IT Development and Management of a Live eResearch System: Experiences with the Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank

Abstract

The Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank (ASRB) is a nationwide eResearch project that aims to facilitate scientific research into one of the most perplexing and challenging mental disorders facing researchers today. The system is accessed through a Web portal and, subject to ethics approvals, allows researchers access to subsets of the clinical, neuropsychological, and genetic data collected by the project. This paper describes the day-to-day experiences in the on-going development and management of the ASRB IT systems, including current practices, lessons learned, and areas where improvement is required.