Understanding Trusted Research Environments

This course has been discontinued

Information is provided for reference purposes only.

Advances in data science including a commitment to reproducible science through open standards, data and source code have resulted in different ways of working within research. Trusted Research Environments are in many cases now the default pathway to accessing data, representing a step change in how data is accessed for research and introducing new challenges. The tutors on this course have been at the forefront of these developing approaches, both through applied research and the development of infrastructure. The University of Bristol (with the University of Edinburgh) run the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC), a trusted research environment bringing together information from the longitudinal study volunteers with their routine records.

Course profile

This course will introduce some exemplar TREs (e.g. The UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC), NHS England TRE and OpenSAFELY) to highlight the different ways TREs function, and some of the strengths and challenges these environments can introduce to research such as the availability of different tools. Different approaches to working within TREs will also be covered including insight into the strengths and challenges of different tools that can be used to manipulate data, conduct analyses, and create safe research outputs.

We aim to equip researchers with the confidence to work within TREs through awareness of the benefits, challenges and differences that exist across TREs. This course will not provide detail of analytic techniques but will instead provide awareness and understanding of the steps that need to be taken before analysis can be undertaken and once analysis is complete. These include applying to the TRE for access to data, deriving codeslists, creating cohorts, quality assurance, through to the close of the research project including requesting safe outputs for publication, and producing appropriate documentation for uploading to packages such as GITHub.

Whilst we will also more broadly introduce other important aspects of working within TREs including governance and data standards; common approaches to dealing with known challenges; the importance of patient and public involvement and engagement including fair processing and transparency; the benefits of developing good practice in documentation not least to support reproducible research. Emphasis is placed on working to open research practices supporting accessible, transparent, reproducible and visible research

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/staff/researchers/open-research/

Please click on the sections below for more information:

Taught over five half days consecutively with some asynchronous content, but mainly live content including small group work. Practical sessions will step through some exemplar projects, and include tasks such as creating a study population or code list. Analytic script (R) will be provided when required for practical sessions.

By the end of the course participants should be able to:

  1. successfully apply to an appropriate TRE to carry out research, including developing codelists and study populations;
  2. understand the steps that need to be taken before analysis can be undertaken and once analysis is complete including quality assurance, requesting safe research outputs; and
  3. complete high quality research within TREs (working to open research practices) with an awareness of the benefits, challenges and differences that exist across environments, producing appropriate study documentation for uploading to packages such as GITHub.

This course is intended for researchers who want to learn more about conducting research within a TRE.

This course will cover:

  1. an introduction to some exemplar TREs (e.g. The UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC), NHS England TRE and OpenSAFELY) highlighting the different ways they function, and some of the strengths and challenges, and different approaches to working within TREs including insight into the strengths and challenges of different tools that can be used to manipulate data, conduct analyses, and create safe research outputs;
  2. understanding of the steps that need to be taken before analysis can be undertaken and once analysis is complete. These include applying to the TRE for access to data, deriving codeslists, creating cohorts, quality assurance, through to the close of the research project including requesting safe outputs for publication, and producing appropriate documentation for uploading to packages such as GITHub; and
  3. introduction to other important aspects of working within TREs including governance and data standards; common approaches to dealing with known challenges; the importance of patient and public involvement and engagement including fair processing and transparency; the benefits of developing good practice in documentation not least to support reproducible research.