data-introduction.md

Data and metadata

Data

• "information in digital form that can be transmitted or processed"

-- Merriam-Webster dictionary

* "*information in an electronic form that can be stored and processed by a computer*"

--Cambridge dictionary

Metadata

• data describing other data
• information that is given to describe or help you use other information
• metadata are data
  • can be processed and analyzed

Metadata examples:

• LabBook
• author/owner of the data
• origin of the data
• data type

• description of content
• modification date
• description of modification
• location

• calibration readings
• software/firmware version
• data purpose
• means of creation

!Insufficient metadata make the data useless!

Sometimes metadata collection takes more time than data collection

LCSB research data

three categories:

• Primary data

  • scientific data
    • measurements, images, observations, notes, surveys, ...
    • models, software codes, libraries, ...
  • metadata directly describing the data
    • data dictionaries
    • format, version, coverage descriptions, ...

• Research record

  • description of the research process, including experiment
    • experiment set-up
    • followed protocols
    • ...

• Project accompanying documentation

  • ethical approvals, information on the consent)
  • collaboration agreements
  • intellectual property ownership
  • other relevant documentation