epic in response to the protocol requirements and community input.
The details regarding this integration have been published in the Health Information Journal. Full article
The code framework is available at https://gitlab.msu.edu/bric/epic-hl7-integration
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By: Jonathan Babbage
Medication adherence can be a difficult variable to reliably determine. "Self-report medication adherence measures vary substantially in their question phrasing, recall periods, and response items. Self-reports tend to overestimate adherence behavior compared with other assessment methods and generally have high specificity but low sensitivity."[1] Electronic medication caps allow investigators to track the exact date and times that a medication was opened.
CTSI has collaborated with investigators that are studying diabetes management including a subject's medication adherence. In order to do this, at enrollment, each subject is given an eCAPTM medication container manufactured by Information Mediary. The cap will track each opening while the subject is part of the study. The cap is scanned by a research assistant (RA) at each study event and the data are loaded into the manufacturers servers.
We built an integration that will pull all of the adherence data from Information Mediary's servers through an authenticated API, and load the data directly into the study's REDCap project. This load includes the raw timestamp data for each opening of the subject's medication. For each interval between clinic visits, the system also calculates a number of days on medication, days adherent, and an adherence rate. This can be done in real time, so the RA receives feedback about adherence during the visit and can respond according to the study protocol. Other REDCap features such as alerts, dashboards, and reports can be configured to inform investigators, study staff, or subjects with details about adherence.
This integration is an example of the customizations that CTSI provides investigators on campus. If you have a study that would benefit from a data integration with a third party service, please contact us.
References
1. Stirratt MJ, Dunbar-Jacob J, Crane HM, et al. Self-report measures of medication adherence behavior: recommendations on optimal use. Transl Behav Med. 2015;5(4):470-482. doi:10.1007/s13142-015-0315-2
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In March of 2020, CTSI was approached by a graduate student that was facing the challenge of completing data collection for their dissertation research as lockdowns were starting. While many studies are able to transition to online surveys as a source of data, this research included a number of psychological assessments do lend themselves to traditional survey questions such as open text, multiple choice, or Likert scale responses. The assessments need to be delivered to a population of subjects that are located around the United States, so an online assessment is necessary. In order to address the needs of this research, CTSI extends the functionality of REDCap, a web based data capture system. REDCap provides tools for delivering survey invitations to study subjects and aligns data from multiple surveys in one subject record. We added functionality that deliveres more complicated assessments. In the included demo, we present a digit span test and the Corsi block test. For the digit span test, a subject is presented with random numbers starting with length three in quick succession. A subject then must enter the number sequence back. If they enter correctly, the sequence length is increased by one . The test ends after three missed attempts. The Corsi block test is similar, but rather than remembering a number, the subject must remember the order the blocks were illuminated. This tests visio-spacial memory rather than verbal memory. These assessments are delivered in the same way as another other REDCap survey. On the back end however, we are capturing many details regarding the responses. These details include response time, longest streak, and longest sequence completed. These are standard REDCap variables which means they can be used in skip logic, reports, custom notification logic, and data exports. The solution is also portable meaning we are able to copy the functionality to an independant project for demonstration purposes. It is another example of a customization that is in our library and made available to MSU investigators. This survey is an example of the customizations that CTSI provides investigators on campus. If you have a study that would benefit from a custom development related to data capture, please contact us. | |
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