Help With Data Harmonization
How should I proceed to harmonize data?
Maelstrom Research has developed guidelines for retrospective data harmonization. To learn more visit the Maelstrom Guidelines section, read the published paper or simply get in touch with us!
How can I identify studies that collected the data I need?
You can use the Maelstrom Catalogue to identify studies that collected the information required to answer your research question, as well as the person to contact for access to study specific data. Watch our tutorial on using the Catalogue to get started.
How can I explore harmonization potential across studies?
You can use the catalogue Search page to explore the potential to co-analyze data across individual studies by extracting and comparing the variables collected at different time points by participating studies.
Contributing to the Maelstrom Catalogue
How can I contribute to the Maelstrom Catalogue?
If you are interested in adding your study to the catalogue, please contact us. There are different options for including studies in research networks.
a) You can join an existing network.
The Maelstrom Catalogue includes study networks with a variety of research interests, ranging from pregnancy and birth to healthy aging. If your study can be integrated into one of the existing networks, we will proceed with its inclusion. We will only ask that you send us your study's data dictionary. We will take care of the rest, including classifying the variables under the Maelstrom Research taxonomy and drafting the study description, which you will validate before publication.
b) You can start a new network.
You can also work with us to create a dedicated interface for your own network in the Maelstrom Catalogue. In addition to being a cost-effective way to document studies in your network, this will allow you to estimate the potential to harmonize your data with that of other studies included in the catalogue.
If my study contributes to the Maelstrom Catalogue, should I be worried about data privacy issues?
Only the metadata (i.e., data describing other data) is documented in the Maelstrom Catalogue. All researchers interested in analyzing data collected by your study need to go through the standard data request procedure established by your organization. Individual participant data is not available through the Maelstrom Research website, and all data access requests must follow each study's data access protocol.
Who can access information about my study (i.e., only the metadata) documented in your catalogue?
Everyone. Metadata information is accessible to all.
Additional Tools and Information
You can find more information about many Maelstrom tools and projects in the Publications section.
For additional help on understanding and using information documented on the Maelstrom website, watch our tutorials about using the Maelstrom Catalogue and documenting harmonized outputs.
You can find more information on software tools in the Software section or Obiba website. For users of specific software tools, additional help is available in the tutorials about installing Opal, data management with Opal and creating study descriptions in Mica.
You can always contact us for any additional help or questions!