REDCap Ontology Annotation Made Easy (ROME) - A REDCap Module for Simplified Metadata Element Annotation

Semantic annotation of study metadata elements with concept codes from medical terminologies is essential in order to make biomedical data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and to enable cross-border data exchange as envisioned within the forthcoming European Health Data Space (EHDS). Existing annotation tools are often detached from everyday data-capture workflows, limiting their practical uptake by researchers and data managers. REDCap Ontology annotations Made Easy (ROME) addresses this gap by embedding ontology-based annotation directly into REDCap's Online Designer. REDCap is a widely utilized electronic data collection framework in clinical and epidemiological research. As an external REDCap module, ROME allows users to import minimal datasets, search large ontologies such as SNOMED CT, map answer options, and harmonize projects through reusable semantic mappings. Metadata and annotations are stored in structured JSON to ensure machine-readability and interoperability. Future developments include dedicated interfaces for major ontologies, best-practice frameworks for managing minimal datasets, and community-driven harmonization efforts. ROME thus represents a concrete step towards bridging routine data capture and FAIR, EHDS-aligned semantic data stewardship by embedding ontology annotation directly into the design workflow.