Should I use a Grid or a Repeated measure?

Grid fields:

The Grid fields are used to group closely related data and display it as a table in an eCRF. A grid can contain as many rows and columns as you like. The fields can be set as text, number, dropdown or date fields. Here is an example of a grid field as seen in the study forms:

It is not possible to add a validation to each field, to make it as a required field or adjust the column or row size. That means that, if you have too many rows or columns, the users will need to scroll left/right and up/down to be able to fill in the whole grid. After the data has been collected in a grid field, it is not possible to change the number of rows or columns, nor the selected field types. In this case, it is advised to consider using the Repeated Measure field instead.

Use the grid fields if:

• It is known in advance how many measurements (rows) should be added
• You need to add text, number, dropdown or date fields
• It is not necessary to perform data validation on each field in a grid field
• If you would like to track changes in the audit trail per entire grid, not individual fields
• You would like to collect data in a table format in a survey. Here is an example of a grid field as seen in a survey:

Since it is possible to add as many measurements as necessary, the Repeated measure field should be used to collect repetitive data such as blood pressure, medication history, lab measurements etc. 

Each measurement will be created in the form of a new report and will appear in the Reports tab.

Use the repeated measure fields if:

• You would like to collect repetitive data in study or report forms
• It is not known in advance how many measurements (rows) should be added
• The measurements may vary per record (subject)
• You would like to use different field types (not only text field, number, date and dropdown)
• Data validation needs to be performed on each field
• If you anticipate any changes in the study forms and would like to add new variables at a later stage
• If you would like to track changes in the audit trail per field
• If you want the results in a separate CSV file with only the results of the repeated measure

Here you can read more about the different types of reports in Castor.