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Harmonising data in collaborative research projects
Find out about the process of data harmonisation when bringing different studies together which are built independently of each other.
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LongITools Metadata Catalogue
A new catalogue which enables exposome researchers to assess all the data sets available from LongITools, and the suitability of the data sets to answer specific research questions.
The LongITools Metadata Catalogue is an online searchable tool which collates metadata – data about the data. Part of the European Health Research Data and Sample Catalogue, it allows researchers to see what data is available from many different projects and networks including LongITools and the European Human Exposome Network.
This tool enables exposome researchers to access multiple catalogues containing rich metadata about data sets, for example, the type of data set, the population, the number of participants, and harmonised data variables.
The Catalogue comprises:
- a findability function
- harmonised mapping system
- user manual and standard operating procedures.
It enables researchers to analyse harmonised variables from multiple sets of data (e.g. from studies, biobanks and registries) and determine the suitability of the data to answer specific research questions. Harmonising data variables enables individual measurements or details such as height, diet or employment status in different data sets to be comparable.
Bringing together metadata on many existing networks and data sets, in one open science platform, ensures better data reuse and benefits the scientific community.
Access
Visit the LongITools Metadata Catalogue or the European Health Research Data and Sample Catalogue.
The Catalogue software is free and open source, available for other projects to reuse, as part of the MOLGENIS* software platform. Note, the actual data within the data sets is only accessible to researchers directly from the data owners, via DataSHIELD** or another controlled access method, under a specific data sharing agreement.
Status
Completed
The Metadata Catalogue Explained
Click here for a more detailed image.
*Molgenis uses molgenis-emx2 open source software (license: LGPLv3). Van der Velde et al (2018), Swertz et al (2010).
**DataSHIELD was developed as part of the EU FP7-funded BioSHARE project and is used in the LifeCycle and EUCAN-Connect projects, amongst others.
