Use REDCap-ETL to transform and move data from IU REDCap to another service
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Overview
REDCap-ETL (REDCap Extract, Transform, Load) extracts data from REDCap, transforms it into a relational format, and loads that data to a relational database or, if run as standalone software, to an SQLite file or a series of CSV files. REDCap-ETL can be run within IU REDCap or as standalone software.
If the IU REDCap project data you are accessing contain protected health information (PHI), you must treat the data as PHI, which means files must be encrypted when they are stored (at rest) and when they are transferred from one system to another (in transit). For more, see:
- Recommended tools for encrypting data containing HIPAA-regulated PHI
- Your legal responsibilities for protecting data containing protected health information (PHI) when using UITS Research Technologies systems and services
If you have questions about securing HIPAA-regulated research data at IU, email securemyresearch@iu.edu. SecureMyResearch provides self-service resources and one-on-one consulting to help IU researchers, faculty, and staff meet cybersecurity and compliance requirements for processing, storing, and sharing regulated and unregulated research data; for more, see About SecureMyResearch. To learn more about properly ensuring the safe handling of PHI on UITS systems, see the UITS IT Training video Securing HIPAA Workflows on UITS Systems. To learn about division of responsibilities for securing PHI, see Shared responsibility model for securing PHI on UITS systems.
Run REDCap-ETL within IU REDCap
A REDCap-ETL interface is available within IU REDCap as an external module. The REDCap-ETL external module provides a graphical interface for configuring REDCap-ETL, enables REDCap-ETL to be scheduled, and can generate at the press of a button the transformation rules needed by REDCap-ETL to define how to transform REDCap data into a relational format.
The REDCap-ETL external module allows data to be loaded into relational databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server, and to be downloaded interactively as a set of CSV files. When downloading CSV files, the REDCap-ETL external module cannot be scheduled.
For more about the REDCap-ETL external module, see REDCap-ETL External Module.
Run REDCap-ETL as standalone software
REDCap-ETL can be run as standalone software. Doing so requires a server to host REDCap-ETL. The REDCap-ETL configuration, including the transformation rules that define how to transform REDCap data into a relational format, must be manually created. Automating REDCap-ETL as standalone software requires using your server's scheduling functionality.
The standalone version of REDCap-ETL allows data to be loaded into relational databases and to files in SQLite or CSV format.
For more about running REDCap-ETL as a standalone application outside of REDCap, see REDCap-ETL.
Get started
- Fill out and submit the IU REDCap -- API Token Pre-Approval Request form.
- When your pre-approval request is accepted, go to the IU REDCap project for which you are requesting the API token; in the left column, select , and then select .
This is document bhch in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2023-08-16 13:09:12.