Classic Project
A classic project is one which the instruments in the project is used only once and does not need to be repeated at any time point during the study. Typically, there will only be a single data collection event during the study. This is the default project setting when a new project is created with REDCap.
Classic Project Training Video by Vanderbilt University
Longitudinal Project
A longitudinal project is one which some of the instruments in the project are used more than once. Typically, there will be multiple time points which data collection will occur during the study. There are basically 3 longitudinal components that makes up a longitudinal project. They are
- Arms – Each arm consists of 1 or more events. E.g. Study, Control
- Events – Each event is a single time point in a study. E.g. Visit 1, Visit 2
- Designated Instruments for events – Each event consists of 1 or more instruments being designated to it.
Longitudinal Project Training Video by Vanderbilt University
Setting up longitudinal project
Enabling longitudinal project setting
Go to ‘Project Setup’ tab and enable ‘Use longitudinal data collection with defined events’.
Setting up events for each arm
Click on ‘Define My Events’ button under Define your events and designate instruments for them.
Once the Define My Events tab opens up, setup the events as indicated below
- Enter a new event name in the textbox indicated by #1 red circle.
- Click the ‘Add new event’ button in the #2 red circle.
- To edit an event name, click the pen icon in the #3 red circle.
- Note that to reference a variable in a longitudinal project, you will need to include the unique event name as indicated with #4 red circle. E.g. [event_1_arm_1][dob]
Longitudinal Project – Events Training Video by Vanderbilt University
Designate instruments to events
Click on ‘Designate instruments for My Events’ button under Define your events and designate instruments for them.
Once the designate instruments for my events tab opens, click on ‘Begin Editing’ to enable the instrument designation checkboxes.
Check off the appropriate instruments for each event and click ‘Save’ to designate them to the events.
Longitudinal Project – Designating Instruments Training Video by Vanderbilt University