{"id":4771,"date":"2026-04-08T14:35:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/?page_id=4771"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:38:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:38:18","slug":"redcap-survey-automation-overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/guides-how-tos\/redcap-surveys\/redcap-survey-automation-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"REDCap Survey Automation Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"in-page-tabs\"><ul id=\"menu-redcap\" class=\"menu nav nav-tabs\"><li id=\"menu-item-4437\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/uch-redcap-user-agreement\/\">REDCap User Agreement<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4440\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/redcap-fees\/\">REDCap Fees<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4438\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/redcap-usage\/\">REDCap Usage<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4441\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/redcap-account-request\/\">REDCap Account Request<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4446\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-has-children dropdown\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/redcap-login-issues\/\" class=\"dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\">REDCap Login Issues<b class=\"caret\"><\/b><\/a>\n<ul class=\"dropdown-menu\">\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-4447\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/redcap-login-issues\/uchc\/\">UCH Users<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-4448\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/redcap-login-issues\/uconn-external\/\">UConn &amp; External Users<\/a><\/li><!--.dropdown-->\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4443\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/guides-how-tos\/\">REDCap Guides &amp; How-to<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4920\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/data-management\/\">Data Management<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4449\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-has-children dropdown\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/scheduled-maintenance\/\" class=\"dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\">REDCap Maintenance<b class=\"caret\"><\/b><\/a>\n<ul class=\"dropdown-menu\">\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-4678\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/scheduled-maintenance\/\">REDCap Maintenance<\/a><\/li>\t<li id=\"menu-item-4450\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/scheduled-maintenance\/new-features-improvements\/\">REDCap Upgrade Details<\/a><\/li><!--.dropdown-->\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4442\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/redcap-training\/\">REDCap Training Center<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4451\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/redcap-systems\/\">REDCap Systems<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4453\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/citing-redcap\/\">Citing REDCap<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-4455\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/services\/informatics-core\/redcap\/redcap_news\/\">REDCap News You Can Use<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div id=\"top\" class=\"redcap-survey-automation-overview\" style=\"max-width: 1100px;margin: 0 auto;line-height: 1.7;color: #1f2937\">\n<p style=\"font-size: 1.08em;margin-top: 0\"><strong>Choosing the Right Survey Workflow: Public Link, Participant List, ASI, Survey Queue, and Alerts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>REDCap offers several tools that can automate survey distribution, participant progression, and study notifications. These tools are powerful, but they are often confused because they solve different parts of the workflow. This page is designed to help you quickly determine which tool to use and when.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background: #eff6ff;border-left: 6px solid #2563eb;padding: 14px 16px;margin: 22px 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Core Principle:<\/strong> Before configuring automation, decide whether your primary need is to <strong>share a survey<\/strong>, <strong>send an invitation<\/strong>, <strong>guide participants to the next survey<\/strong>, or <strong>notify someone when data conditions are met<\/strong>.<\/div>\n<div style=\"background: #fff7ed;border-left: 6px solid #ea580c;padding: 14px 16px;margin: 22px 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Important:<\/strong> These tools can work together, but they are not interchangeable. Most setup problems happen when a study team uses the wrong tool for the job.<\/div>\n<div style=\"background: #f0fdf4;border-left: 6px solid #16a34a;padding: 14px 16px;margin: 22px 0;border-radius: 4px\">\n<p><strong>Quick Decision Checklist:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin: 10px 0 0 18px\">\n<li>Use <strong>Public Survey Link<\/strong> when you need one shared link<\/li>\n<li>Use <strong>Participant List<\/strong> when you know who should receive the survey<\/li>\n<li>Use <strong>ASI<\/strong> when survey invitations should be sent automatically<\/li>\n<li>Use <strong>Survey Queue<\/strong> when participants need to move through multiple surveys in sequence<\/li>\n<li>Use <strong>Alerts &amp; Notifications<\/strong> when someone should be notified based on data conditions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"background: #f0f9ff;border: 1px solid #bae6fd;padding: 16px 18px;margin: 24px 0;border-radius: 6px\">\n<h2 style=\"margin-top: 0;font-size: 1.2em\">On this page<\/h2>\n<ul style=\"margin: 0;padding-left: 20px\">\n<li><a href=\"#big-picture\">The Big Picture<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#comparison\">Automation Comparison Table<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#public-vs-participant\">Public Survey vs Participant List<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#queue-vs-asi\">Survey Queue vs ASI<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#alerts-vs-asi\">Alerts vs ASI<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#common-workflows\">Common Workflow Patterns<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#common-mistakes\">Common Mistakes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#which-one\">Which One Should I Use?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"margin: 30px 0;border: 0;border-top: 1px solid #d1d5db\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"big-picture\" style=\"background: #329EB8;color: #ffffff;padding: 12px 16px;border-radius: 6px;margin-bottom: 16px\">The Big Picture<\/h2>\n<p>These REDCap tools serve different purposes:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 20px\">\n<li><strong>Public Survey Link<\/strong> gives you a shared survey URL<\/li>\n<li><strong>Participant List<\/strong> gives you one-time participant-specific invitation links<\/li>\n<li><strong>Automated Survey Invitations (ASI)<\/strong> schedule and send survey invitations automatically<\/li>\n<li><strong>Survey Queue<\/strong> controls what survey a participant sees next<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alerts &amp; Notifications<\/strong> send automated messages when defined conditions are met<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"background: #eff6ff;border-left: 6px solid #2563eb;padding: 14px 16px;margin: 20px 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Simple framework:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>How do I share the survey?<\/strong> \u2192 Public Survey Link or Participant List<br \/>\n<strong>How do I send it automatically?<\/strong> \u2192 ASI<br \/>\n<strong>How do I guide people to the next survey?<\/strong> \u2192 Survey Queue<br \/>\n<strong>How do I notify someone based on data?<\/strong> \u2192 Alerts &amp; Notifications<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;margin-top: 14px\"><a href=\"#top\" style=\"background: #eef6f8;color: #1f2937;padding: 6px 12px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 20px;font-size: 0.95em\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<hr style=\"margin: 30px 0;border: 0;border-top: 1px solid #d1d5db\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"comparison\" style=\"background: #329EB8;color: #ffffff;padding: 12px 16px;border-radius: 6px;margin-bottom: 16px\">Automation Comparison Table<\/h2>\n<table style=\"width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;margin-top: 12px\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Tool<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Main Purpose<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Best For<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Sends Email?<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Public Survey Link<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">One shared survey link<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Anonymous or open-access surveys<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Participant List<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Participant-specific links<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Known participants and response tracking<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>ASI<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Automatically send survey invitations<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Follow-up invitations and scheduled outreach<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Survey Queue<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Guide participant progression<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Multi-survey workflows in one record<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Alerts &amp; Notifications<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Send messages based on data conditions<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Internal workflow notifications and conditional messaging<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;margin-top: 14px\"><a href=\"#top\" style=\"background: #eef6f8;color: #1f2937;padding: 6px 12px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 20px;font-size: 0.95em\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<hr style=\"margin: 30px 0;border: 0;border-top: 1px solid #d1d5db\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"public-vs-participant\" style=\"background: #329EB8;color: #ffffff;padding: 12px 16px;border-radius: 6px;margin-bottom: 16px\">Public Survey vs Participant List<\/h2>\n<table style=\"width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;margin-top: 12px\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Feature<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Public Survey Link<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Participant List \/ Invitation Log<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Main purpose<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Shared survey access<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Participant-specific invitations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Best for<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Anonymous or broad distribution<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Known participants and tracked responses<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Unique link per person<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">No<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Tracks who responded<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">No, unless identifiers are collected in the survey<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Supports reminders<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">No<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div style=\"background: #eff6ff;border-left: 6px solid #2563eb;padding: 12px 14px;margin: 16px 0 0 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Simple rule:<\/strong> Use <strong>Public Survey Link<\/strong> when you do not need to track who responded. Use <strong>Participant List<\/strong> when you need to send surveys to specific individuals and track response status.<\/div>\n<div style=\"background: #fff7ed;border-left: 6px solid #ea580c;padding: 12px 14px;margin: 12px 0 0 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Important:<\/strong> Once you use participant email addresses or identifiers to support follow-up surveys, the workflow is no longer truly anonymous.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;margin-top: 14px\"><a href=\"#top\" style=\"background: #eef6f8;color: #1f2937;padding: 6px 12px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 20px;font-size: 0.95em\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<hr style=\"margin: 30px 0;border: 0;border-top: 1px solid #d1d5db\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"queue-vs-asi\" style=\"background: #329EB8;color: #ffffff;padding: 12px 16px;border-radius: 6px;margin-bottom: 16px\">Survey Queue vs ASI<\/h2>\n<table style=\"width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;margin-top: 12px\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Feature<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Survey Queue<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">ASI<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Main purpose<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Control what survey appears next<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Control when a survey invitation is sent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Sends emails<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">No<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Best for<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Participant navigation through multiple surveys<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Scheduled or logic-based invitation delivery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Typical use case<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Eligibility \u2192 Consent \u2192 Baseline<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Send follow-up survey 7 days after baseline<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div style=\"background: #eff6ff;border-left: 6px solid #2563eb;padding: 12px 14px;margin: 16px 0 0 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Simple rule:<\/strong> Use <strong>Survey Queue<\/strong> to guide participants through surveys. Use <strong>ASI<\/strong> to send surveys automatically.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;margin-top: 14px\"><a href=\"#top\" style=\"background: #eef6f8;color: #1f2937;padding: 6px 12px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 20px;font-size: 0.95em\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<hr style=\"margin: 30px 0;border: 0;border-top: 1px solid #d1d5db\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"alerts-vs-asi\" style=\"background: #329EB8;color: #ffffff;padding: 12px 16px;border-radius: 6px;margin-bottom: 16px\">Alerts vs ASI<\/h2>\n<table style=\"width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;margin-top: 12px\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Feature<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">Alerts &amp; Notifications<\/th>\n<th style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px;background: #f3f4f6;text-align: left\">ASI<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Main purpose<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Send automated emails or notifications based on data conditions<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Send automated survey invitations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Requires a survey<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">No<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\"><strong>Typical use<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Notify staff or participants based on data<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #d1d5db;padding: 10px\">Deliver survey invitations on a schedule<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div style=\"background: #eff6ff;border-left: 6px solid #2563eb;padding: 12px 14px;margin: 16px 0 0 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Simple rule:<\/strong> Use <strong>ASI<\/strong> when the goal is \u201csend this survey.\u201d Use <strong>Alerts<\/strong> when the goal is \u201cnotify someone that something happened.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;margin-top: 14px\"><a href=\"#top\" style=\"background: #eef6f8;color: #1f2937;padding: 6px 12px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 20px;font-size: 0.95em\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<hr style=\"margin: 30px 0;border: 0;border-top: 1px solid #d1d5db\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"common-workflows\" style=\"background: #329EB8;color: #ffffff;padding: 12px 16px;border-radius: 6px;margin-bottom: 16px\">Common Workflow Patterns<\/h2>\n<h3>1. Anonymous one-time survey<\/h3>\n<p>Use <strong>Public Survey Link<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Invite known participants by email<\/h3>\n<p>Use <strong>Participant List<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Send a follow-up survey automatically after baseline<\/h3>\n<p>Use <strong>ASI<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Guide someone through multiple surveys in one workflow<\/h3>\n<p>Use <strong>Survey Queue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Notify study staff when a participant meets criteria<\/h3>\n<p>Use <strong>Alerts &amp; Notifications<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>6. Public recruitment followed by tracked follow-up<\/h3>\n<p>Use <strong>Public Survey Link<\/strong> for the first contact survey, collect a validated email field if appropriate, then transition to <strong>Participant List<\/strong> and\/or <strong>ASI<\/strong> for subsequent linked surveys.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background: #f0fdf4;border-left: 6px solid #16a34a;padding: 14px 16px;margin: 20px 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Best Practice:<\/strong> Most complex studies use more than one of these tools. The key is knowing which tool solves which part of the workflow.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;margin-top: 14px\"><a href=\"#top\" style=\"background: #eef6f8;color: #1f2937;padding: 6px 12px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 20px;font-size: 0.95em\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<hr style=\"margin: 30px 0;border: 0;border-top: 1px solid #d1d5db\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"common-mistakes\" style=\"background: #329EB8;color: #ffffff;padding: 12px 16px;border-radius: 6px;margin-bottom: 16px\">Common Mistakes<\/h2>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 20px\">\n<li>Using <strong>Survey Queue<\/strong> when the study really needs <strong>ASI<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Using <strong>Alerts<\/strong> as a substitute for survey invitations<\/li>\n<li>Using a <strong>Public Survey Link<\/strong> when individual tracking is needed<\/li>\n<li>Assuming Participant List workflows remain anonymous after identifiers or email linkage are introduced<\/li>\n<li>Combining too many automation tools without mapping the workflow first<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"background: #fff7ed;border-left: 6px solid #ea580c;padding: 14px 16px;margin: 20px 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Important:<\/strong> If the team cannot clearly explain why each automation tool is being used, the workflow is probably more complex than it needs to be.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;margin-top: 14px\"><a href=\"#top\" style=\"background: #eef6f8;color: #1f2937;padding: 6px 12px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 20px;font-size: 0.95em\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<hr style=\"margin: 30px 0;border: 0;border-top: 1px solid #d1d5db\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"which-one\" style=\"background: #16a34a;color: #ffffff;padding: 12px 16px;border-radius: 6px;margin-bottom: 16px\">Which One Should I Use?<\/h2>\n<div style=\"background: #f0fdf4;border: 1px solid #16a34a;padding: 14px;border-radius: 6px\">\n<ul style=\"margin: 0;padding-left: 20px\">\n<li><strong>I need one public link anyone can use.<\/strong> \u2192 Public Survey Link<\/li>\n<li><strong>I need to email specific people and track responses.<\/strong> \u2192 Participant List<\/li>\n<li><strong>I need REDCap to send the next survey automatically.<\/strong> \u2192 ASI<\/li>\n<li><strong>I need participants to move through multiple surveys in sequence.<\/strong> \u2192 Survey Queue<\/li>\n<li><strong>I need a notification when something in the data happens.<\/strong> \u2192 Alerts &amp; Notifications<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"background: #eff6ff;border-left: 6px solid #2563eb;padding: 14px 16px;margin: 20px 0;border-radius: 4px\"><strong>Final Takeaway:<\/strong> The best survey automation workflow is usually not the most advanced one. It is the one that clearly matches the study\u2019s needs, minimizes confusion, and is easy for the team to manage consistently.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;margin-top: 14px\"><a href=\"#top\" style=\"background: #eef6f8;color: #1f2937;padding: 6px 12px;text-decoration: none;border-radius: 20px;font-size: 0.95em\">Back to top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>REDCap User AgreementREDCap FeesREDCap UsageREDCap Account RequestREDCap Login Issues UCH Users UConn &amp; External Users REDCap Guides &amp; How-toData ManagementREDCap Maintenance REDCap Maintenance REDCap Upgrade Details REDCap Training CenterREDCap SystemsCiting REDCapREDCap News You Can Use Choosing the Right Survey Workflow: Public Link, Participant List, ASI, Survey Queue, and Alerts REDCap offers several tools that can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4679,"featured_media":0,"parent":4750,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-30 04:23:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4771"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4771"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4773,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4771\/revisions\/4773"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/clinical-research-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}