Study close-out should be performed according to your IRB or other regulatory documents. Here is a brief description of the different types of project status available to you in REDCap. 

We recommend inactive projects be changed to Archived status.  Users can manage their REDCap project status (if you have project Management rights in the project) via the Other Functionality Tab. 

Summary of REDCap Project Status Options

Development: All projects start in Development status. In Development, you can design, build, and test your project. All design changes are made in real-time and implemented immediately in your project. All aspects of your project regarding design and testing should be performed in while Development. Only test data should be collected in Development. This data can be deleted upon moving the project into Production.

Production: Your project should be moved to Production once all building and testing have been completed and you are ready to begin collecting data. All survey and data entry features/functions will be exactly the same as they are in development. Changes can still be made in Production, however, some will require submitting changes in Draft Mode to be reviewed by a REDCap administrator before being placed into Production. This is to help protect data integrity, as some changes can alter or even delete data collected prior to the changes.

Archived: Can be used if data collection is complete; or you no longer need to access the project from the My Projects List; or if the project is no longer needed, but you want the project/data to remain intact for future reference. This status will also disable most project functionality. The project can still be accessed by clicking the Show Archived Projects link at the bottom of the My Projects page. The project can also be moved back into Production status at any time.

Inactive: Can be used if your project is on hold or data collection is complete. This is especially useful if you are collecting data via surveys and wish to stop. Setting your project to Inactive status also disables most project functionality, but data will remain intact and available for review or export. With this status, the project can be moved back into Production at any time.

Note: Data entry is disabled, although you can still view and analyze data. Use this status if you want to ensure that no new data entry will occur, but you would still like to access all of your data easily.

Deleted: If your project and/or data is no longer needed, a REDCap Administrator can delete the project from Production. Project users can do the same for projects that are in Development status. A request to delete a project in Production can be done by navigating to the 'Other Functionality' tab and clicking on 'Request delete project'.

NOTE: Projects are permanently removed from REDCap 30 days after they have been deleted. Until that time, REDCap Administrators can undelete the project, if requested.

How to back up a project and save it outside of REDCap

We recommend three files are saved from REDCap to ensure that the data is completely backed up. 

1) metadata and data XML 

2) Full Data Export 

3) Data Dictionary 

In the Other Functionality tab, a user can download the 'Download metadata and Data (XML)' file. This allows a user to keep many of the project settings as well as the records associated with the project. 

Then, go to the Applications Side Bar Menu, select Data Exports, Reports, and Stats

Then select "Export Data" 

Then select 'CSV / Microsoft Excel (raw data)'

And save this file with the Meta Data file. Then, finally, export and save the Data Dictionary, going to Project Setup, and selecting Data Dictionary 

Then select "Download the Current Data Dictionary" and save the file. 

If you have saved these three files, your data is now backed up.  

How to Move the Project to an Archived Status

A user can go to the 'Other Functionality' Tab and then move the project to Archived Status. This will make the project/data remain intact for future reference.

This status will also disable most project functionality. The project can still be accessed by clicking the Show Archived Projects link at the bottom of the My Projects page.

The project can also be moved back into Production status at any time.