Interview Questions.

Question 1. What Do You Know About Cdisc And Its Standards?

Answer :

CDISC stands for Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium and it's miles advanced keeping in thoughts to bring tremendous deal of efficiency inside the complete drug development system. CDISC brings efficiency to the complete drug development process by enhancing the statistics high-quality and pace-up the complete drug improvement manner and to try this CDISC evolved a chain of requirements, which consist of Operation data Model (ODM), Study statistics Tabulation Model (SDTM) and the Analysis Data Model ADaM).

Question 2. Why People These Days Are More Talking About Cdsic And What Advantages It Brings To The Pharmaceutical Industry?

Answer :

Generally speaking, Only about 30% of programming time is used to generate statistical results with SAS®, and the relaxation of programming time is used to familiarize facts structure, test information accuracy, and tabulate/listing uncooked statistics and statistical results into sure formats. This non-statistical programming time can be significantly decreased after imposing the CDISC requirements.

SAS Programming Interview Questions
Question three. What Are The Challenges As Sas Programmer You Think You Will Face When You First Implement Cdisc Standards In You Company?

Answer :

With the new requirements of electronic submission, CRT datasets want to conform to a fixed of standards for facilitating reviewing procedure. They now not are created entirely for programmers convenient. SDS will be treated as specs of datasets to be submitted, doubtlessly as reference of CRF design.

Therefore, statistical programming may need to start from this common floor. All current programs/macros might also need to be remapped based totally on CDISC on the way to take gain to validate submission statistics with the aid of the usage of equipment which reviewer may additionally use for reviewing and to boost up reviewing procedure with out supplying pointless facts,tables and listings.

With the new requirements from updating electronic submission and CDISC implementation, know-how most effective SAS® might not be appropriate sufficient to meet for very last deliverables. It is a time to extend and decorate the task abilities from various components beneath new trade in order that SAS® programmers can take a aggressive gain, and maintain to play a primary position in both statistical evaluation and reporting for drug development.

Question four. What Are The Capabilities Of Proc Cdisc 2?

Answer :

PROC CDISC plays the subsequent checks on area content of the source:

Verifies that all required variables are present within the facts set Reports as an error any variables within the information set that are not described within the domain Reports a caution for any expected domain variables that are not inside the data set

Notes any accredited domain variables that aren't within the data set Verifies that every one area variables are of the expected records kind and proper period Detects any domain variables which can be assigned a managed terminology specification with the aid of the area and do not have a format assigned to them.

The technique also performs the subsequent checks on area data content material of the source on a in step with remark foundation:

Verifies that every one required variable fields do now not incorporate missing values Detects occurrences of expected variable fields that comprise lacking values Detects the conformance of all ISO-8601 specification assigned values; along with date, time, date time, period, and interval sorts Notes correctness of yes/no and yes/no/null responses

SAS Programming Tutorial
Question five. What Are The Different Approaches For Creating The Sdtm three?

Answer :

There are 3 wellknown processes to create the SDTM datasets:

Build the SDTM entirely in the CDMS,
Build the SDTM entirely on the “lower back-cease” in SAS,
or take a hybrid method and build the SDTM partially inside the CDMS and partially in SAS.
BUILD THE SDTM ENTIRELY IN THE CDMS:

It is viable to construct the SDTM absolutely in the CDMS. If the CDMS allows for wide structural manipulate of the underlying database, then you can build your eCRF or CRF based scientific database to SDTM standards.

Advantages:

Your “raw” database is equivalent to your SDTM which presents the maximum fashionable solution.
Your scientific statistics management personnel may be capable of speak with endusers/sponsors about the statistics easily considering the fact that your clinical information manager and the und-consumer/sponsor will both be looking at SDTM datasets.
As soon because the CDMS database is built, the SDTM datasets are to be had.
Disadvantages:

• This technique can be cost prohibitive. Forcing the CDMS to create the SDTM systems may additionally virtually be too cumbersome to do successfully.

• Forcing the CDMS to conform to the SDTM might also motive issues with the operation of the CDMS which could lessen statistics quality.

BUILD THE SDTM ENTIRELY ON THE “BACK-END” IN SAS

Assuming that SAS isn't always your CDMS solution, some other technique is to take the clinical data from your CDMS and manipulate it into the SDTM with SAS programming.

Advantages:

The top notch flexibility of SAS will assist you to remodel any proprietary CDMS structure into the SDTM. You do no longer have to paintings around the rigid constraints of the CDMS.
Changes will be made to the SDTM conversion with out disturbing medical statistics management approaches.
The CDMS is allowed to do what it does fine that's to go into, manage, and smooth statistics.
Disadvantages:

• There would be extra value to transform the statistics from your regular CDMS structure into the SDTM.Specifications, programming, and validation of the SAS programming transformation could be required.

• Once the CDMS database is up, there would then be a next put off whilst the SDTM is created in SAS.This put off would slow down the manufacturing of analysis datasets and reporting. This assumes that you comply with the linear progression of CDMS ->

SDTM -> analysis datasets (ADaM).

• Since the SDTM is a derivation of the “raw” records, there will be mistakes in translation from the “raw” CDMS facts to the SDTM.

• Your clinical information management personnel can be at a drawback whilst speakme with quit-users/sponsors approximately the facts for the reason that facts manager will in all likelihood be looking at the CDMS facts and the sponsor will see SDTM records.

BUILD THE SDTM USING A HYBRID APPROACH

Again, assuming that SAS is not your CDMS solution, you may construct some of the SDTM within the confines of the CDMS and do the relaxation of the paintings inSAS. There are matters that could be accomplished easily in the CDMS along with naming facts tables similar to SDTM domain names, the use of SDTM variable names inside the CTMS, and acting easy derivations (along with age) in the CDMS. More complicated SDTM derivations and manipulations can then be accomplished in SAS.

Advantages:

The adjustments to the CDMS are easy to put into effect.
The SDTM conversions to be finished in SAS are doable and plenty can be automated.
Disadvantages:

There would nonetheless be some extra value had to remodel the records from the SDTM-like CDMS structure into the SDTM. Specifications, programming, and validation of the transformation would be required.
There would be some delay even as the SDTM-like CDMS information is converted to the SDTM.
Your scientific facts control body of workers may also nonetheless have a slight drawback
while talking with endusers/ sponsors approximately the statistics because the clinical data manager can be searching on the SDTM-like statistics and the sponsor will see the actual SDTM data. 

Clinical Research Interview Questions
Question 6. Can You Tell Me How To Do The Mapping For Existing Domains?

Answer :

First step is the comparison of metadata with the SDTM area metadata. If the data getting from the facts management is in relatively compliance to SDTM metadata, use automated mapping as the Ist step.

If the information management metadata isn't always in compliance with SDTM then avoid automobile mapping. So do manual mapping the datasets to SDTM datasets and the mapping each variable to appropriate area.

The complete procedure of mapping consist of: *Read within the company data standards right into a database table.

Assign a CDISC area prefix to each database module.
Attach a blend box containing the SDTM variable for the chosen domain to a brand new mapping variable subject.
Search every module, and inside every module pick the most appropriate CDISC variable.
Then look for variables mapped to the wrong kind Character no longer identical to Character; Numeric not equal to Numeric. 
Review the mapping to see if any conflicts are resolvable by way of mapping to a extra appropriate variable.
We want to confirm that the mapped variable is appropriate for each position.
Then subsequently we need to make sure all ‘required’ variables are gift in the domain6.
Question 7. What Do You Know About Sdtm Implementation Guide, Have You Used It, If You Have Can You Tell Me Which Version You Have Used So Far?

Answer :

SDTM Implementation guide offers documentation on metadata (information of data) for the domain datasets that consists of filename, variable names, kind of variables and its labels and so forth. I actually have used SDTM implementation guide versions three.1.1/three.1.2

Clinical SAS Interview Questions
Question eight. Can You Identify Which Variables Should We Have To Include In Each Domain?

Answer :

SDTM implementation manual V three.1.1/V 3.1.2 specifies every variable is being covered in one of the 3 sorts.

REQUIRED : They ought to be covered in the statistics set shape and ought to not have a lacking price for any commentary.

EXPECTED :These variables ought to be blanketed inside the information set; but it's miles permissible to have lacking values.

PERMISSIBLE : These variables are not a required a part of the domain and that they should no longer be protected inside the facts set structure if the information they were designed to comprise changed into now not amassed.

Question nine. Can You Give Some Examples For Mapping *6?

Answer :

Here are a few examples for SDTM mapping:

Character variables defined as Numeric
Numeric Variables described as Character
Variables accumulated with out an obvious corresponding area in the CDISC SDTM mapping. So need to pass into SUPPQUAL
Several corporate modules that map to one corresponding area in CDISC SDTM.
Core SDTM is a subset of the existing company standards
Vertical versus Horizontal shape, (e.G. Vitals)
Dates – combining date and instances; partial dates.
Data collapsing troubles e.G. Adverse Events and Concomitant Medications.
Adverse Events most depth
Metadata needed to laboratory statistics standardization.
Clinical trial management machine Interview Questions
Question 10. Explain The Process Of Sdtm Mapping?

Answer :

A listing of basic variable mappings is given under *4. 

DIRECT: a CDM variable is copied directly to a website variable with none changes other than assigning the CDISC popular label.

RENAME: simplest the variable call and label may additionally alternate however the contents continue to be the identical.

STANDARDIZE: mapping said values to traditional gadgets or standard terminology

REFORMAT: the real price being represented does not trade, only the layout wherein is saved changes, including converting a SAS date to an ISO8601 format character string.

COMBINING: directly combining two or greater CDM variables to shape a unmarried SDTM variable.

SPLITTING: a CDM variable is divided into two or greater SDTM variables.

DERIVATION: growing a website variable primarily based on a computation, algorithm, collection of good judgment regulations or decoding the usage of one or extra CDM variables.