FAQs

1. What can I do on the HEAL Platform?

   The HEAL Platform is a cloud-based and multifunctional web interface that provides a secure environment for discovery and analysis of HEAL results and data. Explore all functionalities here.

2. Which datasets are currently open-access?

   Find all open-access datasets here.

3. Where can I see individual study metadata?

   Individual study metadata is shown upon clicking on a study entry on the Discovery Page. Click to read the full description here.

4. Do I need to store my data in a particular location to participate in the HEAL platform?

   You must store your data in a HEAL-compliant repository. A HEAL-compliant repository is a data repository that is NIH-supported and ideally has an API for metadata and data permissions calls. To help HEAL investigators in the repository selection process, the HEAL Data Stewards at RENCI/RTI have developed Repository Selection Criteria and identified a number of recommended repositories. If you have questions regarding costs associated with data storage in HEAL-compliant repositories, please contact the HEAL Data Stewards.

5. How and where can I see if I have access to a study?

   Clicking on an individual study on the Discovery Page will show in the top right corner if they are accessible to the user. To see all studies users have access to, users should navigate to the Discovery Page and select “Data Availability” - Available”. More information here.

6. I do not have access to a specific study, how can I get access?

   RENCI/RTI (Renaissance Computing Institute) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill establishes and manages data access contacts over all data contributors/sources. To request access to controlled data, users should contact RENCI/RTI at HEALstewards@renci.org.

7. The profile page says I have access but I don’t see it on the Discovery Page.

   Please contact our help desk.

8. I would like to download data files from a specific study, what do I need to do?

   Users can download the studies directly from the Discovery Page as described here, or, if the file size exceeds 250 MB, users need to use the Gen3-client command line tool to download data files, as described here. Additional information on the Gen3-client may be found here.

9. How can I get data files into the Workspace from the Discovery Page?

   Click here to follow the steps on how to get files from the Discovery Page to the Workspace.

10. How do I find a study?

    Click here to see possible ways to search for a study on the Discovery Page.

11. Can I download files directly from the portal?

    Yes, you can. Click here to follow the steps to download data files from the Discovery Page. Caution: the download is limited to file sizes of 250 MB.

12. My download is not working.

    Please check if your file size exceeds 250 MB. If yes, please other tools as described here to download the files. Note that the current studies that have datasets of more than 250 MB are those with the following project numbers: a) cdcwonder and b) deaarcos1. If errors persist, please contact the help desk.

13. My data file download using the Gen3-client gets stuck, where can I get help?

    For troubleshooting, please see the Gen3-client documentation here. If errors persist, contact our help desk.

14. The Gen3-client shows errors, where can I get help?

    To check that the client is working and to confirm the client version, type ‘gen3-client’ in the terminal. Typing ‘gen3-client help’ will display the help menu. Users must provide the full path of the tool in order for the commands to run, for example, ‘./gen3-client’ while working from the directory containing the client.
    For more troubleshooting, please see the Gen3-client documentation here. If errors persist, contact our help desk.

15. I want to work interactively on the Tutorial Notebooks. Show me how.

    Click here to follow the steps of a demo.

16. What are the current Tutorial Notebooks?

    Click here to see a list of currently available Notebooks in Python and R.

17. How do I work with these Tutorial Notebooks?

    Click here to see a guide of how to work with the Tutorial Notebooks.

18. How do I link my account to a FAIR enabled repository?

    Click here to see how to link your account to a FAIR enabled repository.

19. What do the Workspaces have to offer?

    Click here to see how to get started and here to see what languages, tools, and environments the workspaces have enabled.

20. I want to report a bug!

    Please report any errors or bugs to our help desk.