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Once your REDCap account has been created, you’re ready to build your first project.

1. Create a New Project

   From your REDCap homepage, select + New Project.

   Name Your Project

   Choose a project title that is clear, descriptive, and easy to identify. A meaningful title will help you distinguish your project from others over time.

   After your project is created, REDCap automatically assigns it a unique Project ID (PID). This identifier is used by REDCap administrators when providing technical support.

   Depending on your project, REDCap administrators may add a bracketed designation to your project title to indicate where the data originate:

   • [PH] – Premier Health
   • [DCH] – Dayton Children’s Hospital
   • [KHN] – Kettering Health Network
   • [WSU] or [NA] – No protected health information (PHI) is associated with another organization

2. Configure Your Project Settings

   If you’re creating a research project, provide the following information:

   • Principal Investigator (PI) name
   • Project purpose
   • Project type
   • IRB number, if applicable

   The PI name is used for citation reporting, which helps the REDCap Consortium track research usage. Remember to cite REDCap in any publications or presentations resulting from your project.

   Next, choose how you want to build your project:

   • Empty Project – Start from scratch and design every form yourself.
   • Upload a REDCap Project XML File – Import an existing REDCap project from another institution.
   • Use a Template – Start with a pre-built project and customize it to fit your needs.

   Tip: ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ templates include predefined user roles and permissions for ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ and Premier Health users, saving setup time and promoting consistency.

3. Set Up Your Project

   On the Project Setup page, determine how your project will collect data.

   You can enable one or both of the following:

   • Longitudinal Project – For studies that collect data at multiple time points.
   • Survey Project – For projects that include one or more online surveys.

4. Design Your Data Collection Forms

   Create the forms and surveys you’ll use to collect data.

   As you build your project, you can:

   • Add, edit, or delete forms
   • Customize template forms
   • Convert forms into surveys
   • Personalize survey settings, including introduction and consent text
   • Add standardized instruments from the REDCap Shared Library

   When creating variables, choose names carefully. Use consistent naming conventions whenever possible, as variable names cannot be changed after the project moves to Production.

   If your project contains protected health information (PHI), identify HIPAA fields appropriately so data exports can be automatically de-identified.

   Advanced users also have the option to upload a Data Dictionary to build forms more efficiently.

5. Configure Longitudinal Features, If Applicable

   If your study collects data over time, define your project’s structure by creating:

   • Events, such as study visits or follow-up assessments
   • Study Arms, for different participant groups or study schedules

   These features help organize data collection throughout your study.

6. Enable Optional Features

   Depending on your project’s needs, you may choose to enable additional REDCap tools, including:

   • Auto-numbering for records, enabled by default
   • Scheduling calendars for participant visits
   • Randomization tools, typically configured with assistance from a statistician
   • Automated survey invitations using participant email addresses

7. Set User Permissions

   One of the most important parts of project setup is determining who can access your project and what they can do.

   Assign user rights based on each team member’s responsibilities.

   • If you used a ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ template, predefined user roles are already available.
   • If you created an Empty Project, you’ll need to create user roles and assign permissions manually.

   Carefully managing user access helps protect sensitive research data and maintain HIPAA compliance.

8. Test Your Project

   Before collecting real data, thoroughly test every aspect of your project by entering sample records.

   Testing allows you to verify that:

   • Forms function correctly
   • Surveys behave as expected
   • Calculations and branching logic work properly
   • User permissions are appropriate

   When you’re ready to move your project into Production, you’ll have the option to either keep or delete your test data.

9. Move Your Project to Production

   Once you’ve finished testing, submit your project to move into Production.

   A ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ REDCap Administrator will perform a general review before approving the request.

   After approval, you’ll receive an email confirming that your project is now in Production.

   Congratulations! Your project is now ready for live data collection.