Data Overview: How Data is Organized in Labfront

This article will take you through how Labfront files are organized to help you better understand your data after you've downloaded it.

If you haven't yet downloaded your data, we suggest reading this article first.

We'll cover:

Data Download File and Folders
CSV File Organization

Sample Participant Data

Understanding Your Data Download File and Folders

Labfront creates a single ZIP file for all of your participants' data. Each participant has their own folder which contains CSV files organized into subfolders by data type.

Check out an example:

As you can see, the data is organized by participant and each has their own folder, labeled with their Participant Insignia (name inputted by the researcher) and Participant ID (unique identifier).

In the participant folder, data is grouped into additional subfolders by each physiological data type collected from the Labfront Companion app (garmin-device), Garmin Connect app (garmin-connect), or Movesense (movesense-stream) as well as a folder for To-Do Tasks (todo), Timer Tasks (timer), and Questionnaires (questionnaire).

Todo, timer, and questionnaire folders are further organized into subfolders by each task or questionnaire. It is within these subfolders that you'll find the CSV files.

How the CSV Files are Organized

The CSV files in every folder are numbered beginning with 000000. If a file exceeds the maximum amount of rows permitted, a new CSV file will be created and numbered sequentially (Ex. 000001, 000002, etc.).

Header

Your project and participant details are located in the Header of every CSV file. The Header length (in this example it's 5) means that the subsequent 5 rows are part of the Header and do not contain participant data.

Frame 2770

For a list of variables included in the Header and their descriptions, you can view this table.

Note

All collected data is time-stamped so you can identify exactly when physiological data was collected, tasks were completed, or questionnaires were submitted.

Physiological Data

Garmin

Depending on the data source(s) selected for your study, your Garmin physiological data CSV files will be located in folders labeled with garmin_device (high-resolution physiological data, e.g. BBI data) and/or garmin_connect (high-level summary data, e.g. stress data) in your ZIP file.

Within the data type's CSV file, each row represents one data recording. As an example, this is what a participant's BBI data looks like:

View our article on Garmin data metrics and meanings to better understand the various data types and variables.

Movesense

Your Movesense physiological data CSV files will be located in the movesense-stream folder of your ZIP file.

Screenshot 2023-05-31 at 7.33

Each Movesense task will have its own folder labeled with the task name, within which are folders for each instance of using the Movesense task and the data types collected (Ex. movesense-stream-IMU, movesense-stream-rr).

Screenshot 2023-05-31 at 7.52

Within the data type's CSV file, each row represents one data recording. As an example, here is part of a participant's IMU data file:

View our Movesense Data Format article for more detailed information→

To-Do Task Data

As noted earlier, CSV files in the todo folder are grouped into subfolders by each To-Do Task you set up in your protocol.

Within the task's CSV file, each row represents one data recording. You can see the timestamps of a sample task's completions below:

View the todo data variables and their descriptions in this table.

Timer Data

Within the timer folder are time-stamped data files related to any Timer Task you created in your project.

Again, within the CSV file, each row represents one data recording.

View the timer data variables and their descriptions in this table.

Questionnaire Data

The questionnaire folder contains time-stamped data related to any questionnaire you created in Labfront.

In the CSV file, you'll see a Questionnaire Key under the header where you can find your questionnaire information such as your questions and options. The Key Length (in this example it's 8), means that 8 rows are part of the key and do not contain participant data.

Following the key are the participant's questionnaire responses, organized in columns by question (labeled with Section Index_Question Index). For instance, 1_1 refers to Section 1, Question 1. You can refer to the key when reviewing a participant's responses.

Learn more about the questionnaire key and questionnaire variables.

Sample Participant Data

View a sample of the downloadable data format here.

Data Documentation Resource

Access our data documentation PDF for a data dictionary of metrics you can collect with Labfront and their meanings

Data FAQs

Do you offer any services to help analyze the data?

We do! Our team of experts has over 20+ years of experience in digital biomarkers and research analytics. You can outsource your analytics to us and save up to several months of work. Learn more about Labfront Analytics here.

Why can't I see my participants' data?

One of the most common reasons for this issue is that your participants are not yet connected to your project. Data is only available for Live projects and with invited participants who have signed in through the Labfront Companion app and are contributing data by completing tasks, questionnaires, or providing physiological data from their wearable.

To ensure that participants have successfully signed in to your project, please check the Participants section on the Dashboard and make sure that you have at least 1 participant signed in. For each participant, you can also check that the Invite Code is Used and the Status is Joined. For more information, we recommend reading our article on adding participants.

I can't download a ZIP file from my work computer. What should I do?

In this case, we recommend you ask your IT department how to allow ZIP file extraction on your work computer. Alternatively, you can also download on another computer or device that allows for ZIP downloads as we can only provide ZIP files for data downloads.

Can I filter my data download by a specific time period or group of participants?

Yes, you can filter your data download by participant and time period.

Can I see a sample of the downloadable data format?

You sure can! Take a look at a sample of our data here.