LOGIN/REGISTER:
1.Do I have to register to use the GEM Database Website?
You can browse and search measures and constructs without being a registered user. However, if you want to add or comment on measures and constructs, you will need to register.


2.How do I login to the site?
If you are already a registered user:
  • Click the “Login” button on the upper left hand side of the page. When prompted, enter your user name and password, and click “Login.”
If you are new to the site:
  • Click the “Register” button on the upper left hand side of the page.
  • Enter the requested information (user name, password, email address, first and last name).
  • Click “Create User.”
3.What if I forget my password?
  • Click the “Login” button on the upper left hand side of the page.
  • Click the “Forgot Password” button.
  • Enter your user name, click “Send Password,” and your password will be sent to the email address on file.
4. How do I change my password?
  • Go to the My GEM tab.
  • Click on “Change Password” and fill in the requested information.
5. How do I change my registration information?
  • Go to the My GEM tab.
  • Click on “Update Profile.”
  • Click the “Edit” button to enter your information.
  • Click the “Update” button when you are finished.

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CONSTRUCTS:
1.How do I add a construct?
  • Go to the Constructs tab.
  • Click the “Add New Construct” button.
  • Fill in as much of the following information as you have. The only information required to submit a construct is “Name of Construct” and Definition of Construct”.
    • Name of Construct – The title by which the construct is known.
    • Definition of Construct – Meaning of the construct.
    • Theoretical Foundation – The social, psychological, or behavioral theory underlying the construct.
    • Synonyms for Construct – Other terms sometimes used to represent the same construct (e.g., “perceived susceptibility” and “perceived threat”).
    • Similar Constructs – Related terms that represent over-lapping concepts. They overlap to such an extent that rarely would both be measured (e.g., “perceived benefits” and “pros of change”).
    • Associated Constructs – Terms that represent different concepts that are hypothesized (or known) to relate in useful ways and are therefore often measured together (e.g., “perceived benefits” and “perceived barriers”).
    • References – Selected publications concerning or using the construct.
    • Keywords – Words or phrases that will assist with the search for the construct.
  • Click “Review and Submit” to review the information you entered.
  • Click “Submit” to make the construct publicly available, or “Back” to make changes to the information you entered.
2.Do I have to fill-in all of the construct attribute information in one sitting?
  • No. If you would like to finish entering the construct information at a later time, click “Save.” The only information required to save a construct is “Name of Construct” and “Definition of Construct.”
  • When you return to the site:
    • Search or browse for the construct in the Constructs tab.
    • Click the construct name.
    • Click “Edit” to finish entering information.
  • PLEASE NOTE: The construct will not be publicly visible until you “Submit” it. Until the construct is submitted, it will only be visible to you.
3.How do I edit an existing construct?
  • Any registered user of the website has the ability to edit all publicly available constructs in the database.
  • Go to the Constructs tab and click on name of the construct you would like to edit.
  • When the detail screen appears, click the “Edit” button.
  • After you make the changes, click “Review and Submit” to review the changes.
  • Click “Submit” to update the construct with your information or “Back” to make changes to the information you entered.
4.How do I know if a construct on the website has been edited from its original version?
  • Go to the Constructs tab and click on the name of the construct you would like to view.
  • When the construct detail screen appears, click “History.” This will allow you to view a history of the changes that have been made, as well as the user ID of the individual who made the changes.
  • Click “View” to see a previous version of the construct.

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MEASURES:
1.How do I add a measure?
  • Go to the Measures tab
  • Click “Add New Measure.”
  • Fill in as much of the following information as you have. To get through all of the sections, you can either click on the tab heading or click “Save & Continue.” The only required information to submit a measure in “Draft” form is Measure Name and Construct.

    • General Information
    • Measure name – The title by which the measure is known.
    • Measure type – The method by which the data are obtained.
    • Construct – Concepts developed or adopted for use in a particular theory. (NOTE: Browse the list of constructs to see if the construct is already in the database. You can click on the name of any construct to view its definition and theoretical framework. If the construct is not there, click “Add construct.” Upon submitting the construct, the construct will appear in the list. Click on the name of the construct to select it.)
    • Primary Content Area – The field of research for which this measure is most theoretically relevant.
    • Secondary Content Area – A field of research for which this measure is also theoretically relevant.
    • Brief description – A brief description of the measure and its purpose.
    • Keywords – Words or phrases that will assist with the search for the construct
    • Target population – Types of subject(s) for which measure was intended or normed.
    • Mode of administration – A specific description of the administration of a measure.

    Author Information
    • Information about the author including Lead Author Name or Organization, Degree, Affiliation, Address, and Contact Information.

    History
    • Version Date – Date that this version of the measure was published.
    • Measurement Development – Changes to original measure; different iterations.

    Measurement Characteristics
    • Number of Items – Number of items in scale or index.
    • Response Category Format – The type of response options available for responding to any item.
    • Reliability – The ability of the measure to assess a quality or property consistently.
    • Validity – The degree to which the measure accurately assesses or reflects what it purports to measure.
    • Psychometric Properties – The psychometric aspects of the measure including validity and reliability.
    • Scoring Method – Specification of how items are combined to create a final score.
    • Data Sharing Capability – The ability of, or access to, data based on the use of the measure.
    • Public Availability – The availability of the measure in the public domain.
    • Language – The language in which the measure is written.

    References & Publications
    • Reference – Selected publications concerning or using the measure.

    Upload Measure
    • If you would like to provide a copy of your measure, click “Browse” to locate your document and “Upload” to upload it to the website. (NOTE: Only PDF files can be accepted.)
  • Click “Review and Submit” to review the information you entered.
  • Select the appropriate status.
  • Click “Submit” to make the measure publicly available or “Back” to make changes to the information you entered.
2.Do I have to fill-in all the measure attribute information in one sitting?
  • No. If you would like to finish entering the measure information at a later time, click “Save.” The only information required to save a measure is “Measure Name” and “Construct.”
  • When you return to the site:
    • Search or browse for the measure in the Measures tab.
    • Click the measure name.
    • Click “Edit” to finish entering information. (NOTE: The measure will not be publicly visible until you indicate that it should be. Until the measure is made publicly available, it will only be visible to you.)
3.How do I edit an existing measure?
  • Any registered user of the website has the ability to edit all publicly available measures in the database.
  • Go to the Measures tab and click on name of the measure you would like to edit.
  • When the measure detail screen appears, click “Edit.”
  • After you make the changes, and click “Review and Submit” to review your changes.
  • Click “Submit” to update the measure with your information, or “Back” to make changes to the information you entered.
4.How do I know if a measure on the website has been edited from its original version?
  • Go to the Measures tab and click on the name of the measure you would like to view.
  • When the measure detail screen appears, click “History.” This will allow you to view the history of all changes that have been made, as well as the user ID of the individual who made the changes.
  • Click “View” to see a previous version of the measure.

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LINKAGES BETWEEN CONSTRUCTS AND MEASURES:
How can I find measures related to a particular construct?
From the Constructs tab: Click on the name of a specific construct. A list of all the measures of that construct in the database will appear at the bottom of the page. If you click on the name of a particular measure, you will be sent to that measure’s details page.

From the Measures tab: If you find a measure and are interested in identifying additional measures assessing the same construct, click on the construct name. You will be sent to that construct’s details page, which includes a list of all measures of that construct.


My GEM Functions:
1. What is My GEM?
The My GEM tab allows you to:
  • Manage subscriptions;
  • Change your password; and
  • Update your user profile.

2. What are subscriptions and how do I manage them?
  • The GEM system allows you to subscribe to email updates about specific constructs, measures, and general news updates from GEM.
  • Subscriptions can be initiated on the details page for either constructs or measures. To unsubscribe, un-check the box on a details page or go to the My GEM tab.

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DATASETS:
1. How do I add a dataset?
  • Go to the dataset tab
  • Click “Add New Dataset”
  • Fill in as much of the following information as you have. To get through all of the sections, you can either click on the tab heading or click “Save & Continue.” The only required information to submit the dataset is the name of the dataset, organizational home of the data, and contact information for the holder of the data.
    • Dataset Name – The title of the dataset.
    • Data Collection Mode(s) – A specific description of the administration method used to collect the data in the dataset.
    • Population – Types of subjects included in the dataset.
    • Collection period
      • Collection Period Start – The date data collection began.
      • Collection Period End – The date data collection ended.
    • Number of Observations – Number of analysis units contained in the dataset.
    • Availability – The level of availability of the dataset.
    • Data Dictionary – Link to the data dictionary.
    • Keywords – Words or phrases that will assist with the search for a construct, measure, or dataset.
    • Description – Text description of important information concerning the dataset (e.g., purpose, contents, funding).
    • Organizational Home – Institutional owner or holder of the dataset and all associated documentation.
    • Contact
      • Contact First Name – The first name of the contact person for the dataset.
      • Contact Last Name – The surname of the contact person for the dataset.
      • Contact Degree – The highest degree awarded to the contact person.
      • Contact Affiliation – The organization of the contact person for the dataset.
      • Contact Address line 1 – The first part of the business address of the contact person for the dataset.
      • Contact Address line 2 – The second part of the business address of the contact person for the dataset.
      • Contact City – The city in which the contact person for the dataset works.
      • Contact Country – The country in which the contact person for the dataset works.
      • Contact State – The state in which contact person for the dataset works.
      • Contact Zip – The zip code in which the contact person for the dataset works.
      • Contact Phone – The phone number of the contact person for the dataset.
      • Contact E-mail – The e-mail address of the contact person for the dataset.
    • GEM Measure(s) Used – List of measures documented in GEM included in the dataset.
    • GEM Construct(s) Referenced – List of constructs with associated GEM measures in the dataset.
    • References/Links – Selected publications concerning or using the dataset.
    • Grid-enabled status – Datasets are considered grid-enabled when the documentation and programming related to the data have addressed the compatibility guidelines established for caBIG so that that dataset will be syntactically and semantically interoperable with other data presented via caBIG data services. These compatibility guidelines include development of a UML (unified modeling language) model that describes the relationships between the common data elements in a domain and curation of the model to ensure that shared vocabularies and standard values and formats have been used to define how data are collected.
    • caGrid URL – Link to caGrid location of grid-enabled dataset.
    • Preview CQL Statement – This statement, written in caGrid Query Language (CQL), queries the caBIG data service where the dataset of interest is located and returns a brief preview of the data.
    • Data usage agreement and security documents – These documents facilitate appropriate data sharing between and among organizations by addressing legal, regulatory, policy, proprietary, and contractual barriers to data exchange.
    • Data model URL – World Wide Web location of the UML model for the dataset. This will typically be stored at gforge.nci.nih.gov.
  • Click “Review and Submit” to review the information you entered.
  • Click “Submit” to make the dataset publicly available, or “Back” to make changes in the information you entered. (Note: The ability to preview a data service will not be made active until the “caGrid URL” and “Preview CQL Statement” have been verified.)
2. Do I have to fill-in all the dataset attribute information in one sitting?
  • No. If you would like to finish entering the dataset information at a later time, click “Save.” The only information required to save a dataset is “Dataset Name.”
  • When you return to the site:
    • Search or browse for the dataset in the Datasets tab.
    • Click the dataset name.
    • Click “Edit” to finish entering information.
  • PLEASE NOTE: The dataset will not be publicly visible until you submit it. Until then, the dataset will only be visible to you.
3. Can I edit an existing dataset?
Only the original author of a dataset submission can edit it.

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caBIG:
1. What are caBIG and the caGrid?
CaBIG, the cancer biomedical informatics grid, is a voluntary network or “grid” of individuals and institutions that are working to create a highly interoperable environment to enable researchers to share cancer research data and software tools. It is overseen by the National Cancer Institute Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT). CaGrid is the underlying network architecture that provides the basis for connectivity and data sharing among researchers.

2. How does GEM coordinate with caBIG and caGrid?
GEM is a grid-enabled, interoperable, dynamic website of behavioral and social science measures that is discoverable on caGrid. The purpose of GEM is to support the caBIG mission of facilitating transdisciplinary research through the use of standardized, vetted measures and shared data.

3. Where do I go to learn more about caBIG and caGRID?
  • The caBIG website:https://cabig.nci.nih.gov
  • Information on getting connected to caBIG and caGrid: https://cabig.nci.nih.gov/training/sharable/cagrid_overview?pid=primary.2006-07-07.4911641845&sid;=caGrid&status;=False
  • The caBIG Knowledge Centers: https://cabig.nci.nih.gov/esn/knowledge_centers?pid=primary.2006-07-07.4911641845&sid;=KC&status;=True
  • The caBIG basics training program: https://cabig.nci.nih.gov/concepts/essentials
  • The caBIG Quick Start Guides: https://wiki.nci.nih.gov/display/COREtraining/Quick+Start+Guides

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DATA USAGE AGREEMENTS and DATA SECURITY AGREEMENTS:
1. Where can I go to learn more about Data Usage and Security Agreements?
  • The caBIG page on data sharing: https://cabig.nci.nih.gov/working_groups/DSIC_SLWG/data_sharing_policy?pid=primary.2006-07-07.4911641845&sid;=secondary.2008-06-26.2664239591&status;=True

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