LI RAND
LI Rand is a tool created by Chestnut Health Systems’ Lighthouse Institute (LI) for using urn randomization for research studies. It is a cloud-based application used to randomly assign study participants to two or more groups within blocks and across multiple factors. It can be set up to match the study design, be used to enter participant data (through manual keying, upload, or API endpoint), generate simple summaries and reports based on assignments, and export assignment information (as a file or via API). It is set up to work within instruments in Chestnut’s GAIN ABS (C#.NET) and CRICIT (FileMaker Pro) but can also be used to interface with other datasets or can be used as a standalone application.
Database managers can create one or more study designs. This includes defining the study descriptively, adding users, assigning user permission levels, and setting key study parameters including: Conditions (and the expected percentage for each), Blocks (and the expected percentage for each as well as the default value), and Factors & Factor Levels (and the expected percentage for each level within each factor and the default value for each factor). From this, the system will generate an expected template file for importing data (including any previously assigned participants), which will match the format of the data file when exported.
While it was created primarily for use by LI projects, we are making the LI Rand cloud-based application available to other researchers as a service to the field. It is designed to replace the earlier gRand MS Access application we and many others used. The cost to use LI Rand is $100 for five years to cover our costs to help with initial account set up and hosting. Any additional modifications or support will need to be discussed.
