Common data elements
Posted: April 22, 2021
National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) regarding use of Common Data Elements (CDEs) in NIH-funded research, particularly but not exclusively in the context of COVID-19. Public comments will be used to advance research with CDEs, challenges to adopting CDEs, and guidance on using CDEs. Comments may address topics relating to CDEs, or any other topic relevant to NIH.
The RFI is now posted in the NIH Guide and comments should be sent by May 10 via this webform.
Some additional background information is available in an Open Mike blog post about the RFI.
CDEs are the first step in producing harmonized data to be impactful for sharing, integration, and secondary use. They are the ground floor for AI-ready data. CDEs and other common measures, such as PhenX, are just a way of coordinating the community to ask the same questions in the same way across studies and getting standardized responses that are both human and machine-readable. They also follow FAIR data principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. CDEs are in use across various disciples. The NIH CDE Repository includes guidance on what CDEs to use based on your research.
If you need assistance on getting started or following best practices for working with data, contact the library or visit our data services guide. The guide provides resources and helpful information on all aspects of the data life cycle.
by Adrienne Brodie, MLS, liaison librarian for ATSU-ASHS & ATSU-SOMA