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Write/Import records to a REDCap project

Source: R/redcap-write.R
redcap_write.Rd

This function uses REDCap's APIs to select and return data.

Usage

redcap_write(
  ds_to_write,
  batch_size = 100L,
  interbatch_delay = 0.5,
  continue_on_error = FALSE,
  redcap_uri,
  token,
  overwrite_with_blanks = TRUE,
  convert_logical_to_integer = FALSE,
  verbose = TRUE,
  config_options = NULL,
  handle_httr = NULL
)

Arguments

ds_to_write

The base::data.frame() or tibble::tibble() to be imported into the REDCap project. Required.

batch_size

The maximum number of subject records a single batch should contain. The default is 100.

interbatch_delay

The number of seconds the function will wait before requesting a new subset from REDCap. The default is 0.5 seconds.

continue_on_error

If an error occurs while writing, should records in subsequent batches be attempted. The default is FALSE, which prevents subsequent batches from running. Required.

redcap_uri

The uri/url of the REDCap server typically formatted as "https://server.org/apps/redcap/api/". Required.

token

The user-specific string that serves as the password for a project. Required.

overwrite_with_blanks

A boolean value indicating if blank/NA values in the R data frame will overwrite data on the server. This is the default behavior for REDCapR, which essentially deletes the cell's value If FALSE, blank/NA values in the data.frame will be ignored. Optional.

convert_logical_to_integer

If TRUE, all base::logical columns in ds are cast to an integer before uploading to REDCap. Boolean values are typically represented as 0/1 in REDCap radio buttons. Optional.

verbose

A boolean value indicating if messages should be printed to the R console during the operation. The verbose output might contain sensitive information (e.g. PHI), so turn this off if the output might be visible somewhere public. Optional.

config_options

A list of options passed to httr::POST(). See details at httr::httr_options(). Optional.

handle_httr

The value passed to the handle parameter of httr::POST(). This is useful for only unconventional authentication approaches. It should be NULL for most institutions. Optional.

Value

Currently, a list is returned with the following elements:

  • success: A boolean value indicating if the operation was apparently successful.

  • status_code: The http status code of the operation.

  • outcome_message: A human readable string indicating the operation's outcome.

  • records_affected_count: The number of records inserted or updated.

  • affected_ids: The subject IDs of the inserted or updated records.

  • elapsed_seconds: The duration of the function.

Details

Currently, the function doesn't modify any variable types to conform to REDCap's supported variables. See validate_for_write() for a helper function that checks for some common important conflicts.

For redcap_write to function properly, the user must have Export permissions for the 'Full Data Set'. Users with only 'De-Identified' export privileges can still use redcap_write_oneshot(). To grant the appropriate permissions:

  • go to 'User Rights' in the REDCap project site,

  • select the desired user, and then select 'Edit User Privileges',

  • in the 'Data Exports' radio buttons, select 'Full Data Set'.

References

The official documentation can be found on the 'API Help Page' and 'API Examples' pages on the REDCap wiki (i.e., https://community.projectredcap.org/articles/456/api-documentation.html and https://community.projectredcap.org/articles/462/api-examples.html). If you do not have an account for the wiki, please ask your campus REDCap administrator to send you the static material.

Author

Will Beasley

Examples

if (FALSE) {
# Define some constants
uri           <- "https://redcap-dev-2.ouhsc.edu/redcap/api/"
token         <- "F9CBFFF78C3D78F641BAE9623F6B7E6A" # simple-write

# Read the dataset for the first time.
result_read1  <- REDCapR::redcap_read_oneshot(redcap_uri=uri, token=token)
ds1           <- result_read1$data
ds1$telephone

# Manipulate a field in the dataset in a VALID way
ds1$telephone <- paste0("(405) 321-000", seq_len(nrow(ds1)))

ds1 <- ds1[1:3, ]
ds1$age       <- NULL; ds1$bmi <- NULL # Drop the calculated fields before writing.
result_write  <- REDCapR::redcap_write(ds1, redcap_uri=uri, token=token)

# Read the dataset for the second time.
result_read2  <- REDCapR::redcap_read_oneshot(redcap_uri=uri, token=token)
ds2           <- result_read2$data
ds2$telephone

# Manipulate a field in the dataset in an INVALID way.  A US exchange can't be '111'.
ds1$telephone <- paste0("(405) 321-000", seq_len(nrow(ds1)))

# This next line will throw an error.
result_write <- REDCapR::redcap_write(ds1, redcap_uri=uri, token=token)
result_write$raw_text
}