While investigators work through the process of phenotype harmonization, they should simultaneously develop a preliminary analysis plan as issues will likely arise that affect harmonization decisions. In GENEVA, each WG drafts a plan for analysis using guidelines created by the PHS (Table 1), defining the variables or outcomes of interest and their type (e.g. whether they are discrete, ordinal or continuous variables), identifying covariates needed for the analyses, stating inclusion and exclusion criteria (e.g. race or ethnicity, value limits), describing the planned subgroup analyses and proposed analytic approach, and specifying individuals' roles in analysis. These plans are refined as preliminary analyses of the selected phenotypes are conducted by study investigators, and the current plans are posted on the consortium's website.
