Use Advanced Filters for Complex Search Queries (Tutorial)

Apply filters

1. To apply filters to your search, choose among the following categories: Sample Metadata, File Metadata, Subject Metadata, User Tags, Tissue File Metadata, Custom Metadata, Survey Metadata, EMR Data, EMR Metadata, and Lab Metadata.

A. Sample Metadata filter group. This filter group pinpoints specimen-level attributes for each sample. Use it to find samples with specific processing histories or biological characteristics.​

B. File Metadata filter group. This filter group represents properties of stored files. Use it to find results based on how files were generated, stored, or labeled.

 C. Subject Metadata filter group. This filter group targets subject-level information. Use it to find data associated with subjects who share specific characteristics.

D. User Tags filter group. This filter group maps to user-defined labels attached to files or records, such as custom names, versions, groups, or origins. Use them to quickly find or regroup data according to a project-specific tagging scheme.​

E. Tissue File Metadata filter group. This filter lets you narrow results to tissue files from specific specimens by ID, type, and source tissue.

F. Custom Metadata filter group. This filter group covers project-specific fields that extend the standard metadata model, such as additional diagnoses, external IDs, or study-specific flags. Use these filters to search fields not covered by the standard sample, file, or subject filters.

NOTE
The Custom Metadata filter group appears only when your current query context includes data that requires custom fields. When this filter does appear, it might not include all three options listed in the accompanying table. For example, as shown in the image to the left of the table, the query produced only one custom filter option.

G. Survey Metadata filter group. Selections in the Survey Metadata filter group vary widely. They describe the respondents who participated in a survey and the survey context, such as when and how the data collection occurred and what questions were asked. This filter does not include survey responses. 

H. EMR Data filter group. This highly variable filter group consists of dynamically generated, structured clinical fields from the EMRs associated with your selected projects. Examples include specific diagnoses, lab values, and treatment attributes. These filters are used to find data associated with specific subjects or samples.

I. EMR Metadata filter group. This group captures various descriptive fields, such as file IDs, dates, and linkage keys, associated with EMR records. Use this filter group to find data based on how or when it was ingested or categorized. 

J. Lab Metadata filter group. This group narrows your results based on laboratory measurements and derived lab values, such as absolute basophil, eosinophil, or lymphocyte counts. These filters help you find records for subjects or samples with specific lab profiles or ranges that matter for your analysis.

Choose operator and value

After each filter selection, click the arrow to the right of the Operator field and choose an operator from the drop-down list. Operators, like filters, are context specific, so the operators available to you depend on the filter you select.

A. The is one of and is none of operators let you use multiple-select to choose more than one value.

B. Some operators, such as is between, let you specify a range of values (between x and y).

2. Click the arrow to the right of the Value field, and choose a value from the drop-down list. In some cases, the Value field becomes a text box, and you can type a value directly into it. 

3. In the results window, select the checkbox next to each result you want to include in your data set. To keep all results, click SELECT ALL ITEMS. To see the number of rows selected, check the lower-right corner of the table.

4. To keep the results that appear in the results window, click APPLY. To return to filter selection, click CANCEL. 

NOTE
The results shown in the results window change instantly as you select operators and values. The options that appear in the drop-down list of values are limited by your earlier project, file type, and filter selections. If a query returns no matches or too few matches, thinking in terms of filter groups and operators, rather than tweaking single terms, often yields better results. If you choose an operator and the Value returns Empty field, it means that the value of this field is unpopulated in your search results. To generate results, adjust your project selection, file type, or filters until values appear. For example, you might change your operator from equals to is one of.

Use results

From the floating menu, click the link that represents what you want to do with your results.

NOTE
The options menu for your result set is context specific and, as a result, it might not contain all the options described in the floating menu table below the image. For example, a search might produce only two options: GET UUIDS and VISUALIZE. In that case, you could load your results into an IDE or create a visualization, but you wouldn't be able to use the results to create or expand a file set.