The ODC-Community space and Data Commons

PRECISE-TBI and ODC-TBI are proud to announce that the first data sets from the PRECISE community are now available in ODC-TBI.  Two datasets from a blast model of TBI were uploaded by Drs. Zezong Gu and Catherine Johnson at the Truman Memorial VA leading the PRECISE Blast Education Core. These datasets will soon be released to the public, but right now they are still going through the curation process. However, they have been released to the Commons for other ODC-TBI members to see through a unique feature of the ODC-TBI called the Community Space.  

The ODC-TBI and its sister site the ODC-SCI are all about open data.  We want as much data released as openly as possible. However, the ODCs were designed by the community and for the community and we respect that there are times when data may not be fully public.  For example, researchers may have small data sets from preliminary studies or failed experiments that aren’t fully annotated, or ones that are currently in preparation but may not be released for a while. These data may not be generally useful for the wider research community,  but this may still be useful to a community member when planning research or testing out various analyses. 

For that reason, the ODC was designed around a series of data sharing spaces, where data can be shared only with lab members, with all members of the ODC community, or to the public.  The ODC Community Space in ODC is a semi-protected space that is strictly members only.  We liken this space to the kitchen in a restaurant.  Data of all kinds are welcome here, they may be in the process of being curated and published or may represent a preliminary dataset that is never going to amount to much.  But still Community members are welcome to view these data to see what is going on in the community.  In contrast, only polished datasets that have passed through curation and quality checks are released to the public.  

So how does it work?

First, to gain access to Community datasets, you have to join the ODC-TBI as either a Community or Full member. For either level,  you must be associated with an institution that provides regulatory oversight, and agree to our terms and conditions and data sharing policies.  Full membership additionally requires that you create a Lab in ODC-TBI.  Members are approved by the ODC-TBI community monitors. Why do we do this?  To create a trusted space where neurotrauma researchers can share among themselves while they are working on data.  The ODC terms and conditions forbid members to publish or present with data in the Community Space without explicit permission of the Lab PI. 

Next, to access data in the Community Space, log into the ODC-TBI  and go to your Dashboard.  In the lower left navigation bar, enter the Commons by clicking on “Commons data” link  in the sidebar.  The Commons presents you a  customized view of all the data to which you have access including: