Before your lab starts registering samples, an administrator sets up the structures that describe your data: where samples come from, what kinds of samples you track, what results you record, and where samples are stored. Planning these structures first, then creating them in order, keeps setup simple. This topic walks through that order and links to the details for each step.

• Video
• Plan Your Data Structure
• Set Up in This Order
• Next Steps

Video

In this video, you will see how to plan a data structure in a spreadsheet, and then build it in the application: Source Types, Sample Types, assay designs, and storage.

Plan Your Data Structure

Start in a spreadsheet or on paper. Decide:

• Sources: Where do your samples come from? For example, studies, patients, or collection sites.
• Sample Types: What kinds of samples do you collect, such as blood or tissue, and what information do you record about each one?
• Lineage: How are your sources and samples related? For example, patients belong to a study, and blood and tissue samples are collected from a patient.
• Assays: What results do you record for your samples?
• Storage: What freezers and other storage do you have, and how are they divided into shelves, racks, and boxes?

A simple diagram of the lineage, such as Study > Patient > Blood and Tissue, makes the next step easier.

Set Up in This Order

Create each structure before the structures that refer to it. For example, a Sample Type can list a Source Type as its parent only after that Source Type exists.

• Source Types: Create Sources
• Sample Types: Create a Sample Type. Add parent Source Types and Sample Types in the Lineage Settings.
• Assay Designs: Describe Assay Data Structure (Not available in SM Starter)
• Storage: Create Storage

Next Steps

Once your structures are in place:

• Add your data: Data Import Guidelines
• Create templates for lab work: Create a Job Template and Notebook Templates (Not available in SM Starter)
• Give your team access: Configure User Access

Related Topics

• Sample ID Naming
• Identifying Fields
• Folder Organization
• LIMS Suite Dashboard