2. Making data findable, including provisions for metadata

Owned by Varmo Pilt
06 January 2022
2 min read


Questions:


Will data be identified by a persistent identifier?

Will rich metadata be provided to allow discovery? What metadata will be created? What disciplinary or general standards will be followed? In case metadata standards do not exist in your discipline, please outline what type of metadata will be created and how.

Will search keywords be provided in the metadata to optimize the possibility for discovery and then potential re-use?

Will metadata be offered in such a way that it can be harvested and indexed?


Guidance – This section of the DMP should present the measures to ensure the data’s:

Findability – Including any identifiers, keywords, metadata standards and other practices that will optimize the potential of finding and re-using the data.

Accessibility – First, details on the repository in which the data will be deposited should be given. Second, the access to the data itself, including open access, access protocols and restrictions aspects. Third, issues relating to metadata accessibility and availability should be described. In the case of certain data or metadata that will not be shared – proper justification should be provided.


Interoperability – The vocabularies, standards, formats or methodologies that will be used to enable data exchange, re-use and interoperability.

Reusability – This sub-section should provide information on the expected documentation (e.g., explaining methodology, codebooks, variables),


Sample:

2. Making data findable, including provisions for metadata


  • Data will be described by rich metadata using standard or specified terminologies:


  • Documentation will include a standardized folder structure, codebooks (metadata about the data), logbooks (metadata about data processing), analysis plans, input and output files from databases and statistical software


  • All files will be named according to the date of acquisition and experimental condition and put into folders. A „read me“ file will be generated, explaining the experimental conditions, tissue and cell types.


  • Survey responses will be curated into the Psych‐DS format.


  • Working files will be clearly labelled with a version suffix, e.g. v2.


  • The following metadata will be provided (as Excel file) for each experiment: Experiment number, Condition, Date, Creator, Description, Format


  • Metabolomics data will be documented in accordance with community standards defined by the Metabolomics Standards Initiative


  • We plan to make our datasets findable by uploading rich metadata to a searchable resource (a data repository) and having a persistent identifier assigned to the data by the repository. Data will be deposited at a repository/database (please provide name) immediately and without embargo.


  • Data will be made available upon publication as a supplement to the publication.


  • Metadata will be deposited at TalTechData and be freely searchable. There will be links to the underlying data.