This article explains some important topics as you get started with building forms by creating phases and steps. Before you begin this process, we recommend that you familiarise yourself with the study, report and survey structure in Castor.

To start creating phases and steps, navigate to the 'Structure' tab.

Create a phase

Click the '+ Add' button to add a new phase

Define the phase properties:

• Choose the position for the Phase
• Choose the name for the Phase e.g. "Inclusion and randomization"
• Optional: Choose a duration for this phase in months.
• Click 'Save'.

Create a step

Click the '+ Add' button to add a new step

Define the step properties:

• Choose the position for the Step
• Choose the name for the Step e.g. "Inclusion"
• Optional: Choose a description for this step - this text will be added to the top of the step in data entry.
• Click "Save"

To add more steps quickly, consider copying a previously made step to make a new one.

Edit or delete phases or steps

To edit a phase or a step, click on the cog wheel to the right of the phase/step you wish to edit and click 'Edit'. A pop-up will appear where you can alter the fields you used to create the phase/step (position, step name, step description). To permanently delete a phase/step, click the 'Delete' option in the menu. 

To permanently delete a study phase, survey, survey package, report, or a step click the 'Delete' option in the cogwheel menu. To prevent an accidental deletion of your study structure a pop-up will appear to enter the name of the structure that you are trying to delete. Enter the exact name including capital letters and click “OK”: 

The structure of your study now contains phases and steps. Click the 'Form' tab to navigate to the form editor and start Creating Forms.

Study version

The number next to a study title indicates the version of a study:

The version number will increase whenever a change is made to the structure of a study - for example, if you add a new phase, step or field. You can read more details here.

Video: Creating phases and steps

Watch the video walk-through  on Castor Academy: