ITR/AP: The Analytic Web

马萨诸塞州阿默斯特大学的莱昂·奥斯特韦尔（Leon J. Osterweil）互联网已经永远改变了科学研究的方式。美国国家科学基金会资助的Globus和GriPhyN等合作项目正开始利用互联网接入来促进数据共享，并扩大分布在世界各地的研究人员社区之间的合作。这为通过使用共享数据和专业知识来做更好的科学创造了机会，但也带来了风险，因为互联网访问的数据集是如何产生的以及如何使用这些数据集的不确定性。如果科学家不能确定特定的结果是如何获得的，那么这些结果随后可能会以导致不正确或误导性结论的方式组合在一起，可能会产生破坏性的影响。我们的项目将开发、演示和评估技术，通过支持整合和联合收割机基于网络的数据集和工具的科学过程的定义、验证、可重复性和适应性，促进社区共识的建立。尽管在科学探究中使用的最合适的模型、方法和结论总是会有争论，但我们的工作应该帮助科学家们关注分歧的领域，并更快地解决这些分歧，也许可以通过进一步的实验和探究。因此，我们的工作也将帮助决策者在科学成果是关键成分的领域，如经济政策，环境管理和社会倡议。

ABSTRACT0205575U of Mass, AmherstLeon J. OsterweilThe internet has changed forever the way science is done. Collaborations such as NSF-sponsoredGlobus, and GriPhyN are beginning to employ internet access to facilitate data sharing andexpedite collaboration among worldwide communities of geographically distributed researchers.This creates opportunities to do better science through the use of shared data and expertise, but italso creates risks arising from uncertainty about how internet-accessed data sets were producedand how they can be used. If scientists cannot determine how particular results were obtained,those results may be subsequently combined in ways that will lead to incorrect or misleadingconclusions, possibly with devastating effects.Our project will develop, demonstrate, and evaluate technologies to facilitate the building ofcommunity consensus by supporting definition, validation, repeatability, and adaptability ofscientific processes that integrate and combine web-based data sets and tools. Although there willalways be debate about the most appropriate models, methodologies and conclusions used inscientific inquiry, our work should help scientists focus on areas of disagreement and resolve thesedisagreements more quickly, perhaps through further experimentation and inquiry. Thus, our workwill also help policy makers in areas where scientific results are critical ingredients, such aseconomic policy, environmental management, and social initiatives..