1. Best Practices for LTER Site Websites
Working Group
Best Practices for LTER Site Websites
- was changed to: -
Designing LTER Site Websites

2. Web Site Prompts
can’t find the data
lack of consistency
lack of network feel
research nuggets

3. Web Site Elements for Usability
Page Design (look, how)
Content Design (what, terms)
Site Design (organization)
Intranet Design (multiple audiences)
Innovation (condition, state)

4. Example from web survey: Headings used for general information: About, general information, welcome, what is .., environments, intranet, overview, project, site, staff and contacts, three letter site abbreviation, places, project overview Content found under these headings: site description, facilities, affiliations, climate data, proposal, workshop documents, site review, Web site map, Addresses, Contact, faq, pictures, general LTER info, information management, personnel, highlights, milestones, calendar, info and regulations for doing research,

5. Site Description Directory
Site DB:
Description
History
Research topics
Contact
Images
Links***
site locations
climate db
data
bibliography
Data: including GIS?
Personnel
Bibliography: including posters, presentations, abstracts?
Education
Information management
News feed
Newsletter
Site Description Directory
Baker, Burnt and Blankman, Organizational Informatics:
A Research Network Site Description Directory Design. SCI2002,
Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics Proceedings.
“A site description directory can enhance
Organizational identity by making
Common basic information about
From localmember sites available
without detracting from local site
autonomy.”

6. LTER Site Websites
1- How make finding the data easier?

7. LTER Site Websites
2 - How create more web consistency?

8. LTER Site Websites
3 - How create a network feel?

9. In Practice:
2004 Survey of Site Websites

10. Most frequently on first page:
General information
Personnel
Data
Bibliography
Research
Education/outreach
News
Opportunities
Links

11. Subjects of greatest diversity in location:
Climate data
Proposal
Posters, abstracts, presentations, reports
Calendar of events
Images
Instructions/issues for doing research at the site
Data management (general, policies, procedures, etc)
GIS data are separately not under data

12. Subjects of most varying contents and subject headings:
General information
Research
Subjects difficult to find:
Nuggets (e.g. highlights of interesting new research/findings etc.)

13. Headings on first pages:
General information:
About, general information, welcome, what is .., environments, intranet, overview, project, site, staff and contacts, three letter site abbreviation, places, project overview,
site description, facilities, affiliations, climate data, proposal, workshop documents, site review, Web site map, Addresses, Contact, faq, pictures, general LTER info, information management, personnel, highlights, milestones, calendar, info and regulations for doing research,
Data
Data, under products, online data, research data, data products,
Data catalogs – list of datasets, sometimes searchable, sometime downloadable, categorized, GIS data, datamanagement, photos
Maps
Maps, GIS data, Display maps,
Image archive
Photos,
Web Galleries
Posters, presentations, pictures
Publications:
Publications, bibliography, library, under products,
peer reviewed publications, proposal, annual symposia, abstracts, one pagers,

14. Education and outreach Education, education and outreach, schoolyard LTER, professional and educational opportunities, research opportunities, Env. Ed. Program, REU program, Graduate, undergraduate, K-12, and faculty People Personnel, participants, people, staff and contacts, researchers, investigators, under ‘about us’, Link to network office personnel directory, list of web pages for people, affiliations, collaborators, Research Research, research projects, activities, ongoing research projects, areas of research, Core questions, goals, theory, LTER core areas, ongoing research projects, cross site activity, proposal, major findings, special projects, Intranet Additional information for researchers mostly restricted access , Manage your information, proposal, reports, abstracts, personnel, addresses,

15. Management
Products
Data, protocols, abstracts, publications, presentations
Resources
Non-LTER literature, data management, protocols, links to other websites, facilities,
News
News, what’s new, news & events, of current interest, research highlights,
New literature, nuggets, calendar, job opportunities, workshop announcements, general announcements,
Opportunities
Opportunities, professional and educational opportunities, current opportunities, research/employment opportunities
jobs
Documentation
Protocols, procedures, software tools,
Links
Links to related sites, links,
links to other lter sites etc.

16. Meetings
Conferences/meetings,
Calendar
Site map and search
Find, site map and search, site map,
Instructions/issues for doing research at the site
Visiting scientist info, environmental issues,
Application, addresses, environmental impact assessments for research work,
Collaborators
Collaborators, Institutional affiliations
Collaborating institutions
Climate
Site Events
Presentations, calendar, meeting minutes,
Reports
Annual reports

17. There are multiple design requirements for very different audiences:
Results:
There are multiple design requirements
for very different audiences:
Outside all LTER
Outside local
Researchers

18. Sites profiled in SiteDB, personnel, data, bibliography, research news
Results: Short Term
Consider the website developed by the LNO as the LTER portal lternet.edu
Sites profiled in SiteDB, personnel, data, bibliography, research news
Design mechanisms for gathering feedback for ‘best practices’ on this website
Design ways to improve/automate information updates to this website

19. Guidelines for content
Results: Long Term
Guidelines for content
Guidelines for using terms in keywords for datasets as well as on the website
Follow-up on understandings of the original web site prompts
Arrange workshop on general web design practices