Think You Know ARCHIMEDES? Myths vs Facts

Think you know ARCHIMEDES?

Myths vs Facts

Health research data sharing can sometimes seem complicated. Different types of data, research purposes, and access requirements may mean that the process looks different from one project to another.

ARCHIMEDES is designed to support these different research needs through a flexible approach to data sharing and access. You don’t need to fit your research into a one-size-fits-all box—we are here to help you understand your options and guide you through the appropriate path.

Explore common myths and discover the facts about ARCHIMEDES-from platform capabilities and data access to privacy, participant protection, and research impact.

Explore By Topic

Platform Overview & Capabilities

Data Ownership, Storage & Control

Governance & Data Access

Privacy & Participant Protection

Research Impact

Click any topic above to jump to that section

Platform Overview & Capabilities

Myth

"Only imaging data can be stored in ARCHIMEDES."

Hover or click to flip
Fact

ARCHIMEDES supports many data modalities including imaging, clinical, behavioural, wearable, omics, biospecimen, and pre-clinical research data. While we have particular strengths related to imaging, we are a fully multimodal platform.

Click to keep flipped, hover away to flip back
Myth

"Only large research groups can contribute data."

Hover or click to flip
Fact

ARCHIMEDES supports projects of all sizes, from focused pilot studies to expansive, global multi-site initiatives. Scalability is built into our core architecture.

Click to keep flipped, hover away to flip back

Data Ownership, Storage & Control

Myth

"ARCHIMEDES owns my data."

Hover or click to flip
Fact

Data ownership remains strictly with the Data Contributor and their respective institution. We provide the infrastructure; you retain the rights.

Click to keep flipped, hover away to flip back
Myth

"ARCHIMEDES data are stored in several random locations."

Hover or click to flip
Fact

All data sent to ARCHIMEDES are stored centrally and safely on highly secure McGill servers utilizing enterprise-grade encrypted transfer capabilities.

Click to keep flipped, hover away to flip back

Governance & Data Access

Myth

"Once I upload my data to ARCHIMEDES, I lose control of it and anyone can access it."

Hover or click to flip
Fact

Data contributors determine how their data can be shared and accessed through ARCHIMEDES.

Open Access

Preclinical data and de-identified human health data are made openly and publicly available to anyone; users must agree to terms of use that require them to use the data exclusively for research purposes, and to respect the applicable ethical and legal restrictions on use.

Controlled Access

Preclinical data, as well as both coded and de-identified human health data are exclusively made available to Authorized Users, for an approved research purpose, provided they have approval from the ARCHIMEDES Data Access Committee (DAC).

Click to keep flipped, hover away to flip back

Privacy & Participant Protection

Myth

"ARCHIMEDES stores identifiable participant information."

Hover or click to flip
Fact

ARCHIMEDES supports consented and coded data, or de-identified data, in strict accordance with approved ethics and privacy requirements. There are no direct identifiers held in ARCHIMEDES.

Click to keep flipped, hover away to flip back
Myth

"Research participants have no protection once data is shared."

Hover or click to flip
Fact

Robust ethics oversight, stringent governance controls, and comprehensive access monitoring help provide ongoing, active protection of participant data at all times.

Click to keep flipped, hover away to flip back

Research Impact

Myth

"If I share my data, I risk being scooped to publish."

Hover or click to flip
Fact

Data sharing accelerates discovery, fosters collaboration, improves reproducibility, and maximizes the value of research investments. Increasingly, organizations recognize the profound importance of data sharing as part of policy and researcher evaluation.

Click to keep flipped, hover away to flip back

Have another question?

If you have more questions, we’re here to help. Explore our full documentation or get in touch.

Visit Our FAQ
Email Support Team