REDCap Access Guide

Who can use REDCap, and what projects can it be used for?

The Stony Brook Medicine REDCap system can be used for data collection projects led by SBU that are fully compliant with applicable regulations and our software license agreement with Vanderbilt University. Generally, these include research and quality improvement (QA/QI) projects officially sanctioned by a Stony Brook administrative body such as the IRB or the Office of the CQO.

For further guidance on compliance requirements for your project, please reach out to the REDCap Support Team (email), the SBU Office of Research Compliance, and the HIPAA Privacy Office (email).

How do I obtain access?

Access to REDCap is tied to your Stony Brook Medicine (UHMC) domain account. To get started, log in at https://redcap.stonybrookmedicine.edu with your UHMC credentials, and register with your name and email. Once you are registered, your collaborators will be able to grant you access to their projects.

To check if you have an active UHMC account, or to verify the UHMC username you would use to log in, give the SBM Help Desk a call at (631) 444-HELP [4357].

If this is your first time accessing REDCap, refer to your campus affiliation below.

Stony Brook Medicine (hospital side)

If you are based at Stony Brook Medicine (SBM) and know your UHMC credentials, you may log in to REDCap here. To verify your UHMC username or set up your account password, contact the Help Desk at 631-444-HELP.

If you have an SBM Outlook account, you should also have an associated UHMC login. If you do not yet have a UHMC or Outlook account, these accounts can be requested by a member of your department (for example, a manager or administrator) with access to the SBM Computer Account Request Form.

Stony Brook University (non-hospital side)

If you are based at Main Campus and you are unaffiliated with Stony Brook Medicine, please verify your account status with the SBM Help Desk before requesting an account:

1. Step one: confirm your account status. Call the East Campus Help Desk at (631) 444-HELP [4357] to confirm whether a UHMC account has been provisioned to you, and whether your account is still active. If so, log in with your credentials at https://redcap.stonybrookmedicine.edu to get started. If you do not have an account issued to you, go to step two. (If you have an active account but still can't log in, you may also need to reset your password with the Help Desk.)
2. Step two: request an account. If you do not (yet) have an active account, request access based on your faculty advisor or sponsor's campus affiliation:

   Your advisor or sponsor is at a Stony Brook Medicine department

   Your faculty advisor's department at SBM will need to put in an account request for you as part of your onboarding. (UHMC accounts are not specific to REDCap and give access to other East Campus resources.)

   Next step: contact your advisor or a department administrator.

   Your advisor or sponsor is only at Main Campus department(s)

   Main Campus teams can request an SBM domain account through any SBM collaborators they work with (who can then serve as the account sponsor for renewals), or by writing to the SBM REDCap team from an institutional email address.

   In the request email, be sure to:

   • state the name of your project, your role or title, and your faculty advisor or sponsor,
   • copy (CC) your study P.I. or faculty advisor/sponsor's official SBU email address,
   • include your nine-digit SBU ID.

   To manage account requests for members of a research group, a West Campus lab manager may submit a bulk request for new members needing accounts. This is usually done at the start of every semester. Be sure to list each person's name and nine-digit SBU ID, and CC the study P.I.

   Please note: all users requesting access must have active HR status. See active status below.

3. Step three: accept your account and log in. When your account is ready, you will receive a message from the accounts team ("Your Computer Account Request.. Is Ready"). To set up your account:
   • read and accept the enclosed User Agreement (save the last page for your records),
   • call the East Campus Help Desk at (631) 444-HELP [4357], ask to set up a "permanent" or "long-term" password for your UHMC account, and confirm your account username,
   • log in to activate your REDCap account,
   • let your collaborator(s) know you are ready to be added to their project(s).

   Please note: your UHMC account is hosted in a different system (domain) from your NetID account. Your NetID credentials will not work with REDCap.

External collaborators

To onboard an outside collaborator, a study team may sponsor the collaborator for an affiliate SBM computer (UHMC) account. The study must already be cleared by the SBU IRB and the HIPAA Privacy Office for the type of collaboration and data sharing being sought, and the collaborators must be listed on the approved IRB protocol and/or a fully executed DUA.

The corresponding project in REDCap should also be moved to production (meeting all documentation requirements) before collecting "real" study data. The activities of outside collaborators in REDCap are the responsibility of the SBU investigator.

To begin, the study team will need to:

1. work with the collaborator to complete the SBMIT External Vendor Form (PDF),
2. submit it electronically through the TDX ticketing system (the "SecureLink" option) to have the collaborator entered, or updated, in SBU's system of record, and
3. work with an administrator or manager in your department to place a UHMC account request through the SBM Computer Account Request form.

Once the account requestor receives an account provisioning email from the ID team ("Your Computer Account Request.. Is Ready"; be sure to check the spam folder), the requestor should send the user (i) the email alert, (ii) the user's new nine-digit ID, and (iii) the directions to log in to REDCap. The requestor should also ask the REDCap administrators to allow the collaborator's institutional email domain so the collaborator can set up their REDCap account.

If needed, the REDCap support team can also act as the go-between for these requests. The study or project coordinator should write to the REDCap support team from an organizational email account, describing the project and the collaborators who need access. Please include each collaborator's role, whether the project will capture any protected health information (PHI), and whether the external collaborator(s) are listed on the study's approved IRB protocol.

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When will my access expire?

In most cases, you will lose access to REDCap when your SBM account or login password has expired.

Password expiration

Your account password expires every 180 days (six months), per SBM policy. When your password expires, you will be locked out of REDCap until it is reset. You may also be locked out for up to 30 minutes when the system detects too many incorrect login attempts with your username. To reset your password or unlock your account, see the password reset instructions in the next section.

Account deactivation

Your account's deactivation schedule depends on your affiliation:

• Main Campus student accounts usually deactivate on the last day of the semester.
• East Campus (SBM) student accounts deactivate on the anticipated end date of your program.
• Faculty and staff accounts deactivate on the date of termination.
• External collaborator and volunteer accounts deactivate on the earlier of (A) the anniversary of your last account renewal and (B) the end date of your appointment.

Your account may also deactivate because of:

• no account activity (for instance, if you haven't logged in for more than 180 days, or six months), or
• a violation of the SBM Computer Account terms of use (for instance, if your credentials are found to be compromised, or suspicious activity is detected on your account).

To check on the status of your account, contact the SBM Help Desk at (631) 444-HELP [4357].

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I can no longer log in. How do I restore my access?

There may be several reasons for losing access:

• your account password has expired and needs to be reset,
• you have entered an incorrect username or password,
• your account is no longer active, or
• you are not visiting the Stony Brook Medicine instance of REDCap.

To confirm the issue with your UHMC account, call the SBM Help Desk at (631) 444-HELP [4357]. (For more, see When will my access expire?)

Password reset

If (a) your password has expired, (b) you no longer remember your password, or (c) you are locked out after too many incorrect login attempts, the SBM Help Desk can restore your access by reactivating your UHMC account. You can reach the Help Desk at (631) 444-HELP [4357].

Be sure to ask for a "permanent" or "long-term" UHMC account password (rather than a temporary one that expires on first use), because REDCap does not support logging in with temporary Windows credentials.

Once your password is reset or your account is unlocked, and your account is otherwise in good standing, your access to REDCap (and other applications on the SBM network) should be restored.

If you have an SBM Outlook inbox or have set up your security questions, you can also reset your password more conveniently with self-service password reset.

Account renewal

If your account is no longer active:

First, confirm that you still have active status with the University. If you are...

• ...an external collaborator, your SBU sponsor must state that you are still active on the research protocol.
• ...faculty, staff, or a volunteer, your HR appointment must be up to date.
• ...a student, you must be enrolled in classes or officially completing your program.
• (If you are a recent graduate staying on as a volunteer, you can get an Official Volunteer appointment with your department to keep your active status and renew your account.)

Next, request the renewal based on your faculty advisor's campus affiliation:

To manage account renewals for members of a research group, a West Campus lab manager may submit a bulk request for members needing renewals. This is usually done at the start of every semester. Be sure to list each person's name and nine-digit SBU ID.

Please note: UHMC accounts can only be extended through the last date of a person's official appointment (or enrollment).

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How do I join (or add someone to) a REDCap project?

For new collaborators

To join a REDCap project, start by logging in to REDCap with your UHMC account credentials. Once you are registered, your collaborators will be able to add you to the project.

For project managers and directors

To add a colleague to your project (assuming they are fully compliant, for example listed on the IRB protocol and CITI trained and certified):

1. Your colleague completes an initial login with their UHMC account credentials to create their REDCap account. (For more on UHMC accounts, see How do I obtain access? above.)
2. If you have sufficient privileges, add your colleague from the User Rights page in the left pane and grant them the appropriate role-based access rights.

For an overview of the User Rights that can be assigned, see the REDCap FAQ item "What are the User Rights that can be granted/restricted?" (REDCap help: User Rights). Beyond the requirements above, we suggest granting "User Rights" access to two or more employee-level users on your project.

Because data is often sensitive, REDCap administrators are unable to step in and add users to a project if it is orphaned when students, residents, fellows, interns, and others leave the team.

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