Ecological Momentary Assessment with REDCap: Methods, Feasibility, and User Behaviour in a Parent and Child Study

Abstract

Background: Intensive longitudinal data collection, including ecological momentary assessment (EMA), has the potential to reduce recall biases and increase our understanding of dynamic associations between variables. Cost and privacy concerns represent barriers that may limit the use of EMA. Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), a freely available online survey application, may allow researchers to overcome these barriers; however, at present, little guidance is available to researchers regarding the setup of EMA in REDCap. Objective: We provide guidance regarding EMA setup and programming in REDCap, along with information on survey completion and user behaviour in a sample of parents and children.Methods: Participants were 66 parents and their children (ages 9-13 years) recruited from an existing longitudinal cohort study to participate in a study on risk and protective factors for children’s mental health. Participants received twice daily survey prompts (morning and evening) by email or text message for 14 days. Results: Completion rates were good (M = 82%) and significantly higher on weekdays than weekends and in dyads with girls than dyads with boys. The number of assessments submitted was significantly higher, and response times significantly faster, among participants who selected text message survey notifications compared to email survey notifications. The use of reminder messages increased survey completion. Conclusions: Our results support the feasibility of using REDCap for EMA studies with parents and children. Offering the option of text message survey notifications and reminders may be important ways to increase completion rates and timeliness of responses. REDCap is a potentially useful tool for researchers wishing to implement EMA in settings in which cost and/or privacy are current barriers.