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REDCapSync

Several R packages exist for using the REDCap Application Program Interface (API) such as, REDCapR, redcapAPI, and tidyREDCap. However, there is no “get-everything-from-REDCap” R package that can produce a standardized R6 object for any REDCap project. REDCapSync streamlines comprehensive extraction. When a sync is performed REDCapSync uses the REDCap log to only update data that has changed since the last API call. The final project-agnostic object facilitates further pipelining for deidenification, deriving additional variables, linked excel sheets, and exploratory data analysis with RosyREDCap.

What is {REDCapSync}?

Using a cache of previous saves, a file directory, and the REDCap log, {REDCapSync} updates only the data that has been changed since the last API call. Each project becomes a standardized R6 object that can be used for the best that R has to offer via statistics, visualization, shiny apps, and more! REDCapSync unleashes the full power of the REDCap API even for the basic R user.

The aims of REDCapSync are to…

  1. Encapsulate the REDCap API into one R6 object to streamline use.
  2. Automate common tasks such as cleaning, deidentification and merges.
  3. Automate distrubution of user-defined Excel datasets to local/cloud storage for one or many REDCap projects.
  4. Convert uncoded REDCap data from R or Excel for upload using REDCap API.
  5. Power the companion shiny app RosyREDCap

By leveraging the combined strengths of R and REDCap, users can maintain strong data pipelines that include statistics, visuals, and even shiny applications!

Installation

The stable release can be found on CRAN (PENDING SUBMISSION) and installed with:

#install.packages("REDCapSync") #PLACEHOLDER NOT SUBMITTED TO CRAN YET

Devopment Version

You can install the development version of REDCapSync from GitHub by using the pak package.

# install.packages("pak")
pak::pak("thecodingdocs/REDCapSync")
# or try remotes install.packages("remotes")
remotes::install_github("thecodingdocs/REDCapSync")

Windows users may need to install RTools version 4.5 to use pak. If you have any issues, try downloading the most recent version of R at RStudio and update all packages in RStudio. See thecodingdocs.com/r/getting-started.

Getting Started!

Getting started is as simple as 1.) setting your tokens, 2.) setting up a project, and 3.) running project$sync(). See Getting Started page for the basics!

Minimum Requirements

  • R (and RStudio) installed on your computer or server.
  • Access to at least one REDCap project (real or test) with API Token privileges according to user rights.
  • Ideally, you should have User Permissions to logging in order to use the package effeciently
  • Appropriate permission to export and analyze data for projects for which you have a token.
  • Basic R knowledge such as installing a package and running code.
  • Thoughtful attention to how and where data you create is used and stored.

Disclaimers

  • With great power comes great responsibility! The REDCap API has the with ability to read and write sensitive data. The API token holder is ultimately responsible for their activity and security.
  • Always confirm that you have the appropriate permission to use and store data.
  • REDCap is maintained by Vanderbilt University and is not responsible for testing, developing, or maintaining this software.
  • This package is still in development and is subject to changes, especially pre-CRAN submission.

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