Lessons learned from setting-up the NOWESP Research Data Base: experiences in an interdisciplinary research project
Radach, G.; Gekeler, J. (1996). Lessons learned from setting-up the NOWESP Research Data Base: experiences in an interdisciplinary research project, in: NOWESP: 2. Compilation of scientific reports. pp. 2 [1-12] In: (1996). NOWESP: 2. Compilation of scientific reports. North-West European Shelf Programme (NOWESP): Hamburg. 324 pp., more |
| Authors | | Top | - Radach, G., more
- Gekeler, J.
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| Abstract | The basis of the research in the MAST project NOWESP (North West European Shelf Sea Programme) was the provision of a multi-parameter data set of existing marine data, relevant for estimating trends, variability and fluxes on the north-west European Shelf. The data sets were provided by the partners of the project. Additional data sets were obtained from several other institutions. During the project the data were organized in the NOWESP Research Data Base (NRDB), for which a data base scheme was defined, which was tailored to take up all kinds of marine data. Data products, like time series and interpolated fields, were provided to the partners for being analysed (Gekeler & Radach, 1996, Radach et al., 1997). After three years of project time the feasibility of such an approach is discussed. Ways to optimize data access and evaluation are proposed. A project-oriented Research Data Base is a useful tool in research, because of its flexibility and proximity to the research going on in the project. However, several conditions have to be fulfilled to obtain the optimum benefit of such a service unit. Given the restricted staff which is usually devoted to such a task, an early start of the data management of the project is recommended. For enabling future projects to succeed in an analogous compilation of relevant data for their use, as performed in NOWESP, the task of organizing the data sets for any short-termed project should be shared between a research data base group and a national or international data centre, to utilize the experience and software of the data centres. The delivery of the quality controlled data sets obtained within any data-producing project to the national data centres has to be ensured. It is recommended that in the future the quality control of the data should be ensured by the originators and/or by the data centres before delivering the data sets to the research data base. The delivery of the (full) data sets should be checked and the quality should be approved by authorized data centres. |
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