FAQs for Deakin's REDCap service

• Access to REDCap
• Who can create projects in REDCap?
• What is REDCap?
• Choosing between Qualtrics and REDCap
• Expert Support around REDCap

Access to REDCap

Deakin Users

To access REDCap as a Deakin user (staff or student), you need to:

1. Head to the URL https://redcap.deakin.edu.au/

This will forward you to the landing page below. Click on the "AUSTRALIAN ACCESS FEDERATION" image under the "Institutional login" tab.

2. In the AAF discovery service screen, start typing Deakin University into the search box.  Select "Deakin University" and then click on "Continue to your organisation".

3. Enter your Deakin credentials into the Deakin Single Sign-on screen.

4. You will next be prompted for multi factor authentication (MFA).  Choose either push or passcode to proceed.

NOTE: If you have not setup MFA, please follow the "How Do I setup and use MFA" instructions on the MFA FAQ knowledge article.

 

5. You will now be logged in to Deakin's REDCap service.

 

External collaborators

To access REDCap as an external (non-Deakin) collaborator, you need to:

Method 1

1. Complete the external access request form.

2. Once your Deakin sponsor has approved your request, an email will be sent to you for setting up login details.

Method 2

1. Head to this URL: https://redcap.deakin.edu.au/

2. Click on the link for REDCap external access request form form, and submit for approval.

3. Once your Deakin sponsor has approved your request, an email will be sent to you for setting up login details.

 

Who can create projects in REDCap?

Only Deakin users, i.e., those who log onto REDCap using their Deakin credentials, have the authority to create projects in REDCap.

External collaborators, whereby privileges were granted by managers of existing projects, are able to access the corresponding projects. However, it is important to note that the external collaborator must first be granted access to the REDCap instance by the REDCap Administrator, and then, access to the project by the project managers under the "User Rights" feature. 

 

What is REDCap?

REDCap is a mature, secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. Using REDCap's stream-lined process for rapidly developing projects, you may create and design projects using 1) the online method from your web browser using the Online Designer; and/or 2) the offline method by constructing a 'data dictionary' template file in Microsoft Excel, which can be later uploaded into REDCap. Both surveys and databases (or a mixture of the two) can be built using these methods.

REDCap provides automated export procedures for seamless data downloads to Excel and common statistical packages (SPSS, SAS, Stata, R), as well as a built-in project calendar, a scheduling module, ad-hoc reporting tools, and advanced features, such as branching logic, file uploading, and calculated fields.

 

Choosing between Qualtrics and REDCap

Below is a brief comparison between the features offered in REDCap and Qualtrics.

When conducting classic survey studies (i.e., single once-off surveys), Qualtrics would be a better alternative over REDCap. The primary reasons are that

• Qualtrics provides many look and feel and user-interface configurations/options by default, without the need for HTML or other kinds of scripting. 
• Qualtrics is, generally speaking, easier to use and navigate for beginning users

We strongly recommend the use of REDCap under the following conditions:

• Longitudinal data collection
• Capturing of sensitive data or information
• Implementation of data entry forms (i.e., completed by the experimenter of research assistant) and/or surveys (i.e., completed by respondents) within a study

We also strongly recommend new users of REDCap to participate in the "Introduction to REDCap" sessions run by Deakin eResearch (see details below).

Comparison	REDCap	Qualtrics
Secure for Sensitive Data	Yes! Data stored @ Deakin infrastructure	No! Data stored in Cloud, but in a secure manner
Longitudinal Functionalities	Yes	Can be achieved but in a very manual way
Share and collaborate	Yes	Yes
Direct data entry by study staff	Yes	No
Anonymous survey responses	Yes	Yes
Branching Logic & Stop Actions	Yes	Yes
Single Click De-Identification	Yes	No

 

Expert Support around REDCap

The Help & FAQ feature within REDCap provides a comprehensive overview and instructions on the many features offered by the software. These materials require the user to first log into REDCap, and can be viewed as the first point-of-reference.

 

In addition to hosting the Introduction to REDCap workshop, Deakin eResearch (eresearch@deakin.edu.au) offers face-to-face expert support around the application of REDCap in research. Our support comes in the form of:

• Advice and Recommendations on possible features and survey design
• Hands-on support around project set up
• Facilitate and troubleshoot during data collection stages
• Data extraction, analysis and report creation.

The support of Deakin eResearch, depending on the level of involvement, can result in the researcher/research team in providing written acknowledgment in the resulting publication(s) or co-authorship arrangements.

Face-to-face workshop details can be found on the eResearch training website.