W. Christopher Lenhardt

The Tao of open science for ecology

The field of ecology is poised to take advantage of emerging technologies that facilitate the gathering, analyzing, and sharing of data, methods, and results. The concept of transparency at all stages of the research process, coupled with free and open access to data, code, and papers, constitutes “open science.” Despite the many benefits of an open approach to science, a number of barriers to entry exist that may prevent researchers from embracing openness in their own work. Here we describe several key shifts in mindset that underpin the transition to more open science. These shifts in mindset include thinking about data stewardship rather than data ownership, embracing transparency throughout the data life-cycle and project duration, and accepting critique in public. Though foreign and perhaps frightening at first, these changes in thinking stand to benefit the field of ecology by fostering collegiality and broadening access to data and findings. We present an overview of tools and best practices that ...

Geoscience data curation using a digital object model and open-source frameworks: Provenance applications

We find that software frameworks for digital content management and access may be used for capturing certain data provenance information, particularly for data that has already been created and archived at a repository center. One of the key enabling factors is the abstraction concept of a digital object augmented with semantic relationships. One set of frameworks, Fedora Repository and Drupal CMS with the Islandora connector hold great promise for provenance applications as well as long-term curation of Geoscience datasets.

Cross-institutional research cyberinfrastructure for data intensive science

This paper describes a multi-institution effort to develop a “data science as a service” platform. This platform integrates advanced federated data management for small to large datasets, access to high performance computing, distributed computing and advanced networking. The goal is to develop a platform that is flexible and extensible while still supporting domain research and avoiding the walled garden problem. Some preliminary lessons learned and next steps will also be outlined.

Realizing the Value of a National Asset: Scientific Data

“We have a shared responsibility to create and implement strategies to realize the full potential of digital information for present and future generations,” according to the Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) Declaration [CoBabe-Ammann et al., 2007]

xDCI, a data science cyberinfrastructure for interdisciplinary research

This paper introduces xDCI, a Data Science Cyber-infrastructure to support research in a number of scientific domains including genomics, environmental science, biomedical and health science, and social science. xDCI leverages open-source software packages such as the integrated Rule Oriented Data System and the CyVerse Discovery Environment to address significant challenges in data storage, sharing, analysis and visualization. We provide three example applications to evaluate xDCI for different domains: analysis of 3D images of mice brains, videos analysis of neonatal resuscitation, and risk analytics. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of potential improvements to xDCI.

Community Recommendations for Improving Sustainable Scientific Software Practices

Improve Collaboration and Community Engagement • Work with diverse communities that contribute to the sustainability of scientific software • Encourage more scientists & other end users to attend ESIP meetings and share perspectives Increase Awareness and Understanding of Scientific Software Sustainability • Produce non-technical publications and presentations to inform the Earth science community • Develop workshops and training modules (agile development and software carpentry) • Document best practices and examples of software management plans, use cases, impact metrics, provenance, modularity, and version control, metadata standards, workflow profiles Create Incentives and Motivation for Scientific Software Sustainability • Recognize contributions through ‘best of...’ awards, consider virtual badges • Provide attribution by encouraging software citation • Develop guidance for citing software and templates for improving attribution • Identify funding opportunities to improve software sustainability

Earth Science Informatics Community Requirements for Improving Sustainable Science Software Practices: User Perspectives and Implications for Organizational Action

Science software is integral to the scientific process and must be developed and managed in a sustainable manner to ensure future access to scientific data and related resources. Organizations that are part of the scientific enterprise, as well as members of the scientific community who work within these entities, can contribute to the sustainability of science software and to practices that improve scientific community capabilities for science software sustainability. As science becomes increasingly digital and therefore, dependent on software, improving community practices for sustainable science software will contribute to the sustainability of science.

Moving the science data quality dialogue forward

Federation of Earth Science Information Partners Summer 2011 Meeting; Santa Fe, New Mexico, 12–15 July 2011 Scientific data quality is important to scientists, archivists, decision makers, and the public. Uncertain quality costs valuable research dollars and has impacts beyond the initial science. The Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) is a consortium of Earth science data and technology professionals spanning the government (NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Science Foundation), academia, and private sectors (both commercial and nonprofit). The organization is dedicated to transforming research data and information into useful and usable data and information products for decision makers, policy makers, and the public.