Frequently Asked Questions¶
Q: How can I create a REDCap account?¶
A: Anyone with a CalNet ID has the ability to make a Berkeley REDCap account. Navigate to https://redcap.berkeley.edu/ and click the “Login using CalNet” link. First-time users will be prompted to create an account with REDCap.
Q: Can I give access to my team members who do not have CalNet ID?¶
A: For security purposes, project team members must have CalNet IDs. For non-berkeley team members the project PI will need to go through the campus affiliate process to set up affliate CalnetID for these members. We recommend working with your department manager or college adminstrator when subimitting the request to your local BRS Region HR as the process can vary from unit to unit.
- Go to (HR) Service Hub and start a case for Affiliates and Volunteers
- If you have more than one Affliate request, download and fill out a seperate Afflaite DocuSign Powerform for each Affliliate / person and attach it to the case.
- In the field 'Who is the person affected by this request?' enter the name of the PI / Faulty Sponsor (unless the PI / Faculty is the person creating the case).
- For the field 'Provide a full description for this request' it maybe helpful to provide the following information:
- Affiliates will be working in REDCap (https://redcap.berkeley.edu). REDCap is a campus hosted and operate system for electronic data capture and is data classification P4 approved.
- A Statement of Work (SOW) or Statement of Scope Description of the tasks being performed by the Affiliates
- Describe if there is any data sharing or data transfer involved (e.g. data entry roles does not involve any data transfer/data sharing).
- Describe how the Berkeley Research team/staff will be manging the system/data access of the Affiliates.
- Describe how the roles and access of the Affiliates differ from that of the Berkeley Research team/staff
Q: How does REDCap differ from other data collection tools that UC Berkeley supports?¶
A: UC Berkeley also supports Qualtrics and Google Forms for the creation of surveys and online forms. More information about both of these tools and their support at UC Berkeley can be found here. REDCap differs in comparison to Qualtrics and Google Forms most notably in its support for building and managing databases for projects and its approval for highly sensitive data.
Q: Is UCB REDCap able to handle P4 data as defined in the UCB Data Classification Standard?¶
A: UC Berkeley REDCap is approved for collection or capture of P4 level data as defined in the UCB Data Classification Standard. Read more at the Berkeley Information Security Office website.
Q: Can I create a project without having institutional review board (IRB) approval?¶
A: Not all projects that use REDCap will be collecting/gathering human subjects data, which means that the IRB process may not apply to all researchers using REDCap @ UC Berkeley. In the case that data collected involves human subjects, the IRB will need to review the project, and the use of REDCap @ UC Berkeley should be noted in the IRB protocol. If requiring IRB, researchers may create a project in REDCap prior to receiving IRB approval. However, before the project moves to Production (i.e., actively collecting data), IRB approval must be received.
Q: For how long can I keep my data stored in REDCap?¶
A: REDCap @ UC Berkeley should not be considered a long term storage option for research projects. Once data collection is complete for a given project, the expectation is that data gathered will be exported out of REDCap and the project will be put into “archive” status. The REDCap @ UC Berkeley team can assist researchers with exporting as well as determining appropriately secure long(er) term storage solutions depending on the sensitivity of the data.
More FAQs can be found on the official REDCap documentation.
If you have issues or questions related to REDCap that are not answered, please reach out to the REDCap Support team at redcap@berkeley.edu.