This wiki provides a map of the project, rationale for how it is organized, and explains each of the core OSF features that make it function. It shows how the OSF can simplify managing roles and permissions in a large group and how the OSF can incorporate the different web tools used by members of the research team into a coherent picture of the research as a whole. While some of the terms used here are related to the social sciences, the fundamental structure and explanation of features should be widely applicable. If you like the structure of this project you can copy it as a template for your own project with a couple of clicks. This [OSF guide](http://help.osf.io/m/projects/l/707290-create-a-project-from-a-template#Use-a-public-project-as-a-template) has step by step instructions. ## The Research Team This project is designed to support a collaborative research project that includes lead researchers and research assistants from multiple institutions, research subjects at multiple physical sites, and administrative personnel from all of these institutions as well as funding organizations who may need access to certain portions of the project. People on the team are using a variety of web-based tools for collaboration and sharing research materials. Everyone would like to continue using those tools and some are actively required to do so by policies at their institution. ## Goals * **Comprehensive Dashboard** Provide comprehensive view of the research activity done by all members of the research team, at all research sites, across all tools used by the team. * **Role management** Ensure that members of the team only have access to the portion of the overall project that they need for their work * **Spoonful of sugar** Make otherwise difficult collaboration tasks easier. This includes adding/removing members of the team, sharing data with funders during research, and publishing of supporting materials once the project is concluded. ## Design In order to meet our goals we will be focusing on three main OSF capabilities: **Components**, **Contributors**, and **Add-ons**. We will use **Components** to break our project into the logical sections we need for our research then we will use **Contributors** to manage who has access to each of those sections. Finally **Add-ons** will let us directly connect portions of the project to other web tools being used by parts of the research team. The project structure looks like this: ![Project Structure graph][1] Each of those boxes represents a component while the arrows and "{" indicate components, that we call "sub-components", because they are nested inside other components. These components serve to keep our project space organized and enable us to choose who has access to which portions of that space. We are using separate components for each site so that raw data and sensitive information can be shared only with the researchers at that site and with the study leads. ## Implementation The other wiki pages here lay out the details of how we meet our project goals using the OSF. They all have good information but may be more or less useful to you depending on your level of familiarity with the OSF. If you are **new to the OSF** and want an explanation of how the different OSF features make this structure work, head to the **[Roles and OSF Features](https://osf.io/5u98f/wiki/Roles%20and%20OSF%20Features/)** page. If you have some **experience with the OSF** and just want an explanation of why this particular structure was chosen, the **[Rationale document](https://osf.io/5u98f/wiki/Rationale%20document/)** is a good place to start. **Everyone** will likely benefit from reading the [Connecting research tools](https://osf.io/5u98f/wiki/Connecting%20research%20tools/) page to see how the OSF's Add-ons can help tie your favorite other web tools together into a unified dashboard for your research. And remember, if you like the structure of this project you can *copy the whole thing* as a template for your own project with just a couple of clicks. This [OSF guide](http://help.osf.io/m/projects/l/707290-create-a-project-from-a-template#Use-a-public-project-as-a-template) has step by step instructions. @[youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnIpcMWC3rc) [1]: https://mfr.osf.io/export?url=https://osf.io/tdbqj/?action=download&direct&mode=render&initialWidth=580&childId=mfrIframe&format=1200x1200.jpeg