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Basic Data Entry

Basic Data Entry

Article ID RC-DE-02 — Basic Data Entry
Domain Data Entry
Applies To All REDCap project types
Prerequisite RC-DE-01 — Record Creation & the Record Home Page
Version 1.0
Last Updated 2025
Author See KB-SOURCE-ATTESTATION.md
Related Topics RC-DE-01 — Record Creation & the Record Home Page; RC-DE-04 — Editing Data & Audit Trail; RC-NAV-REC-01 — Record Navigation Overview

1. Overview

This article covers the mechanics of entering data into a REDCap instrument. It explains the field types you will encounter, how required fields and branching logic work, how to set form status, and all available save options. Understanding these mechanics is required before entering any data in REDCap.

2. Key Concepts & Definitions

Instrument (Form)

A structured data-entry page within a REDCap project. Each instrument contains one or more fields (variables). Instruments are opened by clicking a status dot on the Record Home Page or Record Status Dashboard.

Field (Variable)

A single data-entry element within an instrument. Each field has a type that determines how data is entered and validated. Field names (variable names) are how REDCap identifies data internally and in exports.

Form Status

A mandatory dropdown field at the bottom of every REDCap instrument, labeled 'Complete?'. Its value determines the color of the instrument's status dot. Setting form status is optional for the study team but strongly recommended for tracking instrument completion.

Required Field

A field marked with a red asterisk (*) that the project designer has designated as required. REDCap displays a warning if you attempt to save an instrument with a required field left empty, but the warning can be dismissed — required fields are a soft constraint for regular users.

Branching Logic

A project-level configuration that conditionally shows or hides fields based on the values of other fields. Branching logic is invisible to the user — fields simply appear or disappear as data is entered.

Save Options

REDCap does not auto-save. Data is only committed to the database when the user explicitly saves the form using one of the save buttons at the bottom of every instrument.

3. Field Types

REDCap fields fall into two broad categories: structured (constrained input) and unstructured (free text).

3.1 Structured Field Types

Structured fields restrict input to a defined set of options or a validated format. They reduce entry errors and improve data consistency.

Field Type How It Works
Radio button Select exactly one option from a visible list. Cannot be deselected once chosen — use the reset button if available.
Dropdown Select exactly one option from a collapsed list. More compact than radio buttons for long option lists.
Checkbox Select one or more options independently. Each checkbox is stored as a separate yes/no variable in the dataset.
Slider Drag a handle along a scale to select a numeric value. Commonly used for visual analog scales (e.g., pain scores).
File upload Attach a file (PDF, image, etc.) to the record. One file per field per instance.
Signature Capture a drawn signature in the browser. Stored as an image file.

3.2 Unstructured Field Types

Unstructured fields accept free-text input. They can be configured with optional validation to enforce a format without restricting the user to a predefined list.

Field Type How It Works
Text box Single-line free-text entry. Can have validation applied (see below).
Notes box Multi-line free-text entry. No validation options. Used for comments, narratives, or open-ended responses.

Text Box Validation Types

A text box can be configured with a validation rule that restricts accepted input to a specific format. REDCap enforces the format on save and shows an error if the value does not match. Note: format enforcement is a hard stop, but min/max range constraints are soft by default — REDCap warns the user but allows out-of-range values to be saved. Add the @FORCE-MINMAX action tag to make a range constraint a hard stop.

Validation Type What It Enforces
Date (various formats) Requires a valid date. Available in multiple regional formats (MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, etc.).
Time Requires a valid time value (HH:MM).
Number Requires a numeric value. Optionally accepts a min/max range — soft warning by default; use @FORCE-MINMAX to enforce.
Integer Requires a whole number (no decimals).
Email Requires a valid email address format.
Phone number Requires a phone number format (format varies by configuration).
Zipcode Requires a US ZIP code format.

4. Required Fields

A required field is marked with a red asterisk (*) next to the field label. If you attempt to save the instrument while a required field is empty, REDCap displays a warning listing the empty required fields.

Important: Required fields are a soft constraint for regular users. The save warning can be dismissed and the form saved anyway with the required field empty. If your study protocol requires these fields to be filled, enforce compliance through team training and data quality checks — not solely through REDCap's required-field mechanism.

5. Branching Logic

Branching logic allows the project designer to conditionally show or hide fields based on the current values of other fields in the same instrument (or in some configurations, other instruments).

  • Fields hidden by branching logic do not appear on the form and their values are cleared automatically when the logic hides them.

  • Fields revealed by branching logic appear dynamically as you enter data — no page reload required.

  • Example: a 'Are you pregnant?' question may be hidden when 'Male' is selected in a Sex field. The field reappears if the answer changes.

  • You cannot manually override branching logic during data entry. If a field you expect to see is not visible, it means the logic condition has not been met based on current values.

Troubleshooting: If a field seems to be missing from an instrument, check whether branching logic may be hiding it before reporting it as a bug. Changing an earlier field value may reveal it.

6. Form Status

Every instrument has a Form Status dropdown at the bottom, labeled 'Complete?'. This field controls the color of the instrument's status dot in the Record Home Page and Record Status Dashboard.

Form Status Value Dot Color Meaning & Who Sets It
(no data saved) Grey No data has been entered. Default state. Set automatically by REDCap.
Incomplete Red Data has been saved but status has not been updated. Default for any saved form. Set automatically by REDCap.
Unverified Yellow Data entry complete but not yet verified. Set manually by the study team.
Complete Green Data entry verified and complete. Set manually by the study team.

  • Only grey and red are enforced automatically by REDCap. Yellow and green must be set manually.

  • Using yellow and green is optional, but strongly recommended for projects with many instruments — it makes it easy to distinguish instruments that have been reviewed from those that have only been partially filled.

  • Survey completions have their own status dots (orange checkmark = partial survey, green checkmark = completed survey). These are set automatically and are separate from the manual form status described here.

7. Saving Data

Critical: REDCap does not auto-save. If you close the browser tab, navigate away, or click Cancel without saving, all unsaved data on the current form is lost.

Every instrument has the following core save options at the bottom of the page:

Save Option What Happens After Saving
Save and Exit Form Saves the form and returns you to the Record Home Page for that record.
Save and Stay Saves the form and remains on the current instrument. Use when making multiple edits or reviewing your entry.
Save and Exit Record Saves the form and returns you to the Add/Edit Records page. Use when you are done with this record entirely.
Save and Go to Next Record Saves the form and opens the same instrument in the next record (by Record ID order). Use for batch data entry across multiple records.

Note: These core options are available in all instruments. Additional save options appear in specific contexts — for surveys (Save & Mark Survey as Complete) and for repeating instruments (Save & Go To Next Instance, Save & Add New Instance). See RC-DE-11 — Instrument Save Options for the complete reference.

Warning: Clicking Cancel on an instrument discards all unsaved changes on that form and returns you to the Record Home Page. There is no undo.

8. Common Questions

Q: A required field has a red asterisk but I need to save the form without filling it in. Can I?

A: Yes. The required field warning is a soft prompt. You can dismiss the warning and save the form anyway. REDCap will not block the save. However, your study's data quality rules may flag this for follow-up.

Q: A field I expected to see on the form is not there. What happened?

A: The field is likely hidden by branching logic. Check whether an earlier field that controls the logic has been filled in correctly. The hidden field will appear once the branching condition is met.

Q: What is the difference between the grey dot and the red dot?

A: Grey means no data has been saved to that instrument at all. Red means data has been saved but the Form Status dropdown is still set to 'Incomplete' (the default). A single saved value is enough to turn a grey dot red.

Q: Do I have to set the form status to 'Complete' after every entry?

A: No. It is optional. However, using yellow and green statuses makes it much easier to track which records have been reviewed versus just entered, especially in large projects with many instruments.

Q: What does 'Save and Go to Next Record' do if I am on the last record?

A: If there is no next record, REDCap will not navigate further. It behaves like 'Save and Stay' and you remain on the current form.

Q: Can I enter data in checkboxes by selecting multiple options?

A: Yes. Checkboxes allow any number of options to be selected independently. Each checkbox option is stored as a separate yes/no binary variable in the dataset export.

Q: What happens to a field hidden by branching logic — is the data deleted?

A: Yes. When branching logic hides a field, REDCap clears and deletes any value previously stored in that field. This is by design. If the field becomes visible again (because the controlling value changed back), it starts empty.

9. Common Mistakes & Gotchas

  • Losing data by closing the browser: REDCap does not auto-save. Always use one of the save buttons before navigating away.

  • Ignoring required field warnings: dismissing the warning is allowed, but doing so repeatedly without filling the field will cause data quality issues. Build a habit of completing required fields before saving.

  • Not setting form status: teams that skip the yellow/green status on complex projects quickly lose track of which forms have been reviewed versus just filled in. Decide on a form status convention before data collection begins.

  • Confusing grey and red: grey = zero data saved; red = some data saved but status not updated. Both are coded as 0 in the dataset but have different visual meanings.

  • Selecting 'Save and Exit Record' when you meant 'Save and Exit Form': these take you to different places. 'Save and Exit Form' returns to the Record Home Page; 'Save and Exit Record' returns to the Add/Edit Records page.

  • Assuming a hidden field is a bug: if a field is not visible, check branching logic before reporting a problem. It may be intentionally hidden based on another field's value.

API Access

Note: The following REDCap API methods provide programmatic access to this functionality. API usage is an advanced feature that requires knowledge of computer programming or access to a developer resource. See RC-API-01 — REDCap API for authentication, token management, and setup.