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

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Data Science
• Health Data Management

Background:

• Semantic annotation of study metadata is crucial for FAIR data principles and cross-border health data exchange.
• Current annotation tools often lack integration into existing data capture workflows, hindering adoption.
• The European Health Data Space (EHDS) initiative necessitates standardized and interoperable health data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce REDCap Ontology annotations Made Easy (ROME), a novel tool for embedding semantic annotation directly into the REDCap electronic data capture framework.
• To address the gap between data annotation needs and practical research workflows.
• To facilitate FAIR data principles and support EHDS objectives through integrated semantic stewardship.

Main Methods:

• ROME is developed as an external REDCap module, integrating with the REDCap Online Designer.
• It enables users to import minimal datasets and search ontologies like SNOMED CT.
• Answer options are mapped, and projects are harmonized using reusable semantic mappings, with data stored in structured JSON.

Main Results:

• ROME embeds ontology-based annotation directly into the REDCap design workflow, improving usability for researchers and data managers.
• It facilitates the mapping of REDCap data elements to standardized medical terminologies.
• Structured JSON storage ensures machine-readability and interoperability of annotated metadata.

Conclusions:

• ROME represents a practical solution for integrating semantic annotation into routine data capture, aligning with FAIR data principles.
• The tool supports the development of the European Health Data Space by promoting semantic data stewardship.
• Future developments aim to enhance ROME's capabilities with dedicated ontology interfaces and community-driven harmonization efforts.