The e-Lab Metadata Registry: Supporting Harmonisation Using DDI, OWL and Reporting Guidelines

For some diseases, the symptoms associated with the disease arise from different pathophysiological mechanisms. In order to improve the way we treat such diseases, we could reclassify the disease into distinct sub-diseases that correspond to the different underlying mechanisms. This analysis often requires the pooling of data across multiple studies that might be based on different populations and that are collected and managed in different ways. Before analysis, the data need to be harmonised, a process that involves mapping similar variables across the studies onto ‘standard variables’. Here we present the e-Lab project, which is developing an approach and software to support the harmonisation process. We discuss the data model behind a new metadata registry that combines DDI with other standards including the Web Ontology Language. We also introduce the use of Variable Report Models, which specify the information that must be available when a primary measurement or outcome is made available to an analyst. For example, this additional information may include qualifying factors that provide the context of the data needed for the analyst to correctly interpret the results.