Interested in assessing subjective memory? The German translation by @JosephineHeine and @SophiaRekers of the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire (MMQ) is now freely available for clinicians and researchers here. Normative and psychometric data coming soon. Stay tuned!
Longitudinal volumetric MRI analyses revealed significant brain volume loss and failure of age-expected brain growth in pediatric anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Abnormal MRI findings, a clinical presentation with sensorimotor deficits, and a treatment delay of over 4 weeks were identified as predictors of poor clinical outcome.
Find the full publication here.
[Written by Johanna on 2019/06/20]
The title will probably be the key word that appears in the wiki and is thus directly linked to your entry.
The Ablage and Archiv can be used to store your data. There are a few differences between the two:
If you want to back-up data from a running project or want to save files/data your currently working with on a Charité-Server, you can use this folder. The Ablage has space for 8TB.
Additionally to the Datenablage, we now have access to the Archiv (10TB). The Archiv can be used for data which won’t be modified anymore. Everybody should think about what they can put in the Archiv to save space in the Datenablage, e.g. already finished projects.
To store data in the Ablage, you need to get permission by the Charité IT.
You must fill out this form: https://intranet.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/microsites/gb/it/sys/Beantragung-Rechte.pdf
Johanna/Leonie can help you if you should have questions.
You then find the folder DATEN here:
(S:) CHARITE-DATEN-ABLAGE
– AG
-AG-Finke
-Daten
Because we seriously cannot modify the data once it is uploaded in the Archiv, we have to be very careful what we put there. Everybody who got granted access to the Datenablage is also able to read the Archiv. However, only Maron and Johanna/Leonie have the possibility to upload data.
The folder structure is the following: \NAME\PROJECT
Please keep in mind that the space is limited to 8TB for the whole lab. To keep track of the Datenablage, Carsten made this google doc:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a956pDa-BgsnxDtLHnEnZSvzaWu471Fp3_y3dLyh7tQ/edit#gid=0
Please put all the relevant information concerning the data you want to store in this spreadsheet.
If you want to store data in the Archiv
(1) put your data in the folder ‘ready_for_archiv’ in the Datenablage
(2) Write a mail to Maron and/or Johanna/Leonie and we will move the data to the Archiv
https://intranet.charite.de/fileadmin/user_upload/microsites/gb/it/sys/Beantragung-Rechte.pdf
Initially the most important task is to find out when the ethics committee meets, and then submit to them at least 14 days prior so that your application can be scheduled in for that meeting. Meeting dates for 2019 can be found here. The committee should generally get back to you within 10 days of the Meeting with a decision.
For your ethics submission you will require the following documents
The Ethikantrag can be downloaded here. However, check on the website if there is a newer version.
The key to writing the Ethikantrag is to be clear and precise, but not too detailed. The latter may seem counter-intuitive, but being too specific in your explanations may then require you to submit amendments to ethics for every small change you want to make. Reviewers are unlikely to care about the specificities of your research, as their priority is ensuring that you have identified potential risks for participants and that participants are aware of their rights. Furthermore, in many cases, ethics is time-pressured and often submitted before you yourself have an extremely clear idea of the ins and outs of your study. An example of this would be saying “validated and commonly used tests of memory, attention and speed will be used to test the cognitive functioning of participants”, instead of listing out each and every test, and then later having to make an ethics amendment if you wish to change one. However, if you are already quite sure of what test you will be using, then by all means, list it.
There are many sections (e.g. data protection, insurance, participant rights) from each of the required documents which can be copied directly from previous submissions. Just ask a lab member if they could forward you one of the previous applications.
As for a general template or structure of the various required documents, Stephan kindly shared around approved Study Information and Consent forms for the V-Reha project in 2018 which can be found here.
[Written by Graham Cooper on 2019/15/01]
Reproducibility ensures that anyone (including you in 6 months’ time!) can take your data and get the same results and tables that you originally found/generated. Problems with reproducibility (and how to overcome these) have been widely discussed in recent years, particularly in the behavioral sciences. One major obstacle standing in the way of reproducibility in research is good curation of data, i.e. storing everything in a sensible place, keeping track of changes in files by various collaborators. This is a particular challenge for us as researchers as (generally) we have been taught how to collect and analyze data to a high level of skill but have received next to no training in how to curate that data once it exists. Git (and GitHub) is one popular version control system that enables such data curation and is widely used in the field of software engineering, where the skills of data science/data management are taught to a gold standard. Using Git and GitHub, you have one space where all your relevant documents can be stored. Every version of your documents is saved so you can easily go back and check previous versions without needing to search through endless files names “manuscript_draft_version_16_FINAL_draft_ACTUAL_FINAL_DRAFT.doc”, for example! It also makes collaboration easier as everyone can work on the same document at once and merge versions, while keeping track of who did what. At the end of the project it also facilitates sharing of data and code as you can make a private repository public and add a link that everyone can access.
Currently GitHub allow users to have unlimited private repositories!
See Vuorre & Corley (2018) for a more detailed tutorial on Git and GitHub including how to set it up. A link to the online pdf is available in the links section.
Below is a list of common commands for Git and what they are used for.
git init
Initializes an empty git repository
git status
Shows all changes made since last “commit”
git add
Adds changes to the file to be committed
git commit -m “added file”
Commit all changes (signify that these changes should be included in the document). The text after the -m flag is the commit message that describes the changes you made
[Written by Sophia on 2019/01/14]
Lot’s of work and only 24 hours in a day. That’s why you need an intern or more than one. In order to do it efficiently and without getting in trouble with administration, there are a couple of things you need to be consider.
Two ways to go with ups and downs:
Passive (being wooed): Wait for people to contact the lab or you
+ little effort
– bit of a gamble whether the person is a good fit
Active (looking for people you need): Put out an ad with what you need
+ a bit of work
– more likely to find a person who is a good fit
Where your intern will be working depends also on where you work. There are 2-4 computers in the attic which are occupied by Finke lab interns. However, if you plan on using one of those, talk to the other lab members and how they are currently occupied. At least on one computer we have special rotation/ intern log-ins the person can use.
For the attic, the intern will need a key-card you can order from Laura (mb-office@hu-berlin.de). This will take a couple of days.
There are also interns at the Charité offices. Same thing applies about desk space – talk to your colleagues regarding availability. Depending on the office they will sit in, they will need either 70.105 or 725.1, which you can get from the Schlüsselverwaltung CCM.
The checked and signed Laufzettel (see attachemnts), including but not necessarily exclusively
All documents except for the MB_Laufzettel Praktikanten_Interns_Mitarbeiter.pdf can be found in the ZIP_folder_documents_1-11__18__and_3_x_extras and ZIP_folder_Praktika
MB_Laufzettel Praktikanten_Interns_Mitarbeiter
Zip folders
ZIP_folder_documents_1-11__18__and_3_x_extras
ZIP_folder_Praktika Ausschreibung Praktikant
Example of an ad I posted in German: Ausschreibung Praktikant
[Written by Josephine on 2019/01/14]
Your Charité e-mail address will not only make a more professional impression when contacting study participants, it is also needed to access various applications at the Charité workplace, including:
You will need a Charité e-mail address in order to apply for SAP. Fill out the attached application form for external employees if you do not have an official contract with Charité.
The ‘HR-OE’ organizational unit of the Department of Neurology (CCM) is: MNE-FO.
Your SAP log in will allow you to access the digital patient documentation system. This includes information about:
Downloads: Go to the intranet and search for SAP-Antragsformular.
[Written by Johanna on 2019/06/17]
Retourenkleber are stickers you can hand out to patients or study participants when you want them to not have to pay the postage for the return of documents.
It means that we (aka Carstens third-party funds) pay for it once it arrives at the post office at Charité.
Currently, only the lab in Sauerbruchweg 5 uses Retourenkleber and we store them there.
They look like this:
[Written by Johanna on 19/01/17]
REDCap = Research Electronic Data Capture
It is a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. The administration is covered by Charité IT. The database has many fancy features which we can use four different studies conducted by us:
This is the link to the log-in page:
https://redcap.charite.de/cru/redcap_v8.10.1/DataEntry/record_home.php?pid=19&id=LE_001&arm=1
REDCap is updated from time to time and hence the link changes. Remember to use the latest version! I will keep the link in the wiki updated.
The log-in details are your charité-username and password.
Should there be any issues with REDCap (or any other reason why we need support by an admin), we can use the REDCAP Admin Link on the website.
Andreas Hetey (Andreas.hetey@charite.de) set up our project. He has been very helpful.
Picture: REDCap1
This is how REDCap looks like. There are many great video tutorials, which explain all the functions. This is a brief summary video: https://redcap.vanderbilt.edu/consortium/videoplayer.php?video=redcap_overview_brief02&title=Brief%20Overview%20of%20REDCap&referer=redcap.charite.de.
You also have the possibility to download the app for mobile devices.
Before you want to use REDCap, please write me a mail (johanna.klag@charite.de) so I can grant you the user rights you need.
Depending on what you need, reading and writing rights can be granted for the whole project or for specific parts only. You have to possibility to read only anonymized data. This might be especially helpful when you use REDCap to collaborate with other groups.
Right now, we established the REDCap database for the LE-project only.
Officially, you need to sign an agreement with the Clinical Research Unit of BIH to set up a project for a new study. They ask for basic information regarding data protection, voting of the ethics committee, etc.
When setting up a new project, follow the steps under “project setup” which are quite self-explanatory. Should there be any specific questions, feel free to ask!
There are three ways to import your data:
REDCap offers the possibility to have a look at basic statistics directly in REDCap (distribution of a sample, mean and max values). These images can be downloaded.
To export an entire data set, you should use the export tool. You can select between all data or specific instruments or events. When it comes to the export format, you have the choice between .csv (raw data or labels) or a format, which is fitted for a statistical program (SPSS, SAS, R, Stata). XML output is also possible.
REDCap has tons of great video tutorials, check them out!
[Written by Johanna on 2019/07/24]
These criteria might be different for every study. Regarding the LE-study, we follow these rules:
Travel costs are fully reimbursed (journey there and back)
Travelling allowance:
Regarding accompanying persons: If a patient says that the participation of the study is only possible when she is accompanied by another person (partner, parent, friend, etc.), we normally also reimburse the costs for the second person under the same conditions. Inform Carsten about that.
Hotel costs are reimbursed for people for whom it is not possible to arrive and depart at the same day due to a long journey. Inform Carsten if this is the case. Hotel costs are reimbursed up to 60€. Regarding accompanying persons, see above.
Hotels that are close by:
Mikon Eastgate
Motel one
Riverside City Hotel
The patients are responsible for booking the hotel.
You find the form in the _LE_Orga-Folder.
Filling out the form is quite self-explanatory: Fill in the name and the address of the study participant and the banking details. If possible, fill in everything you can on the computer. There are many illegible numbers and letters when some people do it handwritten.
Example see here:
As it already says on the form, we have to attach all receipts and tickets to the form. For that, scan the form with the original signature and all the tickets/receipts. Merge all the images into one pdf-file (Very important! Otherwise, your request will not be processed). You can use pdf24 or any other program you like.
Send a mail to zentraler-rechnungseingang@charite.de and attach the ONE pdf to the mail.
The text could sound like this:
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
Könnten Sie bitte die Erstattung der Kosten von unserer Studienteilnehmerin XXX übernehmen? Das DM-Konto ist wie angegeben XXX.
Herzlichen Dank!
Beste Grüße,
Johanna
Normally, the money is transferred to the bank account of the study participant within 5-7 weekdays. Keep in mind that Carsten has to approve it first.
Should there be problems with the reimbursement, something like this happens:
Contact person for the case that you desperately want to talk to somebody:
Marina Erxleben from Geschäftbereich Finanzen normally takes care of our money: Geschäftsbereich Finanzen Tel. 672488
You can find all the information also in intranet: https://intranet.charite.de/fi/download_und_service/finanz_und_rechnungswesen/kreditorenbuchhaltung/
(I just read that they have different criteria mentioned there regarding the name of the document. I never followed these (and never had problems) but you might do that in the future. Also, the documents seem to have been updated.)