Alternate Multi-Center Study Project Configuration

An alternative to using DAGs for longitudinal multi-site studies where the data collections focuses on the site itself, rather than individual participant records.

Uses:

This method of setup might prove useful for Quality Improvement or Operational Support type projects where methodologies or various processes are being analyzed.

Setup:

The Record ID is the first field on the first instrument within a project. This is the field that associates a participant with the actual record. The Field Label and Variable Name of this field can be edited to “Site Name” or “Center” to reflect each site name (i.e. Foothills Medical Center, Alberta Children's, etc).

In other words, rather than a record ID be associated with a participant, it becomes associated with an entire site.

This newly renamed field can then be populated with the site name, associating all future instruments within that record with that particular site.

Note: Auto-numbering must be disabled for this to work

Individual participants could be identified if need be, by adding an email field or other identifier within each instrument. Keep in mind however, that these participants would still all be associated with the same record ID.

Usage:

New sites or addition instruments would then be added as normal, using Add/Edit Records

Record Status Dashboard can also be used to quickly view, edit or add additional responses