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"I recommend DatStat Illume to peers all the time. It’s the ideal solution for their needs, particularly if they are in the scientific community. Illume is a good fit for a large class of projects, and, in the end, it’s all about the research. Every dollar we save is another dollar that can help cure cancer or AIDS. It allows researchers to do what they need to do, while maximizing their time and budget."
–Scott Sutherland | Director, Collaborative Data Services | Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center
DatStat Illume maximizes researchers' time and budget
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center - Collaborative Data Services
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is an independent, non-profit biomedical-research institution dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Conducting thousands of studies at a given time, the Hutchinson Center supports a diversity of projects with varying data collection and management needs. Collaborative Data Services was developed to support Hutchinson Center researchers through survey design and implementation, data quality assurance and data management.
Technology staff at Collaborative Data Services are regularly asked to develop web-based surveys and forms, and found themselves solving the same technical issues repeatedly. The Hutchinson Center required a survey design and data collection application that would streamline staff time and utilize project funds more efficiently. By stretching project funds further, the Hutchinson Center may support more life-saving research and better serve cancer patients and survivors.
Time is of the essence for Hutchinson Center researchers. Removing duplicate efforts in survey creation and programming to streamline their research is critical to win the race against cancer.
Custom survey projects for each research project were not scalable, and resulted in prohibitively high costs.
With the previous custom-build process, consistent survey appearance and user-friendly presentation required a significant amount of programming effort. To ensure that they obtained the best data possible from the largest number of participants, Hutchinson Center researchers needed to provide participants with consistent, easy-to-use interface to reduce participant burden.
With the DatStat Illume, researchers store frequently-used questions and survey templates without sacrificing survey quality or security. Permissions determine read and write access to repository items, ensuring that the right people have the right tools and fast.
DatStat Illume’s unique infrastructure provides a scientifically-informed backbone to grow with researchers’ studies. Surveys are easily adapted and expanded without additional cost.
DatStat Illume and the Illume SDK permit the Hutchinson Center to customize a highly user-friendly, consistent interface within unique project specifications. Programmers may now focus on advanced functionality to improve user experience and reduce participant burden via shorter surveys, at-home survey completion and easy-to-use survey interfaces.
By designing rather than programming surveys, Hutchinson Center researchers develop and launch projects in days instead of weeks. Reducing lag between survey design, data collection and analysis by at least 75%, researchers now have faster access to actionable findings for their critical mission.
With research staff able to design and implement advanced surveys simply, the Hutchinson Center is able to reinvest funds once spent on custom solutions toward the development of innovative treatments and outreach to those impacted by cancer.
A survey of Hutchinson Center’s internal staff yielded an increased response rate of over 40%. Researchers now feel well-equipped to realize their future goals of increasing completion rates and reducing attrition rates among study participants.
