ECMO | Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Submitting an ELSO Data Request for Publication

For data requests aimed for publication, ELSO requires an approved ELSO data request by the Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC). The SOC meets monthly for evaluation of submitted data requests. The release will be based on the impact of the intended research. ELSO Registry will release large datasets to investigators for purposes of important research. Release will be based on the impact of the intended research.

What SOC Reviewers Look For

Careful preparation and an understanding of how your application will be reviewed can help you build a solid application. During the SOC review process, we convene a panel of selected SOC members to review your application. Although several factors contribute to whether your application will be approved, we place great emphasis on the review of scientific merit. The following sections describe the criteria reviewers employ to evaluate applications. Read them carefully for helpful hints on the information and content you should include in the application to garner a favorable evaluation.

Overall Impact

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria, and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed)

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific and technical merit and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have a major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Significance. Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? Is there a strong scientific premise for the project? Whether is the proposal is unique/ coherently written or vague in addition to whether it is topical and feasible from a registry point of view?

Investigator(s).Are the PD/PIs, collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? Have the investigators analyzed ELSO data or performed large dataset analysis prior?

Background.Is the published/presented data in the background section sufficient to highlight the need for this research question? Have any previous ELSO reviews been published?

Statistics and Methods The research plan describes the proposed research, stating its significance and how it will be conducted. Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Have the investigators presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed? Have the investigators outlined a comprehensive statistical analysis plan, which would assure an appropriate data analysis? Note that an application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have a major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.
The ELSO SOC application scoring system uses a 10-point rating scale (1 = exceptional; 10 = poor) in whole numbers (no decimals) for Significance, Investigators, Background, Statistics, and Methods for all applications. ELSO SOC expects that scores of 1 or 10 will be used less frequently than the other scores. 5 is for a good medium-impact application and is considered an average score. No formula is used to derive the overall impact score from the individual criterion scores, and reviewers are instructed to weigh the different criteria as they see fit in deriving their overall scores.

Important Writing Tips

A well-written, well-formatted application is an important key to success.

TIP #1: Make Your Project’s Goals Realistic

Don’t propose more work than can be reasonably done during the proposed project period. ELSO allows only one manuscript per one approved ELSO data request. The released dataset must only be used to answer the proposed hypothesis.

TIP #2: Edit Yourself, but also Enlist Help

SOC reviewers have zero tolerance for typographical errors, misspellings, grammatical mistakes, or sloppy formatting. A sloppy or disorganized application may lead the SOC reviewers to conclude that your research may be conducted in the same manner. Incomplete data requests will be sent back to the applicant without review.

For data request submissions or questions, email to ELSODataRequest@elso.org.

Submitting an ELSO Data Request for Publication