The Survey Research Center (SRC) at Penn State and REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) software are partnering to provide researchers a secure, web-based application designed to support data capture for research studies.
REDCap is maintained by the REDCap Consortium of over over 1,800 active consortium partners in nearly 100 countries who actively serve to contribute, prioritize, test and support the application.
According to Diana Crom, managing director, the SRC can quickly and intuitively build and manage research data forms and surveys electronically. “RedCap software allows us to create customized survey instruments for researchers that can be deployed through the web or email. We send invitation and follow-up emails to survey respondents, host surveys on our secure server, and allow researchers to view instant response rates and summary statistics via a web portal.”
REDCap is compliant with such standards as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), and international standards. The software is available in several languages including Chinese, French, German and Portuguese, and it is anticipated that other languages will be available in full versions of REDCap soon.
Other REDCap features include:
• Create forms for data entry and surveys
• Surveys delivered to participants electronically
• Reuse of forms for multiple events/arms
• Data export to common statistical packages with de-identification tools
• Data import from Excel
• Record locking and e-signatures
• Real time quality rule checks and post collection data query resolution
• Double Data Entry for data quality improvement
• Access for multi-site studies
• Full audit trail
Researchers can also attend REDCap training to learn how to design their own surveys and manage their research electronically. Training sessions are offered at both the Hershey Medical Center and at Penn State in 116 Henderson Building via video conferencing. For more information or to register, go to http://ctsi.psu.edu/redcap-home/accesstraining/.
The SRC is a part of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State and focuses on providing data collection, helping faculty and student investigators prepare effective proposals for external funding, educating members of the Penn State community on best practices and emerging developments, and promoting and contributing to the science of survey research methodology.Contact them at src@survey.psu.eduif you have questions regarding REDCap capabilities or need information regarding training times and cost estimates for the SRC to program your survey.