Figure 1 provides a schematic representation of the workflow methodology for building a REDCap database for an individual study. The process begins with a request from the research team to the Informatics Core (IC) for database services. A meeting is scheduled between the research team and an IC representative for a formal REDCap demonstration. Key program features (intuitive user interface, data security model, distributed work environment, data validation procedures, statistical package-ready export features, and audit trail logging) are stressed during the initial meeting in addition to providing project-specific data collection strategy consultation. Researchers are given a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file providing detailed instructions for completing required metadata information (ex. field name, end-user label, data type, data range, etc) about each measurement in each case report form. They are asked to spend time over the next several days working with the spreadsheet template to define data elements for their specific project, and then return the worksheet to the IC via electronic mail. The returned worksheet is used to build and populate the study-specific database tables feeding a working web-based electronic data
