The module includes two action-tags: @MAKE-A-LIST AND @ADHOCFIELD. Both provide the functionality of adding additional fields on-the-fly, but the former does it for bio portal fields, and the latter for drop down menu fields. Use this module to create list of bio portal field values. See below for more details.
Also, the module provides means for adding ad hoc fields in case the user must include multiple answers for the same question. The functionality is an homage to Oracle's Flex Field functionality. Currently, the ad hoc field is limited to collect data when an option of 'Other' has been selected in a multiple choice field (dropdown field).
@MAKE-A-LIST(type, field)where:
- type = "bioportal"
- field = field-name-set-to-bioportal-field
- example: @MAKE-A-LIST(bioportal, bioportal_field)
It is a common practice to have a dropdown field containing an option for "Other" for allowing the participant to manually enter an answer, in a text box field, if the prebuilt answers do not apply to them. It is this the setup needed for using an ad hoc Field, i.e. if the user is expected to provide more than one answer to "other", adding the ad hoc action tag transforms the "other text field" in a field that can be repeated and added on-demand. Here's the expected syntax needed for adding an ad hoc action tag:
@ADHOCFIELD(source-field,code-value,max-instances)where:
- 'source-field' is the multiple choice field name that contains an option for 'other' (or its equivalent),
- 'code-value' is the code given to the field's option of 'other' (can be a string or numeric), and
- 'max-instances' is the limit of additional entries the user is allowed to use.
type = "bioportal" or "other" for "bioportal": @MAKE-A-LIST(bioportal, bioportal-field)
The data in every instance of the ad hoc field is saved, in a pipe-delimited format, in the text field in which the ad hoc action tag was added. In this way, the saved data can be retrieved through a standard REDCap Report.
Ed Morales (Mass General Brigham)
Project is currently on Production and waiting for enhancements.
Please note that the module is a proof of concept of a REDCap Flex Field, as described by the references above. That is, the following set of enhancement are known issues that have been prioritized by users in the community. If there are more enhancements/issues you've identified, feel free to report them in the REDCap Community or file an issue in the module's GitHub repository.
- incorporate the BioPortal field functionality into the ad hoc module
- provide support for several ad hoc fields per page
Please note that if you download this module from GitHub you must:
- download the latest release
- the release is a zip file that includes the folder of the module
- you must rename this folder so it conforms to the External Module Framework expectations. You must replace the dashes with underscores, and prepend the version number with a "v". Here's an example of how this looks like:
- Downloaded from GitHub: mgb-additional-other-2.3.1
- Rename it to: mgb_additional_other_v2.3.1
- Finally, place the renamed folder in your REDCap's modules folder. Keep in mind that it is best to enable modules in a test environment first.