Connect your data

BioGrid has ethics approval for its data linkage platform at all participating sites where data is connected. This ethics approval is a pre-condition to technical linkage work being undertaken.

Research projects accessing data through BioGrid require ethical approval; this is managed separately to data linkage ethics. Melbourne Health Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) reviews all requests to access data via BioGrid that are not approved by an accredited Australian HREC. Research proposals that have been approved by an accredited Australian HREC are not reviewed again as part of the BioGrid application process.

All research conducted using BioGrid services requires HREC approval and BioGrid will only provide access to data once ethical approval is cited. These processes ensure appropriate ethical oversight whilst minimising duplication of ethical review as required by the NHMRC National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007.

Members: BioGrid will need to submit an amendment to your institution's Ethics Committee to add your database or data set to the existing BioGrid data linkage platform ethics approval.

View here to see if your institution is a current BioGrid member. 

New research projects with prospective data collection must include the Standard Clause necessary in research studies. 

Non-Members: BioGrid will need to work with you to submit a full application to obtain your institution's ethics approval to add your database or data set to BioGrid.

If your site is not a current member of BioGrid, HREC approval is required for BioGrid data linkage and data management processes to enable the database or data set to be connected.

If you require assistance with Ethics approval for a project using BioGrid data, please contact enquiries@biogrid.org.au.

1. Data Ingestion

Data that is intended to be loaded into the BioGrid system will generally be loaded onto a Local Research Repository (LRR). This is a computer that resides at your site, or is shared with another BioGrid site.

A copy of your database is created on the LRR by the BioGrid team in a standardised format, and a regular automatic process is set up to copy data from your database to the LRR. This data will contain patient identifying details as well as clinical information; the LRR is still behind your site’s firewall and under the control of your site’s security arrangements.

BioGrid must assign a Unique Subject Identifier (USI) to each patient. This will either be an existing USI if your patient already exists elsewhere in the BioGrid platform (possibly at another site), or a new USI if the patient does not yet have any information in BioGrid.

To make this determination for each patient, the normal procedure is that a programmatic process will automatically copy just the identifying information for each patient to the central BioGrid demographic repository, otherwise known as the linkage key server. Here it will attempt to match each patient’s identifying details to those of other patients already in BioGrid. Approval for this copying of the identifying details for your patients, and its use in the matching process, will have been obtained as part of the legal review and ethics application at your site when you joined BioGrid.

This process is known as probabilistic matching, and will result in a either a new USI or an existing USI number being written back in encrypted form alongside your data on your site’s LRR. It is this number that is used to link patient data between databases at different sites – a researcher will only see the USI and no identifying details for a patient.

There is a second method of matching patients that can be used in cases where a site’s ethics requirements do not allow the release of identifying details as described above. This is known as hashing, and involves the use of a non-reversible algorithm to calculate a unique hash value for your patients and patients already in BioGrid. The hashes are then compared to determine if this is a new or an existing patient, and a new or existing USI is again assigned.

In addition to the data itself, BioGrid will work with you to create a data dictionary for all items in your database. This describes what kind of data is in the data set and who the owner of the data is. This metadata information is freely available on the BioGrid web site.

Your data will now be stored in your local LRR with a Unique Subject Identifier which allows it to be linked to data from other sites. Researchers who wish to use the data can browse the BioGrid data dictionary and determine which data set they would like to access.

To be given access to your data, they must first seek your permission (via the BioGrid Access Request System) and obtain approval from an accredited human research ethics committee. If this is obtained, they are given access to patient data from different sites that is linked by the USI; they do not obtain or see any patient identifiers. Access is provided directly to the data that is stored on the LRR at your site. The BioGrid model is a 'federated database' rather than a central data repository; no clinical data is stored centrally in BioGrid.

2. Acquire a node

As mentioned above, adding your data will normally require a Local Research Repository (LRR) to be available at your site. If your data is being added to an existing BioGrid node, this LRR will already be present and can be used for your data as well as any existing data.

However, if your site is new to BioGrid, an LRR will need to be installed. This process will normally be handled by your Information Technology (IT) department. BioGrid will provide specifications for a standard virtual server which will act as the LRR, as well as information about software and communications.

Minimal specifications for a single-site LRR are:

• Processor:  8 virtual processor allocation from virtual host
• Memory:     16 Gb
• Hard Disk: System C - 200 Gb; Data D - 100Gb; Log E - 100 Gb
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2019 Server Standard Edition 
• Database System:
  • Minimum:  MS SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition (or higher) per processor or core licensing with SSIS and SSRS enabled.
  • Maximum: MS SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition (or higher) with SSIS and SSRS enabled
• Recommendation to deploy LRR as Virtual Machine

Note, if your site is experiencing issues provisioning the minimum requirements, BioGrid is open to discussing alternative technology options for your site.

3. Piggyback node

In some cases, it may be possible for a new site to 'piggyback' on an existing LRR. This is especially the case for smaller sites, or for sites where there is an existing arrangement for the sharing of IT infrastructure.  If this is the case, BioGrid will explore the options with your IT department, and determine if the existing LRR needs to be upgraded to handle the additional workload.

Note that your full data set, including both identifying data and clinical data, must still be copied to the LRR. If the LRR is at another site, the ethics application at your site must clearly acknowledge and approve this process.

4. IT connection

In order to link an LRR to BioGrid, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) must be established between your site and BioGrid. Your IT department will handle this.

In addition, researchers wishing to access data via remote access from BioGrid need to ensure that PCs can support remote desktop.

5. Research Tools

BioGrid has a multi-user licence for use of the SAS statistical analysis system for sites which are members of BioGrid. SAS Enterprise Guide and SAS Visual Analytics are the standard tools used to access the data. BioGrid provides regular complimentary courses in the use of SAS to member sites.

For further information on IT requirements contact our technical team at technical@biogrid.org.au.

BioGrid requires information about your database or data set once your ethics committee has approved your data being added to BioGrid.

Once your database is successfully connected with BioGrid you can use the provided services and tools such as:

• Apply for access to BioGrid data. This allows access to your own data or other databases.
• Login to BioGrid and use our tools to query and analyse your data.
• Undertake BioGrid’s SAS training.
• See what other researchers have achieved using BioGrid.
• See what types of linkages you can achieve using databases in BioGrid for specific research outcomes.
• See what other databases you can link to which could increase cohort numbers or expand your dataset.

View all current members.