Submission Type
Poster
Abstract
Data Management of Environmental Monitoring Data for Human Health Studies
As part of a study to evaluate exposures in health, samples were taken from 26 participants monitoring air quality inside of their homes over a 4-year period. Our study contained 7 air quality monitors which took recordings every 10 seconds, per participant, per visit and stored it for future use. This led to millions of data points which, after finishing each visit, were extracted, downloaded, and transformed into text files. These files were initially very unorganized and needed to be arranged in a way for them to be useful for future human health studies. To solve these issues, we created folders for each participant and linked each file to their corresponding participant. This was all recorded to further help locate files of interest more easily, then shared and made accessible to researchers for further use. Although this process led to most of the files being organized and recorded, there were also files and important information which were missing. These limitations from various missing information led to many unexpected issues. For future use, it is strongly recommended to ensure all information is included in the initial report. An organizational process should be put into place in order to ensure a more completed dataset. While this itself may be considered time consuming, it could potentially lead to fewer issues, greater efficiency, and overall, more quality data.
Included in
Data Management of Environmental Monitoring Data for Human Health Studies
Data Management of Environmental Monitoring Data for Human Health Studies
As part of a study to evaluate exposures in health, samples were taken from 26 participants monitoring air quality inside of their homes over a 4-year period. Our study contained 7 air quality monitors which took recordings every 10 seconds, per participant, per visit and stored it for future use. This led to millions of data points which, after finishing each visit, were extracted, downloaded, and transformed into text files. These files were initially very unorganized and needed to be arranged in a way for them to be useful for future human health studies. To solve these issues, we created folders for each participant and linked each file to their corresponding participant. This was all recorded to further help locate files of interest more easily, then shared and made accessible to researchers for further use. Although this process led to most of the files being organized and recorded, there were also files and important information which were missing. These limitations from various missing information led to many unexpected issues. For future use, it is strongly recommended to ensure all information is included in the initial report. An organizational process should be put into place in order to ensure a more completed dataset. While this itself may be considered time consuming, it could potentially lead to fewer issues, greater efficiency, and overall, more quality data.
Comments
Dr. Ray Yeager, University of Louisville
Angela Campbell, university of Louisville