The Consortium for Longitudinal behavioral And Social Science data Integration and Coordination (CLASSIC) Network (U24AG081810) is an NIH-funded initiative aimed at facilitating and stimulating collaboration among deeply phenotyped longitudinal studies of aging.
Save the date! Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5 - for the second Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop.
Online Workshop: Age-Period-Cohort (APC) Modeling for Longitudinal Coordinated and Integrative Data Analysis
Y. Claire Yang, PhD, Distinguished Professor, University of Notre Dame
Tuesday, December 8, 2026 at 12:00 PM (EST)
Studies of time-related change are key to understanding the process and dynamics of aging but are often subject to data and methodological limitations associated with the confounding of different dimensions of time, including age (A), period (P), and cohort (C). The goal of this workshop is to introduce recent advances in data and analytic tools for modeling temporal variations due to A, P, and C effects in longitudinal analyses, teach the basic rationale and process of APC analysis, and give attendees a working knowledge of how to use this methodological approach in their own research on aging. The workshop builds on the previous GSA workshop on Coordinated Data Analysis (CDA) (2025) to provide useful guidelines for APC analysis based on both basic and complex longitudinal designs and data structures involved in CDA, which can vastly enhance analysts’ ability to make inferences about time-relate change compared to conventional studies of single datasets. The workshop provides an interactive virtual environment to facilitate active learning. It involves participation of attendees throughout the session, engaging them during the lecture and through breakout discussions as well as moderated Q&A for targeted problem solving.
We are excited to share the news of our upcoming Coordinated Data Analysis workshop which is sponsored by the CLASSIC (Consortium for Longitudinal behavioral and Social Science data Integration and Coordination) Network. The CLASSIC Network (U24AG081810) is an NIH-funded initiative aimed at facilitating and stimulating collaboration among deeply phenotyped longitudinal studies of aging. You can find out more about joining the CLASSIC Network or requesting data through the OpenDRaWeR metadata catalog in the attached 1 page summary.
Why Use Coordinated Data Analysis (CDA)? Research in the gerontological and developmental sciences often relies on sources of long-term longitudinal data, making reliance on new data collection for replication and generalization purposes untenable. Coordinated data analysis (CDA) is one methodological approach for replication and generalization in lifespan sciences that can harness the unique features of existing longitudinal data to answer key fundamental questions. Increasingly, longitudinal study teams are working toward this by making information about their studies more easily discoverable, via initiatives like CLASSIC, to facilitate data sharing, collaboration, and coordinated analysis.
CDA Training. During this two-day workshop led by Eileen Graham, attendees will be introduced to the rationale and process of coordinated data analysis. We will focus on the steps of CDA that are key to a successful project, including codebook organization, dataset censusing and selection, logical harmonization, preparation of statistical analysis scripts, and synthesis methods. Each component will include hands-on activities and materials that attendees can take back to their labs. Lastly, attendees will be broken into small groups to design and implement a small CDA which they will present at the end of the workshop.
Summary
We hosted 29 participants for the first Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop. Aligned with the aims of CLASSIC Network to incentivize study PIs and engage early career researchers, workshop participants spanned graduate students, early-career researchers, and experienced principal investigators.
The sessions and activities during the Metadata Preparation workshop advanced the aims of the CLASSIC Network project in several key ways:
We engaged with participants on the methods and workflow of coordinated data analysis and provided open source materials for them to adapt and develop CDA projects for their own research programs
We introduced the CLASSIC Network and emphasized the utility of CDA in harnassing the power of deeply phenotyped longitudinal studies of aging.
We generated enthusiasm for the CDA methodological framework, evidenced by the post-workshop survey.
We received valuable feedback from participants on post-workshop survey that will help shape future workshops
The Consortium for Longitudinal behavioral and Social Science data Integration and Coordination (CLASSIC Network Team) is excited to host the 1st Meta-Data Preparation Workshop on Sunday, November 16, in Boston, MA following the annual Gerontological Society of America (GSA) meeting.
For more information about the workshop, check out the CLASSIC website.
If you have any questions about the workshop please reach out to the CLASSIC Network Team at classic_network@ncsu.edu.
The Consortium for Longitudinal behavioral and Social Science data Integration and Coordination (CLASSIC) (U24AG081810) is an NIH-funded initiative aimed at facilitating and stimulating collaboration among deeply phenotyped longitudinal studies of aging. While NIH has successfully built infrastructure for large, population-based studies (e.g., HRS, NHATS), many studies with rich measures of social and behavioral data—including intensive studies of cognitive function in daily life—have not been featured in existing catalogs. Our experience and interviews with study teams confirm that significant roadblocks make collaboration and data sharing burdensome and time-consuming.