Assemble Metadata

Metadata is standardized information submitted alongside your data that makes it understandable, discoverable, and reusable.

In most cases, we require three things for every set of data:

1. The data itself

2. Unstructured metadata, including a description of the study and methods used to generate the data. This content will be used to populate your Study Details page.

3. Structured metadata, which follows a standard schema and uses valid values defined in our metadata dictionary.

This page provides instruction for assembling both unstructured and structured metadata to describe and contextualize your data for portal users.

1. Assemble Unstructured Metadata for your Study Details page

Your study description, methods statement, and acknowledgement statement will all be submitted via your Service Desk ticket. Refer to the provided templates and formatting guidelines for each.

Study Description & Methods Statement

• Study Description Template

• Methods Statement Template

Required Acknowledgement Statements

All AD Knowledge Portal Study Acknowledgment Statements MUST credit:

1. The data repository where your data resides (e.g., the AD Knowledge Portal), along with its funding agency/grant number.

2. The labs, individuals, institutions, and funders responsible for generating the study data — including the study name and the Portal Study page DOI (generated by the Data Manager upon release).

Your Acknowledgement Statement will be formatted as:

The results published here are in whole or in part based on data obtained from the AD Knowledge Portal (https://adknowledgeportal.synapse.org/ ), NIH-NIA U24AG061340. Study data for [Study Name (Study Page DOI*)] were provided by [PI(s), institution(s), Funding Agency(ies), Grant Number(s)].**

*The Study Page DOI will be added by the Data Manager since it cannot be minted until Data Release.

**You may repeat the second sentence as needed if your study has multiple data sources or contributing activities to credit.

Optional Acknowledgement Statements

• Ancillary Studies & Extensions of Existing AD Knowledge Portal Studies: If your study adds additional samples, data types, or other research outputs to a study already available through the AD Knowledge Portal — for example, under a separate or supplemental grant — include a statement crediting the funding and institutions responsible for generating that additional data, along with a reference to the protocols used (which may point to external, copyrighted platform documentation).

• Additional Statements (Recommended Where Applicable): If specific steps in your data generation process — such as tissue sample collection, or preprocessing and quality control — were led by a specific lab, PI, or institution under separate funding, we recommend including a brief statement crediting that work as well.

How The Acknowledgement Statement is Used

Other portal users will be required to use this statement when acknowledging use of your data in manuscripts, presentations, and other publications, according to the terms of the Data Use Certificate (DUC).

2. Assemble Structured Metadata: Required Metadata Templates

In most cases, required metadata is expected in the following files:

• Individual metadata template — describes each individual (or subject) in the study

• Biospecimen metadata template — describes the specimens or samples collected from those individuals

• Assay metadata template — describes the method(s) used to generate data from those specimens (one file per assay type, if more than one applies)

• File annotation template — describes the files you'll be uploading. This template will be provided to you by your data manager once you're ready to upload data; you don't need it during this preparation stage.

To start, download the templates you need.

Metadata templates are subject to change as our data standards evolve, so we recommend downloading templates close to when you plan to submit them or verifying which templates to use with the data manager supporting your ticket.

👉 ADKP Metadata Templates (Core Models)

👉 ADKP Metadata Dictionary (Shiny App)

Select the individual, biospecimen, and assay template(s) that match your data.

Fill out the templates.

Refer to the definitions provided alongside each template to determine the expected value(s) for each field. If you're unsure what value to use for a given field, or don't see an option that fits your data, reach out to us through your Service Desk ticket.

Once complete, hold on to these templates — your data manager will let you know where and when to submit them as part of Step 3: Upload Data.

3. Assemble Additional Recommended Documentation

Beyond the required templates, we recommend providing any additional documentation that helps others understand and reuse your data, such as the documentation types listed below. This documentation doesn't need to follow the metadata template format; upload it as separate files alongside your data.

Last updated: September 15, 2026