REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure web application designed to support online and offline data capture for research studies.
Rick Jaffe, who co-leads the REDCap service at Berkeley, describes it as a tool that allows researchers to collect and manage structured research data through surveys and forms. Originally developed at Vanderbilt University, REDCap has been adopted for its security features and flexibility, particularly in the domains of public health, psychology, and social welfare. Joleen Locanas, who recently joined as the REDCap Service Lead, is focused on expanding its reach and improving user support to ensure researchers can fully utilize its capabilities.
Researchers turn to REDCap for its ability to streamline data collection, enhance collaboration, and securely store sensitive information. Unlike generic survey tools, REDCap is built with research in mind, supporting longitudinal data tracking, mobile offline data entry, and granular access controls. These features make it ideal for studies requiring high security, such as medical and social science research projects.
REDCap services a wide range of researchers across UC Berkeley, including those in public health, psychology, social welfare, optometry, and environmental science. Projects range from neuropsychology studies to bacteria research in rural California.
One particularly compelling project utilizing REDCap was a telehealth initiative in Tanzania, connecting city-based doctors with rural pharmacies to improve access to reproductive healthcare. Another impactful use case was during COVID-19 pandemic, where women firefighters used REDCap to track smoke exposure and assess its effects on their health while battling wildfires. The ability to collect data securely and efficiently in challenging conditions underscores REDCap’s versatility and importance in field research.
One Public Health researcher involved in reproductive health studies in Rwanda shared, “REDCap was essential in ensuring data security and accessibility for our study participants, particularly in sensitive health research.” Another Environmental Health Sciences researcher conducting fieldwork during COVID-19 remarked, “We were able to run an entire research study when field travel was shut down. Without REDCap, this wouldn’t have been possible.”
REDCap is widely used across the University of California system, including UC Irvine, UCLA, UCSF, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC Merced, and UC San Diego. Many of these campuses collaborate to exchange best practices and maximize the tool’s impact on research.
Any UC Berkeley researcher with a CalNet ID can log in to REDCap atredcap.berkeley.edu to request a project. For those new to the platform, the Research IT team provides guidance through office hours, documentation, and direct support via email.
The need for REDCap as a research platform was expressed by campus researchers to enable secure data collection. In support of these data collection needs, the Research Data Management (RDM) Program led the development of the REDCap service model at UC Berkeley alongside partners in Research, Teaching, and Learning. As a partnership with Research IT and the Library, the RDM Program supports researchers in managing data throughout the research process.
This year, the RDM Program celebrates its 10 year anniversary and this blog post is the first in a series that will focus on support offered by the RDM Program as well as services and/or technologies provided by Research IT and the Library to enable research at UC Berkeley. To learn more about the RDM Program, its mission, and areas of support, visit https://researchdata.berkeley.edu or email researchdata@berkeley.edu