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Enable Surveys in Your Project

Before distributing a survey, you'll need to configure your REDCap project.

1. Open your project and navigate to Project Setup.
2. Enable Use surveys in this project.
3. If participants will complete surveys over multiple visits or time points, also enable Use longitudinal data collection with defined events.
4. Create your data collection forms using the Online Designer.
5. For each form you want participants to complete online, click Enable as Survey.

Once your survey is enabled, you're ready to choose how you'd like to distribute it.

Choose a Survey Distribution Method

Select the distribution method that best fits your project's needs.

• Share a Generic Survey Link or QR Code

  A generic survey link is ideal when you want anyone with the link or QR code to be able to participate. This option is commonly used for anonymous surveys.

  Best For

  • Anonymous responses
  • Public surveys
  • Open participation

  How to Set It Up

  1. Verify that the first form in your project has been enabled as a survey.
  2. Open Survey Settings to customize your survey's appearance, including:
     • Logo
     • Color scheme
     • Welcome message
     • Completion message
  3. From the left navigation menu, select Survey Distribution Tools.
  4. Copy the Generic Survey URL or generate a QR code.
  5. Share the link or QR code with your intended audience.

  Keep in mind: Anyone with the generic survey link or QR code can access your survey, and participants can submit responses more than once.

• Send Personalized Email Invitations

  If you'd like to know who has received or completed your survey, use REDCap's Participant List to send individualized survey invitations.

  Best For

  • Tracking survey participation
  • Sending reminders
  • Limiting one response per participant

  How to Set It Up

  1. Select Survey Distribution Tools from the left menu.
  2. Open the Participant List tab.
  3. Click + Add Participants.
  4. Enter participant email addresses, one address per line.
  5. Select Compose Survey Invitations to create and send your invitation.

  For the best delivery results, send invitations from your ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ email address or another email account associated with your REDCap user account. Some email providers may flag large email distributions as spam, preventing invitations from being delivered.

  You can also use the Survey Invitation Log to:

  • Monitor invitations that have been sent
  • Schedule future survey invitations
  • View invitations that failed to send
  • Track participant responses

• Collect Email Addresses for Future Surveys

  For studies that include multiple surveys over time, you can combine a public survey link with personalized follow-up invitations.

  Best For

  • Longitudinal studies
  • Multi-phase research projects
  • Participants who will complete follow-up surveys

  How to Set It Up

  1. Add an Email Address field to your first survey.
  2. Set the field validation to Email.
  3. Enable the first form as a survey.
  4. In Survey Settings, select your email field as the Survey-specific email invitation field.

  You can also configure this setting from Project Setup by enabling Designate an email field for communications (including survey invitations and alerts).

  Once configured:

  • Share the Generic Survey URL or QR code for participants to complete the first survey.
  • Participants enter their email address as part of the survey.
  • REDCap stores the email address and can automatically send personalized invitations for future surveys using Compose Survey Invitations.

  This approach allows you to broadly distribute your initial survey while maintaining individualized communication for future study activities.

Choosing the Right Survey Distribution Method

Selecting the appropriate distribution method helps ensure participants have the right experience while giving your research team the level of tracking and communication needed for your study.