Tablet and laptop with charts

At the present time of clinical trials, along with complex sampling requirements and increased data output, also demands effective management tools and innovation samples. Luckily, various technological solutions also have been developed to ease multiple laboratory aspects of conducted clinical trials. However, since 80s research production has begun to grow exponentially, marking the research data management beginning challenges. However, the arrival of throughput technologies has shifted the weight from collecting data to sorting, analyzing, managing and storing.

The most critical component of the process of conducting critical research is effective data management practices. It is because this data has the ability to determine the progress, results, and toxicities of the research trial. The reported results of every trial have to reflect accurate and verifiable data which have been gathered and analyzed in a laborious fashion. Even more, conducting a successful clinical trial needs a significant amount of planning and adequate resources to implement a trial in a proper and consistent manner. However, conducting clinical research is also important to gather science evidences related data which is quite challenging but can be rewarding if you are going to handle and manage it in the best possible way.

Importance of Digital Data Management in The Laboratories

Although paper laboratory notebooks are still being used by various lab researchers at the present time to document their laboratory work, this system is becoming a bottleneck because of the growing amount of data which is being produced during various research processes. Effective digital laboratory data management tools can resolve these problems of keeping up with the growing data amount and can fulfil the demands for its reuse and traceability.

However, when we talk about the paper data management systems in the research laboratories, then the loss of essential information is one of the most major issues in laboratory records particularly the ones which are not being stored and digested in a proper systematic way. Almost 17% of the entire research data is being lost on an annual basis because of which it is being posed a great reportability and reusability plan. Even more, massive additional costs and excess limitation for knowledge base expansion and knowledge sharing are also being created. While the problems of knowledge transfer and data loss are notable more especially if any researcher is going to leave the research laboratory.

Read more: FAIR Principles – Key Take Away Messages for Researchers

Even more, the latest throughput methods in the field of lie science are also generating a huge amount of data which you can’t simply print or glue in a notebook. Rather than various sophisticated tools are now required for analysis and systematic storage of data. Along with the more power to search this data which can help you to make it more traceable with ease. However, the challenges of effective data management which are in hand can’t be addressed in a more effective way with the predominant paper manual data management systems and approach of documentation which are already existing in this field.

The technological breakthrough is required where ELN can learn and self-adjust to the patron for of the shelf and ready-made Life science ELN to reach the full potential. 

This is the reason why research laboratories are looking for effective digital data management systems where they can store research data systematically and make it more accessible and adaptable in the future in the best possible way. Advancement in the technology, use of more sophisticated tools, collaboration technology, and low-cost communication combinedly enabling the huge amount of research data creation. There is a high need to develop effective yet digital data management systems in the laboratories which can facilitate quality research, even more, effective data management tools will also help to limit the bad research in this field.

Importance of Implementing FAIR Principles

FAIR principles which are an emphasis on making the research data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. As most of the aspects of present life have been tied to the technology or digital world. This technology is allowing easier integration between different types of systems, devices, and instruments too.

Eric Little, at Osthus, has presented FAIR principles and described that applying these principles can help in the process of building data catalogues where it could be quite easier to share data and find, integrate and access required research data across the organizations or research laboratories.

From then, this would also become easier to apply advanced statistical methods on data to provide advanced analytics and capabilities in the best possible way. Previously, scientists had already conducted various researches in almost every field of life including life sciences but unfortunately, the entire data of these researches was sequestered to the notebooks or personal systems of the researchers which have made that unavailable for the wider scientific community. While at the present time, research organizations can help to build a FAIR future to share the research data with everyone out there. Most interestingly, opening up research data in this way can yield many benefits and even can open up the paths for further researches in the best possible way.

Read more: FAIR Principles – Key Take Away Messages for Researchers

Conclusion

Laboratory data which is being produced during the practice of scientific methods is not being managed in the academic labs on a consistent basis to many academic research institutions. As data is more open available, therefore, more and more data management plans are being enforced. However, Data lifecycle, Data integrity, Data Security, Permanence, unchangeable time stamps, and Perpetual Revision History are going to be the major concerns that will evolve in the laboratory research data management. However, proof of research data is also a major concern in these systems. Also, Digital Lab Notebook use has the ability to help in the discoveries proof, necessary tools to defend, intellectual property protection and research integrity preservation. As scientific research’s collaborative nature is continuously becoming easier to execute with the advancements in technology and digital data management processes, FAIR principles are also making their way to grow in this field more effectively.