Behavioral science labs: How to solve the multi-user problem

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Sciences
• Computer Science
• Research Infrastructure

Background:

• Shared laboratory resources across multiple research projects present challenges.
• Ensuring experimental integrity, replicability, and data safety is crucial in multi-user facilities.
• Conflicting software requirements and data exposure risks can arise in shared environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an infrastructure design and an open-source tool for managing shared lab facilities in the behavioral sciences.
• To enhance accessibility for research projects with diverse and conflicting needs.
• To ensure data separation and compliance with regulations like GDPR.

Main Methods:

• Development of an infrastructure design for shared lab facilities.
• Creation of an open-source tool named labManager.
• Implementation of fully separated bare metal environments for each research project.

Main Results:

• labManager provides a flexible and manageable solution for shared behavioral science labs.
• The system ensures complete separation of bare metal environments for different research projects.
• Collected data is kept separate, adhering to ethical standards and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed infrastructure and labManager tool effectively address challenges in shared lab resource management.
• This solution enhances flexibility and security in multi-user research settings.
• Practical advice and preconditions for operating shared lab facilities are discussed.