Assigning Codes to Code Requests

From the Code Request Listing page, you can assign codes to Code Requests, uncode Code Requests, or autoassign Code Requests.

Code Request Listing with one Code Request selected

How to Open a Form for Coding

To open a Form for coding:

  1. Click to open the Coder tab in the top navigation bar. Vault Coder tab

  2. In the Summary page, click a Form to open it. Select Form

  3. Vault Coder opens the Listing page. This page contains all the terms that require coding for the selected form.

Autocoding

Vault autocodes certain Code Requests based on the Synonym List and, when configured, matching terms in the coding dictionary. These Code Requests are already in the Coded status, so you don’t need to assign codes to them. Learn more about autocoding.

How to Assign a Code

You can assign codes to Code Requests from the Coding panel. You can assign codes to single Code Requests, or you can batch code. See details about batch coding below.

Locked Studies: When the Study is locked, you can’t code any Forms within that Study.

To code a Code Request:

  1. Click on a Code Request in the listing to open it. You can click anywhere in the code request’s row. Once you click the Code Request, Vault Coder does the following:
    • Displays details about the Code Request in the Code Request Properties panel
    • Lists suggestions for the Code Request in the Coding panel’s Suggestions subtab
    • Searches for the code request’s Verbatim in the coding dictionary and displays the results in the Dictionary subtab of the Coding panel
  2. In either Dictionary or Suggestions, locate the code that you want to assign to your Verbatim.
  3. Hover over the Code.

  4. Optional: Toggle Add to Synonym List? to Y (Yes) to record your coding decision as a Synonym for autocoding. (See About Autocoding for details.) Add to Synonym List toggled to Y for Yes

  5. Click Code. Code button in the Suggestions subtab

  6. Optional: Click Code + Next instead of Code to assign the code and then select the next Code Request that is pending coding. See details below.

Vault Coder assigns the chosen code to the Code Request and moves the Code Request into the Coded status. The assigned code now displays in the Assigned Code column.

If your study is using the Coder Approval Workflow feature, then your coding decision must be approved by a coding manager or administrator. Your Code Request first goes into the Pending Approval status. Once approved, Vault moves it into the Coded status.

You can view details about the assigned code in the Code Request Properties panel.

About Code + Next

Coder provides the Code + Next feature for rapid coding. Click Code + Next in the Suggestions or Dictionary subtabs to quickly assign a code to a Code Request. Vault codes the selected Code Request and then automatically selects the next Code Request in the Open, Uncoded, Updated, or Noncurrent status.

Code All Forms & Update Synonym Lists

If your organization changes how they code a term, due to a new dictionary version or a philosophical change in coding a term, you can apply an updated coding decision across your vault with a single action. You can control the final coding status of the updated matching Code Requests through the Final State for Propagate Code study setting.

Using the Code All Forms and Update Synonym List action, you can update all matching, coded Code Requests to your new coding decision and, if you have Add to Synonym List set to Y (Yes), update any existing matching Synonym List records to the new decision.

When you use the Code All Forms and Update Synonym List action, the final Coding Status of the propagated code depends on the Final State for Propagate Code selected in the study settings and on whether the Enable Approval Workflow study setting is set to Yes or No. When Final State for Propagate Code is set to Coded, the Propagate Code feature updates the Coding Status of the primary selection and all case-insensitive exactly matching Code Requests to Coded when the Enable Approval Workflow study setting is set to No and to Pending Approval when the Enable Approval Workflow study setting is set to Yes.

When the Final State for Propagate Code study setting is set to Autocoded, then the Propagate Code feature updates the Coding Status of the primary selection and all case-insensitive exactly matching Code Requests to Autocoded.

To code all forms and update the Synonym List:

  1. In the Coding panel, locate the dictionary term that you want to code to (see details above).

  2. Hover over the dictionary term to show the Actions menu. Actions menu

  3. From the Actions menu, select Code All Forms and Update Synonym List. Code All Forms and Update Synonym List button

  4. In the confirmation dialog, click Continue.

Vault begins a job to update all matching Code Requests and, if applicable, Synonym List records. When finished, Vault sends you an email notification with the results.

How to Batch Code

You can use batch coding to code multiple Code Requests at once.

To code multiple Code Requests:

  1. Optional: Filter the listing or search for a Verbatim to narrow the list of Code Requests to those you want to batch code.
  2. Locate the Code Request that you want to select as your Primary Selection. Your primary selection is the Code Request that Vault will provide suggestions for and search for in the coding dictionary. The information in the Code Request Properties panel will also be for this Code Request.
  3. Click Focus (magnifying glass icon) to set that Code Request as your Primary Selection.
  4. Select the checkbox for each Code Request that you want to include in your batch.
  5. In either Dictionary or Suggestions, locate the code that you want to assign to your Verbatim.
  6. Hover over the Code.
  7. Optional: Toggle Add to Synonym List? to Y (Yes) to record your coding decision as a Synonym for autocoding. (See About Autocoding for details.)

  8. Click Code. Code and Code + Next buttons

  9. Optional: Click Code + Next instead of Code to assign the code and then select the next Code Request that is pending coding.
  10. Vault Coder codes all the selected Code Requests to the same dictionary code. Batch coded Code Requests in the Coded status

Vault Coder assigns the chosen code to the Code Request and moves the Code Request into the Coded status. The assigned code now displays in the Assigned Code column. You can view details about the assigned code in the Code Request Properties panel.

How to Uncode

You can uncode a Code Request to remove any previously assigned codes. For example, if you accidentally assign a request the wrong code, you can uncode and then assign the correct code. You can also uncode autocoded requests to assign a different code.

To uncode:

  1. Select the Code Requests that you want to uncode in the Code Request listing.

  2. From the Actions menu, select Uncode. Uncode action

  3. Vault removes the assigned code and returns the Code Requests to the Uncoded status.