ICTR Data Manager Interest Group Meeting April 15, 2011

Results from Data Manager’s Survey

Kerry Stewart, Ed.D., FAHA, FAACVPR, FACSM, FSGC

Professor, Medicine and Director, Clinical and Research Exercise Physiology

Sharon Ghazarian, Ph.D.

Director, Bayview Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Data Management (BEAD) Core

Understanding your job may include more than one responsibility, what percent of your time do you spend as: Answe r Op tio ns Database Manager Entering Data Performing Statistical Analyses 25% o r le ss 43 69 84 26-50% 38 22 14 51-75% 76-100% 23 8 12 13 8 4

How long have you worked in data management?

Less than one year 1-5 years 6-10 years more than 10 years

How many databases have you been responsible for creating?

0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-10 10 or more N/A

How many databases are you currently responsible for managing?

0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-10 10 or more N/A

How many protocols do you currently support?

0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-10 10 or more N/A

How many principal investigators do you currently work with?

0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-10 10 or more N/A

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

What is your job title?

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Clinical research coordinator Research data coordinator Research program manager Protocol operations manager Research data analyst Associate scientist Biostatistician Epidemiologist Software engineer Research assistant Research nurse Programmer analyst Sr. research specialist Project coordinator Instructor Information systems manager

What training have you received for your current position?

Ans we r Op tio ns IT Training Certificate Program Coursework Undergraduate Degree Graduate Degree Other Other (please specify) R e s p o ns e Pe rc e nt 23.0% 22.1% 38.9% 42.5% 46.9% 17.7% R e s p o ns e Co unt 26 25 44 48 53 20 24 Other responses: Conferences Self-taught Online courses Microsoft training courses

How long have you been working at Johns Hopkins?

Less than one year 1-5 years 6-10 years more than 10 years

Do you see yourself still working in database management in 5 years?

Answe r Op tio ns Yes No R e sp o nse Pe rce nt 69.0% 31.0% R e sp o nse Co unt 80 36 • Variation within responses – Research nurses, medical students largely report that database work is a small percentage of job duties

Skills being used

• • • Predominance of data entry Limited programming Use of database software packages varies widely. We did not ask about being used exclusively – Prominent use of Excel (90% reported use) – MS Access primary database (70% reported use) – Data also being stored in statistical packages(80%)

What software do you use in your work as a database manager?

Ans we r Op tio ns Access Excel FileMaker JMP MPlus MS SQL MySQL Oracle RedCap Stata SPSS SAS Teleform Other R e s p o ns e Pe rc e nt 69.8% 91.4% 6.9% 0.9% 3.4% 14.7% 7.8% 6.9% 8.6% 26.7% 25.0% 25.0% 7.8% 27.6% R e s p o ns e Co unt 81 106 8 1 4 17 9 8 10 31 29 29 9 32

Are you responsible for the physical hardware that maintains your research databases?

Answe r Op tio ns Yes No Comments R e sp o nse Pe rce nt 32.5% 67.5% R e sp o nse Co unt 37 77 15 • • Comments: support by GCRC, IT Dept, outside vendors Among all, we need to learn more about: – Data security – Privacy

Do you integrate data from external sources directly into the databases you manage?

Answe r Op tio ns Yes No R e sp o nse Pe rce nt 39.5% 60.5% R e sp o nse Co unt 45 69 • • Potential barriers to integrating from external sources?

Is this a service that would be useful?

Do you have anyone within Johns Hopkins to get consults or advice from when you have a question related to database management?

Third party technical support JH Help Desk

How satisfied are you with your ability to get consults or advice when you have a question related to database management?

Answe r Op tio ns Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Neutral Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied N/A Comments R e sp o nse Pe rce nt 18.8% 34.2% 19.7% 11.1% 6.0% 10.3% R e sp o nse Co unt 22 40 23 13 7 12 22

Comments:

• There is no place where experts for data are available. I create my own relationships • User group would be very helpful for the projects I work on. • Not a good system in place to seek advice. • There is no official process – you have to be proactive on your own. • I feel for what data managers are expected to do, there is no training.

Where did you go for assistance the last time you had a question or problem in database management?

Ans we r Op tio ns Third party technical JH Help Desk Internet forum(s) Google User Group JH Colleagues Other N/A R e s p o ns e Pe rc e nt 14.4% 9.3% 16.1% 47.5% 6.8% 51.7% 14.4% 5.1% R e s p o ns e Co unt 17 11 19 56 8 61 17 6

Would you be interested in participating in a database users group?

Answe r Op tio ns Yes No R e sp o nse Pe rce nt 64.3% 35.7% R e sp o nse Co unt 74 41

What do you feel a database users group can do for you?

• • • • • • • • • Hear how others within JHU get the job done Strengthen my skill set Share solutions Connect me with data managers within the institution Provide another outlet to seek and learn information To have a resource to network with and a place to post questions To identify common problems and try to solve them Share information on up-to-date technology Learn how to be a better database manager

What do you want to learn as a database manager?

• • • • • • • • Network storage and server support Alternative ways to present data (graphs) Streamline data updating process from JHU repositories Common pitfalls and new technologies JHU rules regarding data management and IRB Effective ways to share data SQL; REDCap Ways to extract information from EPR in a more efficient manner