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The following best practice recommendations are general principles to ensure form-level instructions for CRF completion support ease of use to reduce data entry time and result in more reliable data. 

Metadataspec
NumFocus of RecommendationBest Practice Recommendation
1Design considerations 
  • Whenever possible, details related to the completion of a single field should be placed with the field itself on the CRF.
  • If this is not possible due to the medium and/or system being used to create CRFs, then it is permissible to include the field-level instructions at the top of the form, in what is generally considered the form-level instruction area. In some cases (e.g., form-level instructions are very lengthy or include graphics or flowcharts), a separate CRF completion instruction guideline may be required.
2Content considerations 

When creating form-level instructions for a CRF, the following should be considered:

  • The instructions should include clear references to the time period for which data are to be reported for the study, or to specific time windows that are allowed.
  • The instructions should provide references to protocol sections for the specifics of and/or limitations on the data to be reported.
  • The instructions should include any special instructions for additional reporting or actions required beyond what is collected on the CRF.
  • The instructions should include considerations on how data collected on one CRF might have an impact on data that are reported on a different CRF.
  • The instructions should refer to any other forms that are related to the CRF being completed.

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