The model of support describes how the REDCap Team provides help to teams using REDCap at OHSU.

The goal of the model of support is to help study teams be successful using the REDCap by: 

  • Helping customers understand how to use the software.
  • Providing solutions to issues customers encounter in using the software.
  • Sharing expertise and guidance for customers who need help applying how the software works to how the data need to be collected for their study.


Key Considerations for the Support Model

  • Focus on OHSU Research

    • At OHSU, support for REDCap is focused on helping OHSU study teams collect their research data. 
      • Collecting research data is the intended use of REDCap.
      • Support for collecting research data is in line with OCTRI's mission.
    • Support and availability for using REDCap for uses other than collecting research data is based on capacity.

  • Promote Ownership by the Project Team

    • REDCap was created to put researchers in control of their work.
    • At OHSU, study teams build and manage their own projects, getting help and guidance from the REDCap Team to answer questions, get expert tips and advice, solve technical issues, and access learning resources.

  • Help Customers Help Themselves

    • Self-sufficiency is baked into REDCap through the inclusion of video tutorials, a searchable FAQ, and extensive feature documentation.

    • At OHSU, there are additional resources developed by the REDCap Team and hosted on this REDCap wiki to support customer self-reliance and self-directed learning, including instructional materials, supplemental documentation to address gaps in the documentation in the software, and written guidance to share established building practices and design solutions for research data collection.

OCTRI is able to support the administration, education, technical installation of the REDCap software through financial support from the CTSA grant, institutional funding and modest fees. For more information about the REDCap Team's responsibilities, review the information on the REDCap Team.


Related Pages

Support Model Highlights

The primary focus of support is for research studies, but there is some support for using REDCap for non-research.

Most research teams use REDCap without incurring charges.

There are annual fees for using REDCap for non-research data collection.

Customer support tracks define how project team use the software and get help from from the REDCap Team.

Most study teams use Standard Support for Research, which includes getting help from REDCap Team.

Email and drop-in help is not provided to study teams using Self-Service for Research.

Model of Support Topics


Key Components of the Support Model

Help and Learning Resources

Help and learning resources refer to the means by which customers get instruction to learn the software, and engage with the REDCap Team to get help. Help and learning resources include in-person, self-guided, and training components, all of which have been developed to leverage the available resources of a small REDCap Team to serve the needs of a large and expanding customer base that has different levels of experience using REDCap and collecting data.

At OHSU, help and learning resources are focused on:

  • The study staff who build and manage REDCap projects.
  • The investigators, who are ultimately responsible for the REDCap projects built to collect data for their studies.

These roles were prioritized as the focus of support activities because:

  • How a project is set up and managed is crucial for ensuring the integrity, security, and efficiency of data collection and data management for a protocol.
  • The project-building feature set is extensive and has a long learning curve that can quickly steepen depending on the requirements of the study.

Customer Support Tracks

Customer support tracks outline the structure and processes for customers to get help using REDCap. Support tracks were created to serve the needs of the growing REDCap customer base at OHSU, and to put a sustainable approach for the use and support of REDCap in place. The support is also aligned with OCTRI's mission and the support, guidance and oversight from OHSU for the application.

There are three support tracks:

  • Standard Support for Research
  • Self-Service Support for Research
  • Standard Support for Non-Research

In developing the support tracks, OCTRI considered:

  • Feedback from investigators, which was the main driver for developing the Self-Service customer support track for research projects; and
  • Trends in providing help to REDCap customers, which indicate the REDCap learning curve has grown both longer and steeper as the REDCap feature set has expanded beyond the core functionality covered in our Basics and Survey trainings.

For side-by-side support track comparisons and details about administrative processes for support tracks, review the Supports Tracks Operations page.

Project Point Person

In order to provide support and administer the REDCap software to a large and growing customer base, help operations are streamlined by the designation of a project point person. The point person is the project team member who manages their team's REDCap project for its lifespan, from creation, to the set up and design of the project, through real data collection, and to its completion.

Research vs Non-Research Use

The primary focus of OCTRI's support for REDCap is for OHSU investigator-initiated research studies that are not FDA regulated. The main considerations for this were:

  • The REDCap software for the institution is made available through research grant funding.
  • Data collection for research studies is the intended use of the software. 
  • The software is not configured or managed for 21 CFR Part 11 compliance for FDA regulated studies. 

Non-research data collection is allowed for IRB-exempted quality improvement projects, feedback on provider or student training for quality improvement, study team and department operations for supporting research, and department operations for processing applications for funding opportunities and awards. However, it is not supported at the same level as research use.

REDCap Features & Functionality

REDCap features and functionality refer to the components of the software teams use to build their projects, collect and monitor their data, and export it for analysis.

In determining both the level of help and the features and functionality available for use for each support track, OCTRI considered:

  • The REDCap Team's obligations for monitoring REDCap, such as reviewing the setup of all E-consent survey/forms before they are launched to production.
  • Which features and functionality require the REDCap Team's help to implement, such as external modules, using Twilio for sending SMS survey invitations, and making production changes to settings that are locked down.

Basic Project Functionality

Basic project functionality refers the out-of-the-box features that customers can access WITHOUT needing the REDCap Team's intervention for implementation, or guidance for utilization.

Advanced Project Functionality

Advanced project functionality refers to both out-of-the-box and add-on features that require the REDCap Team's intervention for implementation, or guidance for utilization. 

Setup & Design Tools
Online Designer, Data Dictionary, Codebook, Longitudinal Data Collection, Generate Record IDs, Repeatable Forms and Events, Form Display Logic

Data Collection Tools
Data Entry, Record Status Dashboard, Data Search, Data Import Tool, Record Locking

Applications for Project Management & Monitoring
Alerts & Notifications, Calendar, Data Comparison Tool, Logging/Audit Trail, Project Dashboard, Scheduling Module

Applications for Data Management
Data Exports, Reports & Stats, Field Comments, Data Quality Rules, Data Resolution Workflow, Vizr

Basic Customizations
Custom Record Label, Missing Data Codes

Survey Tools
Survey Settings, Survey Queue, Survey Notifications, Automated Survey Invitations, Distribution Tools

User Management Tools
User Assignments, User Roles, User Rights, Data Access Groups

E-consent 

E-consent with special circumstances, such as re-consenting, consenting in English and Spanish, consenting child participants in different age ranges ($)

MLM for sending surveys in English and Spanish ($)

Twilio for sending SMS survey invitations ($)

API access for programmatically retrieving or modifying project data

Production changes that involve project setup components that are only accessible to a REDCap Admin

Double Data Entry

Randomization module

External modules to add functionality to a project that is not part of REDCap's out-of-the-box feature set ($)

$ charges and fees


Customer Support Track: Standard Support for Research

Standard Support for Research expands on the support OCTRI has been providing for REDCap since its adoption at OHSU in 2007 — which is to support all of the available features within the application as applicable to specific projects, in exchange for the study staff completing training before they start building a project and completing testing before they launch their project to production to collect real research data.

This support track was conceived as the default support track for all research projects. This support track is the gold standard version of how to engage with the REDCap software at OHSU. More than 90% of research projects use Standard Support.

For side-by-side support track comparisons and details about administrative processes for support tracks, review the Supports Tracks Operations page.

Why Use Standard Support for Research

  • Prospective study with longitudinal data collection
  • Use E-Consent
  • Host multi-site data collection
  • Use randomization
  • First time builder
  • Robust support for using surveys
  • Robust support for production changes
  • Flexibility to choose the features that work best for the study
  • Anticipated duration of project spans multiple years
  • Support for changing personnel who manage the project
  • Access to direct interaction with the REDCap Team for help

Key Components of Standard Support for Research

Application Use

Support Level

Costs and Charges

Requirements

Basic + Advanced Functionality
See table above "REDCap Features & Functionality" 

BroadNo Base Fees *Training and Testing

Study teams are not constrained, support-wise, regarding what features and functionality they can use in setting up and managing their projects.

If a feature is enabled in OHSU's REDCap, it's available for projects using the Standard Support customer support track (note that some features have charges*). 

Most studies use REDCap without costs.

  • No fees for project hosting, data storage, basic help through email or drop-in, accounts for external collaborators, or any supplemental help* the study is eligible for. 
  • Staff working on a project for a funded study, may be eligible for supplemental no-cost help with making a project building plan or setting up a survey project.

* There are charges for using some advanced features and for custom support for help above and beyond no-cost help.

  • Basics training required for study staff requesting and managing the project.
  • Survey training required for study staff building and managing a survey project.

  • E-consent training required for study staff building and managing a project using e-consent.

  • An in-person pre-production survey review with the REDCap Team is required for projects using surveys.

  • Testing is required before moving the project to production.


Customer Support Track: Self-Service Support for Research

Self-Service Support for Research was launched in 2023. This customer support track introduced a new streamlined model of support for project building and management that eliminates the REDCap training requirement as a condition for getting a project started and the testing requirements as a condition for launching a project to production, in exchange for limited use of and help with the application.

This support track was conceived as alternative support track for experienced builders setting up and managing simple data collection projects.

For side-by-side support track comparisons and details about administrative processes for support tracks, review the Supports Tracks Operations page.

Why Use Self-Service Support for Research

  • Simple retrospective data collection project

  • Secondary data analysis project

  • Quantitative descriptive research project

  • Not using e-consent
  • Anticipated duration of project is two years or less
  • Experienced REDCap builder
  • Do not anticipate changing personnel who manage the project during the project's lifespan
  • Do not anticipate making significant production changes
  • Comfortable using self-service resources for getting help

Key Components of Self-Service Support for Research

Application Use

Support Level

Costs and Charges

Requirements

Basic
See table above "REDCap Features & Functionality" 

LimitedNo Base Fees *No Training and Testing

Study Teams cannot use use features and functionality that require the REDCap Team's intervention for implementation, or the Team's guidance for utilization. 

  • No fees for project hosting, data storage or accounts for external collaborators.
  • Projects are restricted from using features or accessing help that has charges.

* There are charges to change the support track from Self-Service to Standard Support.

  • Basics training is NOT required.

  • Survey training is NOT required.

  • Testing is NOT required before moving the project to production.

Note: while training and testing aren't required, we recommend them


Customer Support Track: Standard Support for Non-Research

Standard Support for Non-Research was launched in 2023. This customer support track supports basic use of and help with the application in exchange for: an annual fee, the project staff completing training before they start building a project, and completing testing before they launch their project to production to collect real research data.

This track was created after a two year period where support for non-research had been scaled back to access to the software, only, without being able to access any help from the REDCap Team. The aim was to create a sustainable and beneficial way for teams to get help building and managing non-research projects in REDCap that also addressed the funding gap for the non-research use of REDCap software, which is made available through research grant funding.

For side-by-side support track comparisons and details about administrative processes for support tracks, review the Supports Tracks Operations page.

When Standard Support for Non-Research Applies

This support track applies to all non-research projects. Non-research project teams cannot opt out of this Standard Support for Non-Research.

  • IRB exempted quality improvement projects
  • Feedback on provider or student training for quality improvement
  • Study team and department operations for supporting research
  • Department operations for processing applications for funding opportunities and awards.

Key Components of Standard Support for Non-Research

Application Use

Support Level

Costs and Charges

Requirements

Basic
See table above "REDCap Features & Functionality" 

BasicAnnual FeesTraining and Testing

Study Teams cannot use features and functionality that require the REDCap Team's intervention for implementation, or the Team's guidance for utilization. 


  • Basics training required for study staff requesting and managing the project.
  • Survey training required for study staff building and managing a survey project.

  • In-person pre-production survey review with the REDCap Team is required for projects using surveys.

  • Testing is required before moving the project to production.