About the NIH Common Data Element (CDE) Repository
Common data elements (CDEs) are standardized, precisely defined questions paired with a set of specific allowable responses, used systematically across different sites, studies, or clinical trials to ensure consistent data collection. Use of CDEs increases the interoperability of research data.
Launched in 2015, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) CDE Repository provides access to structured human and machine-readable definitions of data elements that have been recommended or required by NIH Institutes and Centers for use in research and for other purposes. NLM's Strategic Plan 2017-2027 and the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science identify common data elements as a means by which to facilitate interoperability of data:
- "Connect the resources of a digital research enterprise"—Objective 1.1 of the NLM Strategic Plan
- "NIH encourages researchers to use common data elements, or CDEs, which helps improve accuracy, consistency, and interoperability among data sets within various areas of health and disease research."—Objective 2-3: Leverage Ongoing Initiatives to Better Integrate Clinical and Observational Data into Biomedical Data Science
- "Promote use of the NIH Common Data Elements Repository"—Objective 2-3, Implementation Tactic 3
More about the National Library of Medicine: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/about/index.html