REDCap data dictionary heuristic auditor
Find naming, structure, and logic problems before data collection starts.
What. DictVahti reads your REDCap data dictionary and runs 28 deterministic checks across naming, labels, field types, choices, branching logic, and completeness — flagging problems and proposing specific fixes, including a corrected CSV.
Why. Dictionary mistakes are cheap to fix now and expensive after data collection: a bad variable name breaks your R or Stata export, a broken branching reference silently drops data, a calc field with no formula stores nothing. DictVahti catches them before a single record is entered.
How. Upload or paste the CSV (REDCap: Project Setup → Data Dictionary → Download), or import a StudyVahti variable plan. Run the audit — each finding says what's wrong and how to fix it — then download the corrected CSV. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Does my dictionary get uploaded?
No. DictVahti runs entirely in your browser — the CSV never leaves your machine, and there are no accounts or trackers.
Will it change my data?
No. It audits the dictionary (the structure), never your records. The corrected CSV is a proposed fix you review before importing — nothing is applied for you.
What are the 28 checks?
Naming (lowercase, no spaces, legal characters, no duplicates), labels, field types (calc formulas, date validation), choices (defined, no duplicate codes), branching logic (valid references, balanced brackets), and completeness (an identifier, an anchor date). The full list is in the Rule reference below.
Are these hard errors or suggestions?
Both — findings are graded error, warning, or note. Errors (e.g. duplicate names, a calc field with no formula) will break the REDCap import or the exported dataset; notes are advice.
What if I don't use REDCap?
The naming, type, and choice checks apply to most codebooks. You can also paste a StudyVahti variable plan and DictVahti will convert it to a REDCap CSV you can audit or download.
Input
REDCap: Project Setup → Data Dictionary → Download. Or paste from StudyVahti.
Rule reference
All 28 heuristics DictVahti applies, with rationale.