A comparative evaluation of technical solutions for long-term data repositories in integrative biodiversity research
A comparative evaluation of technical solutions for long-term data repositories in integrative biodiversity research
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DOI：
10.1016/j.ecoinf.2011.11.008
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发表时间：
2012-09-01
影响因子：
5.1
通讯作者：
Bendix, Joerg
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bach, Kerstin;Schaefer, Daniel;Bendix, Joerg
目前的研究调查现有的基础设施，其技术解决方案和实施标准的数据库相关的综合生物多样性研究。在中央数据库中储存和重新使用复杂的生物多样性数据正变得越来越重要，特别是在试图科普环境变化对生物多样性和生态系统的影响方面。从数据方面来看，生物多样性储存库的主要挑战是处理涵盖从基因到生态系统的信息的标准化和非标准化数据和元数据的高度跨学科和异质性。此外，数据采集技术的技术改进产生了越来越大的数据量，这对数据库结构和适当的数据交换提出了挑战，目前的研究是基于全面的深入访谈和在线调查，解决参与数据库开发和操作的IT专家。结果表明，元数据已经很好地建立，但非元数据在各个科学界仍然在很大程度上没有标准化。例如，在我们的调查中，只有三分之一的存储库使用国际统一的语义标准清单进行分类。研究还表明，数据库开发人员大多忙于实现最先进的技术和解决操作问题，没有时间实现用户的需求。造成这种令人不满的情况的主要原因之一是，大多数储存库的规模不足，供资情况不可靠，这反映在长期信息技术工作人员人数很少。我们的结论是，一个可持续的数据管理系统，促进这些宝贵的数据资源的未来使用和再利用，需要开发更少，但更永久的数据存储库使用普遍接受的标准，为他们的长期数据。这只能通过合并迄今为止广泛分散的小型和非永久性处置库来实现。(C)2011 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.
The current study investigates existing infrastructure, its technical solutions and implemented standards for data repositories related to integrative biodiversity research. The storage and reuse of complex biodiversity data in central databases are becoming increasingly important, particularly in attempts to cope with the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity and ecosystems. From the data side, the main challenge of biodiversity repositories is to deal with the highly interdisciplinary and heterogeneous character of standardized and unstandardized data and metadata covering information from genes to ecosystems. Furthermore, the technical improvements in data acquisition techniques produce ever larger data volumes, which represent a challenge for database structure and proper data exchange.The current study is based on comprehensive in-depth interviews and an online survey addressing IT specialists involved in database development and operation. The results show that metadata are already well established, but that non-meta data still is largely unstandardized across various scientific communities. For example, only a third of all repositories in our investigation use internationally unified semantic standard checklists for taxonomy. The study also showed that database developers are mostly occupied with the implementation of state of the art technology and solving operational problems, leaving no time to implement user's requirements. One of the main reasons for this dissatisfying situation is the undersized and unreliable funding situation of most repositories, as reflected by the marginally small number of permanent IT staff members. We conclude that a sustainable data management system that fosters the future use and reuse of these valuable data resources requires the development of fewer, but more permanent data repositories using commonly accepted standards for their long-term data. This can only be accomplished through the consolidation of hitherto widely scattered small and non-permanent repositories. (C) 2011 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.