How do I utilize REDCap on mobile devices?

Researchers may desire to use REDCap for a study design that requires data entry to be done on a mobile device (iPad, Tablet, or Smart Phones).

Deciding When to Use the REDCap Mobile App

There is sometimes confusion about how to use REDCap on Mobile Devices.  Often researchers will assume that they need to use the REDCap Mobile App in order to utilize Tablet or Smart Phone Based Data Entry. This is not the case. REDCap can be used without the mobile app on phones, tablets, or any other mobile device. This approach (ignoring the REDCap Mobile App) is often advantageous as it allows researchers to use REDCap's full survey functionality and tools, which work great on tablets and smart phones and provide the full set of REDCap survey formatting options (i.e., font control, page breaks). It also allows for REDCap to instantly send any collected data to the REDCap server, minimizing opportunities to lose data. 

The REDCap mobile app was designed for data collection in areas that do not have internet. The mobile app was originally designed for REDCap studies in rural Africa and other places in which internet or cellular connections are difficult to find. Data collection completed on the mobile app stays on the device and does not reach the REDCap server until the user finds an area with internet and batch uploads the data to the REDCap server.  This approach requires careful data management on part of the research study.  It also requires that changes that are made to the survey in the REDCap server are manually downloaded and synced to any device running the REDCap Mobile App.  Additionally, The REDCap Mobile App does not recognize page breaks or other basic survey functions that might be available in standard REDCap. 

We recommend that the REDCap Mobile App is used as designed / developed, for a last option data collection tool in hard to study areas. We recognize that researchers may need to use the mobile app for various reasons.  We do support the mobile app. However, we feel that studies should only use it if you need off-line survey collection.

How to Use the REDCap on a Mobile Device 

To do this you only need to access the survey functionality in REDCap and open it on a mobile device.  

To use the Public Survey Link (and create a new Record) 

1. Open REDCap on a browser on your mobile device.  

2. The go to Manage Survey participants, and open the survey with the public link

To have a participant fill out a survey associated with a preexisting record

1. Open REDCap on a browser on your mobile device. 

2. If you need to open an existing record, go to Record Status Dashboard. 

3. Open the existing record 

4.  Select survey options in the top right hand corner 

5.  Select Open Survey

To create a new record ID for a participant 

1. Open REDCap on a browser on your mobile device.

2. Select Add/Edit Records

3. Save the record as a blank file or with some initial information (select 'save and stay')

4. Select survey options in the top right hand corner 

5.  Select Open Survey

To send participants personalized e-mail that they would then open on a tablet

1. Open REDCap on a browser on your mobile device.  

2. Open Manage Survey Participants

3. Tab over to from public survey link, to Participant List.

4. This is the less public option, and a tool in which you can e-mail out individualized web addresses to each participant

5. Links sent to participants become inactive after the form has been filled out.

6. This tool will also send links that work on any mobile device.

Help is available in developing a process that works for your project at cru@ucalgary.ca