Datasets provide ready-to-use dropdown options for survey questions, saving time and ensuring consistency. CheckTick offers three types of datasets that power your dropdown fields.

Overview

Instead of manually typing dropdown options for every survey question, you can:

  • Use global datasets from NHS Data Dictionary and RCPCH APIs
  • Request new datasets from authoritative sources
  • Create custom lists tailored to your organization
  • Publish your lists to share with the entire CheckTick community
  • Customize global datasets to fit your specific needs

Global Dataset Sources

CheckTick maintains three types of global datasets that are available to all users:

1. NHS Data Dictionary (NHS DD)

Authoritative medical codes and classifications from the NHS Data Dictionary.

Available datasets include: - Main Specialty Code (75 options) - Treatment Function Code (73 options) - Ethnic Category (17 options) - Smoking Status Code (6 options) - Clinical Frailty Scale (9 options) - Plus 40+ additional standardized lists

Characteristics: - ✅ Regularly synced from NHS DD website - ✅ Read-only (maintains standardization) - ✅ Full transparency with source URLs - ✅ Can be used as templates for custom versions

See the complete NHS DD dataset reference for the full list with source URLs and update dates.

2. RCPCH NHS Organisations

Organizational data automatically synced from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health API:

  • Hospitals (England & Wales) - ~500 hospitals
  • NHS Trusts - ~240 trusts
  • Welsh Local Health Boards - 7 health boards
  • London Boroughs - 33 boroughs
  • NHS England Regions - 7 regions
  • Paediatric Diabetes Units - ~175 units
  • Integrated Care Boards - 42 ICBs

Characteristics: - ✅ Automatically updated daily - ✅ Reliable, maintained data - ✅ Offline-capable (cached in database) - ✅ Can be used as templates

3. Community-Published Datasets

Curated lists shared by other organizations using CheckTick:

  • Department-specific codes
  • Specialty classifications
  • Research cohort categories
  • Regional resource lists

Characteristics: - ✅ Created by the community - ✅ Tagged for easy discovery - ✅ Can be used as templates - ✅ You can publish your own

Requesting New Global Datasets

If you need an NHS DD list or other standardized dataset that isn't available:

  1. Navigate to the Datasets page in CheckTick
  2. Click "Request New Dataset"
  3. Fill out the request form with:
  4. Dataset name and source URL
  5. Your use case
  6. Suggested categorization tags
  7. The development team will review and add it if:
  8. The data is from an authoritative source
  9. It can be reliably scraped or synced
  10. It benefits the broader community

Response time: Typically reviewed within 1-2 weeks. Check the GitHub issue for status updates.

Using Datasets in Surveys

Adding a Dropdown with a Dataset

  1. Create or edit a survey
  2. Add a new question
  3. Set type to "Dropdown (single choice)"
  4. Check "Use prefilled options"
  5. Browse or search for a dataset
  6. Click "Load Options"

The dropdown will populate with all options from that dataset.

Use the dataset selector to: - Filter by tags: Click tag badges to filter by category (e.g., "medical", "administrative") - Search by name: Type keywords to find specific datasets - View details: See source, last updated, and number of options

Creating Custom Datasets

You have two approaches for creating custom datasets:

Option 1: Start from Scratch

Best for completely unique lists specific to your organization.

Steps: 1. Navigate to Django Admin → Datasets 2. Click "Add Dataset" 3. Fill in: - Name: Display name (e.g., "Our Department Codes") - Key: Auto-generated unique identifier - Category: User Created - Options: Enter your list items - Tags: Add tags for discovery (optional) 4. Save

Your dataset immediately appears in the dropdown selector.

Option 2: Customize a Global Dataset

Best when you want to modify an existing global dataset (NHS DD, RCPCH, or community-published).

Steps: 1. Find the global dataset you want to customize 2. Click "Create Custom Version" 3. Give it a new name (e.g., "Regional Hospitals") 4. The dataset is created with all options from the original 5. Edit to: - Remove unwanted options - Add custom options - Reorder items 6. Save

Benefits: - Start with quality, standardized data - Your changes don't affect the original - Create multiple variants for different purposes

Example: Create "London Hospitals" from the global "Hospitals (England & Wales)" dataset by removing non-London entries.

Publishing Datasets Globally

Share your curated lists with the entire CheckTick community.

When to Publish

Consider publishing when you've created a dataset that: - Would benefit other organizations - Is high-quality and well-maintained - Represents authoritative or curated data for a specific domain - Fills a gap in existing global datasets

How to Publish

  1. Create and refine your dataset
  2. Add descriptive tags for discovery
  3. Write a clear description explaining the use case
  4. Click "Publish Globally"

What happens: - Your dataset becomes visible to all CheckTick users - Your organization is credited as the source - Others can use it directly or create custom versions - You retain full editing rights - The dataset cannot be deleted while others depend on it

Best Practices for Publishing

  1. Use descriptive names: "London Teaching Hospitals" not "Hospital List 1"
  2. Add meaningful tags: Help others discover your dataset (e.g., "regional", "teaching-hospitals", "london")
  3. Write clear descriptions: Explain the purpose, scope, and any limitations
  4. Verify accuracy: Double-check all entries before publishing
  5. Plan for maintenance: Commit to keeping it updated if the data changes

Tags and Discovery

Tags help organize and find datasets quickly.

Common Tag Categories

  • Medical specialty: paediatrics, cardiology, oncology
  • Data type: hospitals, codes, demographic
  • Source: NHS, curated, research
  • Region: england, wales, london
  • Clinical domain: maternity, mental-health, neonatal

Using Tags

  • Click tags to filter: On the datasets page, click any tag badge to show only datasets with that tag
  • Combine filters: Click multiple tags to narrow results (uses AND logic)
  • See tag counts: The tag selector shows how many datasets match each tag

Permissions

Action Individual Users Org VIEWER Org CREATOR/ADMIN
View global datasets ✅ ✅ ✅
View org datasets ❌ ✅ (own org) ✅ (own org)
Create datasets ✅* ❌ ✅
Edit own datasets ✅ ❌ ✅ (own org)
Delete own datasets ✅** ❌ ✅ (own org)**
Create custom versions ✅* ❌ ✅
Publish globally ✅* ❌ ✅ (own org)

*Individual users can create, customize, and publish datasets. In future releases, this will require a pro account.

**Cannot delete if published with dependents from other organizations

Role clarifications:

  • VIEWER: Read-only access - can view datasets but cannot create or modify
  • CREATOR/ADMIN: Full dataset management capabilities for their organization

Getting Help

If you have questions about datasets:

  1. Check this documentation
  2. Review the API examples
  3. Ask in Discussions
  4. Report issues in Issues