title: ViPAR: a software platform for the Virtual Pooling and Analysis of Research Data.
abstract: Research studies exploring the determinants of disease require sufficient statistical power to detect meaningful effects. Sample size is often increased through centralized pooling of disparately located datasets, though ethical, privacy and data ownership issues can often hamper this process. Methods that facilitate the sharing of research data that are sympathetic with these issues and which allow flexible and detailed statistical analyses are therefore in critical need. We have created a software platform for the Virtual Pooling and Analysis of Research data (ViPAR), which employs free and open source methods to provide researchers with a web-based platform to analyse datasets housed in disparate locations.
  
  
  
  Database federation permits controlled access to remotely located datasets from a central location. The Secure Shell protocol allows data to be securely exchanged between devices over an insecure network. ViPAR combines these free technologies into a solution that facilitates 'virtual pooling' where data can be temporarily pooled into computer memory and made available for analysis without the need for permanent central storage.
  
  
  
  Within the ViPAR infrastructure, remote sites manage their own harmonized research dataset in a database hosted at their site, while a central server hosts the data federation component and a secure analysis portal. When an analysis is initiated, requested data are retrieved from each remote site and virtually pooled at the central site. The data are then analysed by statistical software and, on completion, results of the analysis are returned to the user and the virtually pooled data are removed from memory.
  
  
  
  ViPAR is a secure, flexible and powerful analysis platform built on open source technology that is currently in use by large international consortia, and is made publicly available at [http://bioinformatics.childhealthresearch.org.au/software/vipar/].
authors.forename: Kim W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bresnahan
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, NHV Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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authors.lastname: Gissler
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Grønborg
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
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authors.lastname: Gunnes
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: G
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authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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authors.lastname: Hornig
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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authors.affiliation: Turku University, Turku, Finland.
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authors.lastname: Huttunen
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
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authors.lastname: Langridge
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: H
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authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
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authors.lastname: Newman
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.
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authors.lastname: Parner
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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authors.lastname: Petersson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK, Departments of Preventative Medicine and Psychiatry, Ischan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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authors.lastname: Reichenberg
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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authors.lastname: Sandin
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Section for Epidemiology, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark, Department of Economics and Business, National Centre for Register-based Research, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark, Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Schendel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schalkwyk
authors.affiliation: Child Psychiatry Research Center, Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University, Turku, Finland, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sourander
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Steadman
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: C
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authors.lastname: Stoltenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University, Turku, Finland and.
authors.forename: A
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authors.lastname: Suominen
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Surén
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Susser
authors.affiliation: University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sylvester Vethanayagam
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Z
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authors.lastname: Yusof
keywords: ViPAR; data federation; data pooling; data sharing