Freeze and unfreeze data

As a data manager or CRA, you can prevent site users from editing case form data, to use it in data extracts and analysis. The only form item that you cannot freeze is the Visit Date field.

You can freeze data at a visit, form, and question level for both complete and incomplete visits. All question types can be frozen, including instances of a repeating form, coding questions, and individual questions in question groups.

Note:

When it comes to repeating forms, you can only freeze data in a repeating form instance when that form instance is completed.
If you or another sponsor user raises a query against a frozen question, that question remains frozen but the query can be answered by a site user at any time. However, site users can only update the question after you unfreeze it. You can only unfreeze data at a question level, one by one.

Note:

When an unfrozen question is updated and the change is submitted, the question automatically refreezes. This auto-refreeze action is attributed to the user who updated the data in the question's audit history.

Want to see how to perform this task? Watch the video below.

  1. Access your study in a specific mode.
  2. Along the top of the page, select the Subjects tab.
  3. If you have access to multiple sites for the study, select a site from the Site drop-down.

    Tip:

    • From the View drop-down, select Signed & Verified to filter your search for subjects whose data can be frozen.
    • If you want to unfreeze data, select the Frozen option to filter your search for subjects whose data is already frozen.
  4. Locate a subject in the table, and click a visit in the Previous Visit column.
  5. Along the top of the page, click Freeze Data.
  6. There are two ways for you to freeze data:
    • To freeze all questions in a form, select the checkbox next to that form's name, on the Forms list on the left.
    • To freeze a specific question, select the checkbox next to that question.
  7. In the lower-right corner, click Freeze or Freeze & Close.
  8. On the Freeze Data dialog, review the message, and click Freeze Data.
    If you don't want to freeze a subject's data, click Cancel.
  9. To unfreeze a question:
    This is applicable only for frozen questions.
    1. Click the menu icon (Hamburger menu) next to it.
    2. Select Unfreeze.
    3. On the Unfreeze Question dialog, select an option from the Reason for Change drop-down.
    4. Click Unfreeze.

All frozen forms and questions appear with the frozen icon (Snowflake with a blue background) next to them. The same icon displays for a given subject if all of their data has been verified.

All unfrozen forms and questions appear with the unfrozen icon (Crossed out snowflake with an orange background) next to them.

Related Topics

Parent topic: Monitor subjects and sites