Data curation profiling of biocollections

Abstract

In the contexts of the data deluge and open data, scientists studying biodiversity benefit from online access to global datasets of existing vouchered biological and paleontological collections. Using biocollections collected over time across the world allows for the advancement of scientific knowledge concerning evolution in process as well as species poleward migrations, an indicator of climate change. This study's purpose was to validate and expand the Data Curation Profiles (DCP) to digital biocollections and inform a DCP framework for worldwide biota. Ten biocollection producers, curating various types of specimens affiliated with the project building the United States' national biodiversity infrastructure, were interviewed using the DCP questionnaire. Results indicate there is extreme diversity in the curation of biocollections and additional DCP questions should be added to reflect the complicated approaches to biological data curation. Although discipline specific metadata creation tools, standards, and practices enable long-term sustainability of the U.S. digitization effort, some scientists would benefit from further clarification and guidance on the information needs of consumers beyond designated communities of expert users, and the long-term preservation of biocollections.

Herbarium data: Global biodiversity and societal botanical needs for novel research

“…Efforts are underway with the Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education (BLUE; http://biodiversityliteracy.com) Network, which is developing curricula and building a community network to develop data literacy standards for future research career professionals and the public, who need to be able to interpret the results from global scientific research using botanical and natural history collections data. Reproducible science, appropriate citation, and open data should be priorities in training efforts of the biodiversity community (Bishop and Hank, 2016), with the FAIR Guiding Principles (i.e., Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) for scientific data management and stewardship as a guiding infrastructure (Wilkinson et al, 2016).…”

“…collections need to be carried into future collecting efforts and expeditions. Data curation profiling of biocollections may assist managers and researchers to capture information that informs data curation beyond the technical needs for data ingestion (Bishop and Hank, 2016). Often, collection managers are one step removed from scientists and citizen scientists who have collected or are collecting the specimens.…”

“…Often, collection managers are one step removed from scientists and citizen scientists who have collected or are collecting the specimens. A data curation profile "captures requirements for specific data generated by researchers articulated by the researchers themselves" (Bishop and Hank, 2016), providing metadata that can aid in linking otherwise disparate data sets and making broader reuse of valuable data. Engagement and training of non-collections personnel, such as environmental scientists and ecologists, is increasingly important for specimen collection and biodiversity data capture (Ward et al, 2015).…”

Designated Community: uncertainty and risk

“…Several scholars have identified the exclusionary nature of the DC as problematic for memory institutions that serve broad publics (e.g. Bettivia, 2016;Bishop and Hank, 2016;Moles, 2019). From this perspective, repositories that explicitly seek to meet the needs of only some users or consumers necessarily privilege groups that they already understand while excluding groups with whom they are less familiar.…”

Data Curation Profiling to Assess Data Management Training Needs and Practices to Inform a Toolkit

“…Implementing effective RDM practices in the early stages of a research project is a proactive approach to understanding data in their active use environment, increasing scholarly control of researchers and their engagement with their own research outputs (Bishop & Hank 2016). Therefore, from a researcher's perspective, RDM may help them reach their scholarly goals and achieve their desired research agenda.…”