DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERACTIVE DATA-BASE MANAGEMENT-SYSTEM FOR CAPTURING LARGE VOLUMES OF DATA

Accurate collection and successful management of data are problems com mon to all scientific studies. For studies in which large quantities o f data are collected by means of questionnaires and/or forms, data bas e management becomes quite laborious and time consuming. Data base man agement comprises data collection, data entry, data editing, and data base maintenance. In this article, the authors describe the developmen t of an interactive data base management (IDM) system for the collecti on of more than 1,400 variables from a targeted population of 6,000 pa tients undergoing heart surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. The goals of the IDM system are to increase the accuracy and efficiency wi th which this large amount of data is collected and processed, to redu ce research nurse work load through automation of certain administrati ve and clerical activities, and to improve the process for implementin g a uniform study protocol, standardized forms, and definitions across sites.