Data Access

Uppsala University as a public authority requires a risk analysis that the SIMPLER office does together with the Information Security Department, before data access can be approved.

The application for SIMPLER projects is done electronically, at SIMPLER's core page in iLab. Scroll down for more information and iLab guides.

NOTE: Application should be submitted by the PI or a senior researcher/supervisor. The SIMPLER office does not have the resources to support PhD students and post docs with their applications and/or educate them on Swedish register data.

Applications are evaluated continuously in a two-step process. Incomplete applications will be returned with a request for the application to be amended before further processing.

Both ethical approval and final variable list can be attached to the application at a later stage. The application fee will be deducted from the total cost when the project is approved. All data analyses are to be performed within a designated SIMPLER project in the computational cluster Bianca (NAISS SENS, UPPMAX).

Your research question should be clear and precise. Broad studies with wide and general hypotheses will not be processed. Ethical approval for your study may be submitted after application approval, but data will not be delivered before there is an ethical approval.

Electronic application process

The application process occurs in two steps. In the first step, the project description and CV are required to have the application evaluated. Upon final application approval, a personal data processing agreement when applicable must be signed before we can prepare data for delivery, or material transfer agreement before we can prepare samples for delivery.

• Project description: maximum 3 pages, Times new Roman font size 12. Include general background, aims and hypothesis, methodology and references.
• CV for Principal Investigator (PI): maximum 2 pages.

After the approval to continue, the following three items are required to be included with the application. You are welcome to attach all files during the initial application submission. The more complete your application is, the quicker your application can be expedited.

• Ethical application(s) and ethical approval(s).
• Completed variable list(s).
• Exclusion criteria.
• If applicable, completed biobank sample form.

All data analyses must be performed within a designated project at the computational cluster Bianca (UPPMAX). Note that this is a SIMPLER-specific space on Bianca, different from sens projects that you may have.

Depending on the complexity of the study design and extent of the study, either the director of SIMPLER or the Steering Committee will evaluate your application. If questions remain or further information is needed for the evaluation, we will contact you. You are welcome to resubmit your application after suggested revisions have been made in the event that your application was rejected. If the director rejects your application, you have the possibility to appeal to the Steering Committee.

If you have problems choosing specific variables from the variable code key, you can describe the desired variables in your application or contact the SIMPLER Office for help. If your application is accepted, the variable list may then be updated in dialogue with the director. This is to ensure that you get the best and most accurate variables to answer your research question.

If the PI is not affiliated with Uppsala University, a Personal Data Processing Agreement must be signed after application approval, and before any data can be delivered. Likewise, preparation and delivery of samples cannot be done for external PIs without a signed Material Transfer Agreement.

Each project must have an ethical approval from a valid Swedish ethical review board, i.e. the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (EPM). A guide for how to complete your ethical application as it relates to the SIMPLER proposal, you can download this template Pdf, 774 kB. (pdf). The template is only available in Swedish, as the ethical application must be written in Swedish when it is sent to the Swedish Ethical Review Authority, and thus the template is only available in Swedish. Note that some headers in the template may have been updated on the EPM Ethix portal and the headers may not align perfectly.

This page at the National Board of Health and Welfare contains descriptions of the ICD 10 codes, which are necessary for the ethical application. Scroll down further on the page to find descriptions of
ICD 7, 8, and 9.

Initiate a project application

The application for SIMPLER is completed electronically at SIMPLER's core page in iLab. Below is a quick start guide, and more information on how to use iLab is found in the guide to iLab Pdf, 2 MB. (pdf).

Complete the following steps to submit your SIMPLER project application, as a PI or a user, respectively.

Principal Investigator (PI)

• If the PI does not have an account in iLab, use the quick guide for PIs Pdf, 231 kB. (pdf) to set up a Lab Account.
• If you are a PI at Uppsala University, you will need to provide your project account number (46xxxxxxx, a 9-digit number) for your Lab before requests can be submitted in the system.
  • Click on the horizontal lines found at the top left corner.
  • Select “My groups”.
  • Select the tab “Membership requests and funds”. Tabs are found to the right, almost at the top of the page.
  • Scroll down to “Manually add funds”. Insert your project account number and click “Add”.
  • Now you should be able to see your account under “Manage funds” at the top of the page.
  • Go to SIMPLER's core page. You can find all available cores in the left menu that is opened when you click on the horizontal lines at the left top corner under “Core facilities”.

• If you are an External PI, each request needs a Purchase Order.
• As a PI, you will need to approve new members to your Lab, and add them to your Lab/research group.

Users

• If you are a registered user, click on “Sign in” at the top right corner and log in using your SWAMID/iLab credentials.
• If you have not yet registered for a user account in iLab, you would need to register as a new user. Go to SIMPLER's core page in iLab, and click on “Register” at top right corner. You will receive an email after you have been registered as a user. You will then be able to continue with the steps below.
  • When you as a new user, choose a Lab (equivalent to research group). You can belong to more than one Labs if needed. Once your PI has approved and added you to their Lab/research group, you can continue with your application for SIMPLER material. You will receive an email when the PI has authorised you.
• Select the tab “Request service”, choose your PI/Lab, click “Proceed”, and click “Initiate request” to the right in the middle of the page. Follow the step-by-step Guide to SIMPLER’s application form in iLab Pdf, 420 kB. (pdf). You can either save your application and continue later, or provide all requested information at once and submit your request to the SIMPLER core.