1. UMassD Data Workshop Series Class 2 – Types and Formats of Data, Contextual Details 2015 - October - 13 Dawn Gross, Zac Painter, Liz Winiarz

2. Module 2: Types, Formats, and Stages of Data Editor: Lamar Soutter Library, University of Massachusetts Medical School Title of the work: New England Collaborative Data Management Curriculum the URL where the original work can be found: http://library.umassmed.edu/necdmchttp://library.umassmed.edu/necdmc

3. Research Data Associated with Most Disciplines Images Video Mapping/GIS data Numerical measurements Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

4. Research Data Associated with Social Sciences survey responses focus group and individual interviews economic indicators demographics opinion polling Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

5. Research Data Associated with Hard Sciences measurements generated by sensors/laboratory instruments computer modeling simulations observations and/or field studies specimen Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

6. Stages of Data Related to Research Data Life Cycle Raw Data Processed Data Analyzed Data Finalized/Published Data Existing Data across Different Sources Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

7. Stages of Data Related to Research Data Life Cycle Sample hypothesis: Water temperatures in Lake Superior are now significantly warmer than in previous years. The evidence lends support to global warming. Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

8. Using our sample hypothesis Water temperatures in Lake Superior are now significantly warmer than in previous years. This evidence lends support to global warming. Raw Data = daily lake temperatures Processed Data = ‘cleaned’ temp. data in spreadsheet Analyzed Data = average temps., graphing changes Finalized Data = does data support the hypothesis? Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

9. Preferable Format Types for Long- Term Access to Data Data formats that offer the best chance for long- term access are both: Non-proprietary (also known as open), and Unencrypted and uncompressed Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

10. Preferred Formats Examples of preferred formats for various data types include: Moving Images: MOV, MPEG Audio: WAVE, MP3 Numbers/statistics: ASCII, SAS Images: TIFF, JPEG 2000 Text: PDF/A, ASCII Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

11. Converting to Preferable Formats Information can be lost when converting file formats. To mitigate the risk of lost information: Note conversion steps taken If possible, keep the original file as well as the converted one Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

12. Describing Data, Documenting Reliability & Collection Techniques Data documentation explains the: Who What Where When And why of data. Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

13. Describing Data, Documenting Reliability & Collection Techniques Who: Who collected this data? Who or what were the subjects under study ? Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

14. Describing Data, Documenting Reliability & Collection Techniques What: What data was collected, and for what purpose? What is the content and structure of the data ? Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

15. Describing Data, Documenting Reliability & Collection Techniques Where: Where was this data collected? What were the experimental conditions that produced it? Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

16. Describing Data, Documenting Reliability & Collection Techniques When: When was the data collected? Is the data part of a series, or ongoing experiment? Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

17. Describing Data, Documenting Reliability & Collection Techniques Why: Why was this experiment performed? How does it relate to your research question? Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

18. Cross Discipline Concerns No matter what, you need to have: File naming conventions Version control Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

19. Why Do I Need to Worry about That? Consider this: If you unexpectedly have to leave your research project for a few months, could a colleague easily make sense of your data files? Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

20. Why Use File Naming Conventions? Naming conventions make life easier! Help you find your data Help others find your data Help track which version of a file is most current Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

21. What File Naming Convention Should I Use? Has your research group established a convention? If not, general guidelines include: Meaningful file names that aren’t too long Avoid certain characters Dates can help with sorting and version control Module 2: Data Types, Stages & Formats

22. Module 3: Contextual details needed to make data meaningful to others Editor: Lamar Soutter Library, University of Massachusetts Medical School Title of the work: New England Collaborative Data Management Curriculum the URL where the original work can be found: http://library.umassmed.edu/necdmchttp://library.umassmed.edu/necdmc CC BY-NC

23. What is Metadata? “Metadata is structured information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use, or manage an information resource. Metadata is often called data about data or information about information” (NISO, Understanding Metadata 2004;1). Module 3: Metadata

24. You Must Have Metadata to: find data from other researchers to support your research; use the data that you do find; help other professionals to find and use data from your research; and use your own data in the future when you may have forgotten details of the research. Module 3: Metadata

25. Basic Types of Metadata Descriptive metadata Structural metadata Administrative metadata Module 3: Metadata

26. How Metadata Facilitates Discoverability and Reuse Discoverability Accessibility Module 3: Metadata

27. Some Sample Metadata Standards Darwin Core Ecological Metadata Language (EML) Climate and Forecast (CF) Module 3: Metadata

28. Collecting and Sharing Metadata Controlled vocabularies Technical standards Module 3: Metadata

29. Controlled Vocabularies Help take the guess work out of choosing between: a preferred spelling; a scientific or popular term determining which synonym to use. Module 3: Metadata

30. Technical Standards ISO 8601 technical standard: YYYY (e.g. 1997) Year and month: YYYY-MM (e.g. 1997-07) Complete date: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 1997-07-16) Media types can be problematic as well The MIME media types helps you choose among the following: Application, audio, example, image, message, model, multipart, text, video Module 3: Metadata

31. Media Types The MIME media types: Application Audio Image Model Multipart Message Text Video Module 3: Metadata

32. Approaches to Creating Metadata First, identify your elements: Title Creator Identifier Subject Dates Module 3: Metadata

33. Best Practices Consult a metadata librarian! Consistent data entry is important Avoid extraneous punctuation Avoid most abbreviations Use templates and macros when possible Extract pre-existing metadata Keep a data dictionary Always use an established metadata standard Module 3: Metadata

34. Sources for this Unit What is metadata: National Information Standards Organization (NISO). 2004. Understanding Metadata. http://www.niso.org/publications/press/UnderstandingMetadata.pdf http://www.niso.org/publications/press/UnderstandingMetadata.pdf Neiswender, C. 2010. "Introduction to Metadata." In The MMI Guides: Navigating the World of Marine Metadata. http://marinemetadata.org/guides/mdataintro. Accessed April 1, 2013. http://marinemetadata.org/guides/mdataintro Reuse and discoverability: National Information Standards Organization (NISO). 2004. Understanding Metadata. http://www.niso.org/publications/press/UnderstandingMetadata.pdf http://www.niso.org/publications/press/UnderstandingMetadata.pdf Miller, Steven J. 2011. Metadata Resources: Selected Reference Documents, Web Sites, and Readings: https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/mll/www/resource.htmlhttps://pantherfile.uwm.edu/mll/www/resource.html Wikipedia page on “Metadata”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata http://www.library.illinois.edu/dcc/bestpractices/chapter_11_structuralmetadata.html Module 3: Metadata

35. Sources for this Unit (cont’d) Metadata standards: Digital Curation Centre’s Disciplinary Metadata resource. http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/metadata- standards.http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/metadata- standards Hogrefe, K., Stocks, K. 2011. "The Importance of Metadata Standards." In The MMI Guides: Navigating the World of Marine Metadata. http://marinemetadata.org/guides/mdatastandards/stdimportance. Accessed March 22, 2013. http://marinemetadata.org/guides/mdatastandards/stdimportance Other suggested readings Introduction to Metadata: Setting the Stage (Getty Research Institute) http://www.getty.edu/research/publications/electronic_publications/intrometadata/setting.html http://www.getty.edu/research/publications/electronic_publications/intrometadata/setting.html Documentation and Metadata (MIT Libraries): http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/data-http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/data- management/metadata.html Version control and authenticity http://data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/format/versions Module 3: Metadata

36. Other Suggested Readings (cont’d) What is Metadata? http://vimeo.com/3161893 Controlled vocabularies and technical standards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabulary http://www.ieee.org/education_careers/education/standards/standards_glossary.html Metadata elements http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/data-management/metadata.html Creating metadata http://uwdcc.library.wisc.edu/documents/DC_companionv1.3.pdf Module 3: Metadata