Infrastructure Center for Data Management

Former Center for Bibliometrics, Knowledge Discovery from Databases, and Scientific Communication

The Infrastructure Center MRIC IBMI operates within MRIC UL and is partially funded by ARIS.

The Infrastructure Center for Data Management (MRIC IBMI) is led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Brane Leskošek and is composed of several colleagues from the Institute of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics (IBMI) at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana (UL MF). With ICT equipment, services, and tools, MRIC IBMI assists and advises in research activities in Slovenian medicine and collaborates on international and national projects.

Domains in which MRIC IBMI provides expertise and services:

1. Data Management

The main purpose of data management is to enhance the quality, accessibility, and utilization of generated digital research data, following the principles of open science and FAIR principles (findability, accessibility/archiving, interoperability, and reusability). We provide advice, services, and tools for researchers at UL MF and beyond in the life sciences, including:

• Research data management plans (RDMPs). In collaboration with the ELIXIR-SI Center, we manage the Slovenian version of the DSW tool (https://slovenia.ds-wizard.org), enabling researchers to prepare, update, and monitor the quality of RDMPs for doctoral theses, European projects, and other initiatives.
• Data storage, repository, research registries and databases. We enable researchers access to these services via different digital interfaces. The researchers can also decide by themselves which data they want to share publicly. For researchers we have developed a system to facilitate the construction of relational databases of arbitrarily complex data objects and the development of tools for their web-based collection. We pay special attention to methods ensuring data compatibility and interoperability (as Interoperability part of the FAIR principles), coordinated verification of data formal and substantive correctness, and their security (during transmission and in the database itself). The software tool we are developing allows high-level formal description of the main components of the future system, including the database, web forms, algorithms linking forms, data control programs, etc.. The system generation is mostly automated based on these formal descriptions. Although assistance from an IT expert is currently required in the software's development stage, it mainly involves advisory and the development of non-standard information services. We have used this software both in building textual and relational databases and in collecting data for statistical processing in multicenter studies. We offer services and tools in collaboration with the ELIXIR-SI Center on the ELIXIR-SI HPC computing cluster.
• Data analysis and processing: development of workflows from sample collection through laboratory analysis, quality control, bioinformatics/data analysis (mostly high-throughput data), to results interpretation. We also collaborate with experts from other complementary fields at various workflow stages, such as laboratory professionals (pharmacists, biologists, biochemists, etc.) and biostatisticians.
• Assistance in using repositories, other medical informatics services, electronic health record solutions, and standards in medical informatics (HL7 and OpenEHR). We particularly closely collaborate with the HL7 Slovenia community, of which we are founding members.
• Researching and implementing new solutions in the field of digital user interfaces (e.g., video conferencing or other informational graphical user interfaces) for use in various biomedical environments.

Pricing: Consultation and the provision, use, and maintenance of data management services and tools for project needs are charged based on agreement and depending on the requirements of each project, while encouraging their use in joint projects. For non-obligatory order of a service we use the common electronic form of ELIXIR-SI Center: https://elixir-slovenia.org/en/order-a-service/.

2. Implementation of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) in Research, Pedagogical, and Professional Work at UL MF

Within MRIC IBMI, we also develop LMSs and e-learning systems, providing them as operational infrastructure for teaching activities at UL MF and for various research and professional projects. The Medical Faculty's online classroom is based on Moodle software, which is well-tested, stable, and widely used by many faculties worldwide and locally. Within MRIC IBMI, we develop and maintain several features of the UL MF online classroom (SU), such as the integration with the VIS (local students information) system, enabling automatic synchronization of access to individual subjects in the SU with VIS enrollments managed by the student office. The SU team continuously adds and updates SU functionalities and ensures its reliable and secure operation.

For the purposes of other research and professional projects, we have established the Lifelong online classroom - https://lifelong.mf.uni-lj.si, where we have set up various interactive solutions, e.g., for the education of family medicine specialists (in collaboration with the Department of Family Medicine) and medical students/specialists in dementia care (in collaboration with the Department of Neurology and the STUDICODE project). In collaboration with the ELIXIR-SI Center, we are developing the ELIXIR eLearning Platform (EeLP) for the European ELIXIR network, available at https://elixir.mf.uni-lj.si.

Pricing: Usage, preparation, and maintenance of online classrooms for project needs are charged based on agreement and depending on the requirements of each project, while encouraging their use in joint projects.

3. Bibliometric Research and Citation Analysis

Bibliometrics (or scientometrics) mainly deals with measuring the impact of research work. The methods are based on measuring the influence of publications, often indicated by citation counts. Impact is measured at various levels, including individual researchers, research groups, scientific disciplines, national scientific production, and even the impact of scientific journals (compared with the standard Garfield impact factor). Analyses have even been conducted on the impact of research ideas, concepts, and chemical substances.

Within MRIC IBMI, we analyze the characteristics of publishing in Slovenian medicine. We are particularly interested in using Hirsch's index to describe the impact of publications at the individual, research group, medical field, and overall professional levels, and comparing the usefulness of this simple index with some established bibliometric indicators. We also study the impact of foreign co-authorship on the influence (impact) of a programming group and whether foreign co-authorship has different effects on the impact of publications in different scientific disciplines. We use the results also for advising on scientific communication.

Pricing: Currently, we do not charge for work with citation analysis software but encourage its use in joint projects.

4. Central Information and Communication Equipment of UL MF

In our operations, MRIC IBMI staff use and also offer some of their equipment, services, and tools for the operation of the central computing and communication equipment of UL MF. The central ICT equipment of MRIC IBMI is primarily needed for researchers' access to MRIC IBMI tools and services. In this regard, we collaborate closely with the Computer Information Center (RIS), which manages the central computing and communication equipment and is also part of IBMI. The equipment and services of RIS are used not only by researchers at UL MF but also by some researchers at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana.

5. Biostatistical Analyses

In collaboration with the Biostatistics Center at IBMI, we provide advice and assistance to researchers in biostatistical analyses.