Data Discovery and Query Builder (DDQB) is a Web-based framework that helps researchers and specialists in various domains to search through database records to identify and correlate data based on semantic concepts rather than specific data layouts.

For example, medical researchers would work with concepts such as demographics, lab tests and diagnostics, as well as laboratory and physician notes (unstructured text). This powerful search tool enables users with various levels of expertise to easily create queries and leverage the full spectrum of information assets.

DDQB can scale requests to millions of database records all from the user's Web browser. DDQB's Web-based interface can be integrated into portals, and users can build complex queries using boolean logic, grouping, comparison operators and relational joins without requiring programming or database knowledge.

How does it work?

DDQB leverages Internet and storage technologies such as WebSphere and DB2 for making time-intensive, costly and complex data access simple.

Central to the DDQB software is the Data Abstraction Model (DAM), an XML-based component that maps end-user domain knowledge to physical data representations. As data warehouses grow and change, administrators can modify the DAM without impacting users. Previously generated queries remain durable, independent of underlying database changes.

Beyond building the queries that span different sets of data, the DAM also drives the Web interface presentation layer which allows users to navigate through all the correlated information available to them quickly and efficiently.

Members of the Data Discovery and Query Builder (DDQB) team have spent the past seven years in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and others, working to enable researchers to interact more efficiently with large, complex databases. During that time, they have studied the diversity of needs that come along with ad hoc research data access. These range from security and governmental requirements in different regions of the world to the application of standards for different industries and consortia to data access.

The team comes from a diverse set of specialties ranging from XML integration to hard core database development. During the building of the DDQB technology, the team has worked with a wide range of partners and clients on the integration of diverse technologies, concepts and ideas and, looking forward has really just gotten started.