Improving the usage and impact of the Integrated Aging Studies Databank and Registry

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Project Summary The Integrated Aging Studies Databank and Registry (IASDR) is a repository designed for sharing data across the NIH-funded national network of Older Americans Independence Centers (OAICs). The IASDR hosted and maintained by the OAIC’s Coordinating Center (CC). As a domain-specific repository, the existing IASDR contains multiple data sets generated from aging studies conducted at the Wake Forest OAIC (WF-OAIC), as well as a biospecimen bank for samples collected from some of the included studies. The IASDR thus serves as a valuable resource for the aging research community, especially for early career faculty. The data repository befits early career investigators who want to conduct small pilot studies for testing out conjectures and research hypotheses, and to efficiently produce useful information such as preliminary effect sizes for grant applications or to power future studies. Gaps were identified when the IASDR was evaluated against modern repository requirements. The IASDR was first started more than a decade ago, and the development process did not necessarily strictly adhere to contemporary biomedical-data repository principles such as the FAIR and TRUST principles. Importantly, barriers are present for users in accessing key information for decision support. For example, currently summary statistics such as mean, standard deviation, frequency for variables and association information between variables, which are often critical in helping users to decide whether or not to pursue actual data, are not present in the IASDR metadata. The lack of such preliminary information could deter interested users from using the repository. To address gaps and limitations of the IASDR as related to its “FAIR”-ness and “TRUST”- worthiness, this proposal contains two specific aims: (1) Enhance the metadata layer by providing users with key analytic information such as mean, frequency, and association between variables, and (2) improve the IASDR along the FAIR and TRUST principles and seek certification.