Data Management: Too Many Variables?

The amount of data that’s generated every day is staggering. According to an article published in Forbes magazine: “The volume of data is exploding. More data has been created in the past two years than in the entire previous history of the human race.”

With that in mind then, it follows that the storage and management of this data overload is what leaves data vulnerable to inaccuracies. If data is being generated faster than we can keep up with, a scalable and powerful informatics management solution is necessary, if not critical, to ensure accurate data – now more than ever.

It is often the case that research and development departments don’t have the resources required to match their project workload. Many facilities that handle data capture and management in a fast-paced laboratory environment are understaffed, which can lead to frequent occurrences of:

• Incomplete data records
• Inaccurate data recording
• Questionable data management

Process preference

For organizations with research and development facilities, it’s the duty of the researchers to collect, record, and accurately log the research data they’ve generated. These logs are known as ‘laboratory notebooks’, and it’s the format of these notebooks that is key in terms of accurate data management.

For many research professionals, lab books are often traditional, paper-based notebooks. For many research facilities, this method is an inefficient data management system.

The drawback of hand-written notebooks are, of course, numerous –  given that the data recorded in them is done so according to the individual preferences of their owners. This in itself highlights numerous issues that aren’t particularly conducive to the management of data, including (but not limited to):

• The legibility of the handwriting
• Shorthand information that’s unclear to others
• Varying levels of detail
• Only one available hard copy of the data

This illustrates just a few factors that could slow a collaborating researcher down. In these instances, it’s clear that informatics software is absolutely necessary in order to facilitate collaborative efforts more efficiently.

Revisiting experiments

As is often the case with research, a variety of follow-up experiments can take place that require the integrity of previously-gathered data and findings. Due to the above factors as well as things like varying levels of expertise, re-accessing data reports can often be difficult.

So much time could be freed up by simply implementing a multi-functional and easily accessible data management system that promises ease of use for all.

If you’re concerned about the impact of data inaccuracy in your organization, download our latest e-book ‘A Guide To Achieving Better Insight With Accurate Data’ here.

Informatics solution

The lack of competent data management tools in such an important, research-dependant sector not only compromises scientific progression, but also the integrity and credibility of you, your research facility, and your collaborators.

That’s why IDBS have developed a cutting-edge informatics platform that’s specially designed to eliminate the range of unreliable variables involved with data capture and storage. The E-WorkBook Cloud is sophisticated software that offers a multitude of data analysis and management tools, as well as a superior and easily accessible electronic laboratory notebook (ELN).

The E-WorkBook Cloud is the informatics solution you’ve been looking for to support and maintain uniformity and consistency in a sector that depends on viable data