scholarly journals Resistance to Adoption of Best Practices

Author(s):  
Dan Sholler ◽  
Sara Stoudt ◽  
Chris J. Kennedy ◽  
Fernando Hoces de la Guardia ◽  
Francois Lanusse ◽  
...  

There are many recommendations of "best practices" for those doing data science, data-intensive research, and research in general. These documents usually present a particular vision of how people should work with data and computing, recommending specific tools, activities, mechanisms, and sensibilities. However, implementation of best (or better) practices in any setting is often met with resistance from individuals and groups, who perceive some drawbacks to the proposed changes to everyday practice. We offer some definitions of resistance, identify the sources of researchers' hesitancy to adopt new ways of working, and describe some of the ways resistance is manifested in data science teams. We then offer strategies for overcoming resistance based on our group members' experiences working alongside resistors or resisting change themselves. Our discussion concluded with many remaining questions left to tackle, some of which are listed at the end of this piece.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Stuart Geiger ◽  
Dan Sholler ◽  
Aaron Culich ◽  
Ciera Martinez ◽  
Fernando Hoces de la Guardia ◽  
...  

What are the challenges and best practices for doing data-intensive research in teams, labs, and other groups? This paper reports from a discussion in which researchers from many different disciplines and departments shared their experiences on doing data science in their domains. The issues we discuss range from the technical to the social, including issues with getting on the same computational stack, workflow and pipeline management, handoffs, composing a well-balanced team, dealing with fluid membership, fostering coordination and communication, and not abandoning best practices when deadlines loom. We conclude by reflecting about the extent to which there are universal best practices for all teams, as well as how these kinds of informal discussions around the challenges of doing research can help combat impostor syndrome.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Sholler ◽  
Diya Das ◽  
Fernando Hoces de la Guardia ◽  
Chris Hoffman ◽  
Francois Lanusse ◽  
...  

Turnover is a fact of life for any project, and academic research teams can face particularly high levels of people who come and go through the duration of a project. In this article, we discuss the challenges of turnover and some potential practices for helping manage it, particularly for computational- and data-intensive research teams and projects. The topics we discuss include establishing and implementing data management plans, file and format standardization, workflow and process documentation, clear team roles, and check-in and check-out procedures.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248128
Author(s):  
Mark Stewart ◽  
Carla Rodriguez-Watson ◽  
Adem Albayrak ◽  
Julius Asubonteng ◽  
Andrew Belli ◽  
...  

Background The COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant global threat. However, despite urgent need, there remains uncertainty surrounding best practices for pharmaceutical interventions to treat COVID-19. In particular, conflicting evidence has emerged surrounding the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, alone or in combination, for COVID-19. The COVID-19 Evidence Accelerator convened by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, in collaboration with Friends of Cancer Research, assembled experts from the health systems research, regulatory science, data science, and epidemiology to participate in a large parallel analysis of different data sets to further explore the effectiveness of these treatments. Methods Electronic health record (EHR) and claims data were extracted from seven separate databases. Parallel analyses were undertaken on data extracted from each source. Each analysis examined time to mortality in hospitalized patients treated with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and the two in combination as compared to patients not treated with either drug. Cox proportional hazards models were used, and propensity score methods were undertaken to adjust for confounding. Frequencies of adverse events in each treatment group were also examined. Results Neither hydroxychloroquine nor azithromycin, alone or in combination, were significantly associated with time to mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. No treatment groups appeared to have an elevated risk of adverse events. Conclusion Administration of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and their combination appeared to have no effect on time to mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Continued research is needed to clarify best practices surrounding treatment of COVID-19.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Goldsack ◽  
Andrea Coravos ◽  
Jessie Bakker ◽  
Brinnae Bent ◽  
Ariel V. Dowling ◽  
...  

UNSTRUCTURED Digital medicine is an interdisciplinary field, drawing together stakeholders with expertise in engineering, manufacturing, clinical science, data science, biostatistics, regulatory considerations, ethics, patient advocacy, and healthcare policy, to name a few. While this diversity is undoubtedly valuable, it can lead to confusion regarding terminology and best practices. There are many instances, as we detail in this paper, where a single term is used by different groups to mean different things, as well as cases where multiple terms are used to describe essentially the same concept. Our intent is to clarify core terminology and best practices for the evaluation of Biometric Monitoring Technologies (BioMeTs), without unnecessarily introducing new terms. We propose and describe a three-component framework intended to provide a foundational evaluation framework for BioMeTs. This framework includes 1) verification, 2) analytical validation, and 3) clinical validation. We aim for this common vocabulary to enable more effective communication and collaboration, generate a common and meaningful evidence base for BioMeTs, and improve the accessibility of the digital medicine field.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie A McMurry ◽  
Nick Juty ◽  
Niklas Blomberg ◽  
Tony Burdett ◽  
Tom Conlin ◽  
...  

AbstractIn many disciplines, data is highly decentralized across thousands of online databases (repositories, registries, and knowledgebases). Wringing value from such databases depends on the discipline of data science and on the humble bricks and mortar that make integration possible; identifiers are a core component of this integration infrastructure. Drawing on our experience and on work by other groups, we outline ten lessons we have learned about the identifier qualities and best practices that facilitate large-scale data integration. Specifically, we propose actions that identifier practitioners (database providers) should take in the design, provision and reuse of identifiers; we also outline important considerations for those referencing identifiers in various circumstances, including by authors and data generators. While the importance and relevance of each lesson will vary by context, there is a need for increased awareness about how to avoid and manage common identifier problems, especially those related to persistence and web-accessibility/resolvability. We focus strongly on web-based identifiers in the life sciences; however, the principles are broadly relevant to other disciplines.


Author(s):  
Shawn T. Brown ◽  
Paola Buitrago ◽  
Edward Hanna ◽  
Sergiu Sanielevici ◽  
Robin Scibek ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mia Partlow ◽  
Karen Ciccone ◽  
Margaret Peak

Presentation given at TRLN Annual Meeting, Durham, North Carolina, July 1, 2019. The Hunt Library Dataspace was launched in August 2018 to provide students with access to the tools and support they need to develop critical data skills and perform data intensive tasks. It is outfitted with specialized computing hardware and software and staffed by graduate student Data Science Consultants who provide drop-in support for programming, data analysis, statistical analysis, visualization, and other data-related topics.Prior to launching the Dataspace the Libraries’ Director of Planning and Research worked with the Data & Visualization Services department to develop a plan for assessing the new Dataspace services. The process began with identifying relevant goals based on NC State University and the NC State University Libraries’ strategic priorities. Next we identified measures that would assess our success in relation to those goals. This talk describes the assessment planning process, the measures and methods employed, outcomes, and how this information will be used to improve our services and inform new service development.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Parimbelli ◽  
S. Wilk ◽  
R. Cornet ◽  
P. Sniatala ◽  
K. Sniatala ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionThanks to improvement of care, cancer has become a chronic condition. But due to the toxicity of treatment, the importance of supporting the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients increases. Monitoring and managing QoL relies on data collected by the patient in his/her home environment, its integration, and its analysis, which supports personalization of cancer management recommendations. We review the state-of-the-art of computerized systems that employ AI and Data Science methods to monitor the health status and provide support to cancer patients managed at home.ObjectiveOur main objective is to analyze the literature to identify open research challenges that a novel decision support system for cancer patients and clinicians will need to address, point to potential solutions, and provide a list of established best-practices to adopt.MethodsWe designed a review study, in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, analyzing studies retrieved from PubMed related to monitoring cancer patients in their home environments via sensors and self-reporting: what data is collected, what are the techniques used to collect data, semantically integrate it, infer the patient’s state from it and deliver coaching/behavior change interventions.ResultsStarting from an initial corpus of 819 unique articles, a total of 180 papers were considered in the full-text analysis and 109 were finally included in the review. Our findings are organized and presented in four main sub-topics consisting of data collection, data integration, predictive modeling and patient coaching.ConclusionDevelopment of modern decision support systems for cancer needs to utilize best practices like the use of validated electronic questionnaires for quality-of-life assessment, adoption of appropriate information modeling standards supplemented by terminologies/ontologies, adherence to FAIR data principles, external validation, stratification of patients in subgroups for better predictive modeling, and adoption of formal behavior change theories. Open research challenges include supporting emotional and social dimensions of well-being, including PROs in predictive modeling, and providing better customization of behavioral interventions for the specific population of cancer patients.


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