Creating a Data Structure

Creating a Data Structure

If you do not find a clinical assessment defined in the NDAR Data Dictionary, send us your codebook or develop your own data structure using our provided template.

Data Types

Data elements fall into

following categories

:

Integer

: a whole number (not a fractional number) that can be positive, negative, or zero

Float

: a number that contains a floating decimal point

String

:

a

text (a

sequence of characters)

Date

: MM/DD/YYYY

GUID

:

special subject’s identifier

File

: file(s) linked to data being

submitted

Value Ranges

A value range is the acceptable values for a data element.

Ranges of values should be separated with two colons.

A valid value must match the data type of the data element. F

or example, if the data element is an integer, it is not appropriate to have a value range containing letters.

Multiple values must be separated by a semicolon.

Formatting and Organization

The following are required data elements and must be included in a data structure.

Formatting and Organization

Assessment scores always be listed as required elements.*from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – Module 2

Naming Elements

Element names should be created based on a combination of the assessment name and question number. For longer assessments with multiple sections, we recommend including the title of the corresponding section. Element names are limited to 30 characters.

*from the Ages and Stages Questionnaires

Assessment abbreviation

Question number

Section name

Subject’s age and question number

*from the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire

Naming Elements

When creating a new data structure, please reuse as many data elements as possible from the Data Dictionary.

*from the Background History Form

*from Demographics

Naming Elements

To find existing elements,

please refer to “Manage Data Elements” in the NDAR portal. Once logged into the portal, click on Data Dictionary in the Menu bar.

Naming Elements

On the right sidebar, click on “Manage Data Elements.”

Naming Elements

Here you can search through all of the existing elements.

Translation

If you have an assessment defined in your system and have never used NDAR’s names, please use Alias Mapping to connect your names to NDAR’s. If you have valid values in your system that are not in the NDAR Data Dictionary, we can create translations rules to accept your values.

Review

Once complete, send us your txt or csv file for review. Please also provide a pdf version of the assessment with a description. Please let us know if you want to see your lab name associated with provided data structure.

Need Help?

Each data structure is reviewed by NDAR staff prior to publication in the Data Dictionary. If you need assistance, please contact the NDAR Help Desk at NDARHelp@mail.nih.gov.