Guide for Completing the Data Repository Form
This guide provides information on how to complete the registration form.
There are up to 11 sections to the form; some fields are required (denoted by an asterisk *),
while others are optional.
Information on individual fields and examples for their content are provided below.
*First name, *Last name:
The first and last names of the person completing this form.
*Data Set Title:
A descriptive title
of the data set. The title should provide enough information for
someone casually scanning a list of data sets to know whether the data are
relevant to them. This implies that the data context should be indicated
in the title without making the title be too long. In general, the title
should indicate what kind of data were collected and the spatial,
taxonomic, and temporal extents the data set covers.
Examples of descriptive titles:
- Hastings Reserve (CA) Small Mammal Trapline Data from 1972 to 1988.
- Tassajara Hot Springs Reserve Water Chemistry Data from 1990 to 2000.
Examples of incomplete titles:
- Mammals Data
- Water Chemistry Data
The person responsible for developing the data set. For example, the principal
investigator in a collaborative project, the first author of the main publication using the data set, etc.
The first and last names of the principal data set owner are required; the organization name, e-mail, phone, fax, and
address information are optional.
Note: If there is more than one owner, information
about the co-owner(s) can be provided in the Associated Parties section below.
*First Name:
The first name of the principal data set owner.
*Last Name:
The last name (surname) of the principal data set owner.
Organization Name:
The name of the organization from which the data set
originated.
E-Mail:
The e-mail address by which the principal data set owner can be contacted.
Phone:
The phone number of the principal data set owner, including the area code (999-999-9999).
FAX:
The fax number of the principal data set owner, including the area code (999-999-9999).
Street Information:
A comma-separated list of street number, street, unit,
etc.
Example: 735 State Street, Suite 300
City:
The city
name of the principal data set owner's address.
U.S. State or Territory:
Select a U.S. state or territory from the drop-down menu for the principal data set owner's address. If the address is not in
the United States, used the "Other State/Province" field below. For a shortcut,
press the first letter of the state on your keyboard (e.g., M-key to skip to Maine).
Other State/Province:
A non-U.S. state or a province for
the principal data set owner's address.
Postal Code:
The postal code or ZIP code
for the principal data set owner's address.
Country:
The country
for the principal data set owner's address.
If applicable, enter the first and last names of an associated party (e.g., co-owner of the data set, a data custodian/steward, a metadata provider, a user of
the data set), select a role for this person, and click on "Add Associated Party". Repeat to add another associated party.
To edit an entry, click on the name of the person entered, change the name and/or
the role, and click on the area just right of the drop-down menu for the role (the text fields and the drop-down menu will disappear). To delete an entry, click on the "X".
If you have entered several associated parties and want to change the order in which they appear, use the blue up and down arrows.
Short (maximum of 350 words) summary of the purpose and content of the data set.
Entering a data set abstract is required.
Example: Data were collected every year in summer and fall from
1967 to 1979. Trapping was conducted only in the fall from 1980 to
1988. For each specimen taken, data were recorded on species, date,
location, time, sex, and body measurements including total length,
length of tail, length of hind foot, length of ear, and body mass.
The purpose of the data was to index the population size of all
species present over a long time period.
Provide information for as many keywords as needed. The information is provided in groups of three
fields: keyword, keyword type, and keyword thesaurus. Repeat steps 1-4 below for each additional keyword.
Have a look at the NASA Global Change Master Directory
(GCMD) (particularly under EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere) and see if you can find keywords that appropriately describe your data set.
If not, use your own keywords.
1. Keyword:
Enter a word or phrase that describes your data set.
2. Keyword Type:
Select the keyword type (a term used to group similar keywords). The different types are ("none" is the default):
- Theme: the keyword identifies a particular subject or topic.
- Place: the keyword identifies a place.
- Stratum: the keyword identifies the layer(s) of any deposited substance.
- Temporal: the keyword identifies a time period related to the data set.
- Taxonomic: the keyword identifies a particular taxon.
3. Keyword Thesaurus:
Select whether you used the NASA Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) or not to choose your keywords.
4. Click on the "Add Keyword" button to add the keyword information provided.
To edit a keyword entry, click on the keyword entered, change the keyword, keyword type, and/or keyword
thesaurus, and click on the area just right of the thesaurus drop-down menu (the text field and the drop-down menus will disappear). To delete an entry, click on the "X".
If you have entered several keywords and want to change the order in which they appear, use the blue up and down arrows.
*Start Date:
The first year, month, and
day of the collection/creation of the data set. A start date is required. Type in the year (yyyy), and choose the month and the day from the
drop-down menus.
Stop Date:
The last year, month, and
day for the collection/creation of the data set. Type in the year, and choose the month and the day from the drop-down menus.
Note: Leave "Stop Date" blank if your data set is open-ended.
*Geographic Description:
Enter a general description of the geographic area in which the data were collected. This can be a simple place name (e.g., Santa Barbara) or a fuller description.
This field supplements the coordinates provided below and helps orient the data user about the general location of the study.
*Coordinates:
The latitude and longitude
coordinates (in degrees, minutes and seconds) of the location where the data were collected. At least one lat/long pair is required. From the drop-down menus, select
the North (N) or South (S) orientation for the latitudes, and the West (W) or East (E) orientation for the longitudes.
If you enter one coordinate pair only: This indicates a point location.
If you enter both coordinate pairs: This indicates a
bounding box. The first coordinate pair is the northwest corner and
the second coordinate pair is the southeast corner of the bounding
box.
Provide a list of the taxa that are associated with this data set.
This includes taxa for which the data set contains measurements, and taxa
for which the data have relevance in less direct ways. In general, if a
data user searching for a particular taxonomic name should find this data set,
then the taxon should be included in this list.
Please check the Glasgow Taxonomic Name Server or the Integrated Taxonomic Information System for correct spelling
of taxonomic names.
For each taxon, follow the three steps below:
-
Taxonomic Rank: Enter the level in the taxonomic hierarchy
(Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, or Species).
-
Taxonomic Name: Enter the scientific name for the level
entered under Taxonomic Rank (e.g., Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivoria, Ursidae, Ursus, or Ursus arctos).
-
Click on the "Add Taxon" button to add the taxonomic information.
To edit an entry, click on the taxonomic information entered, change the taxonomic rank and/or name, and click on the area just right of the text field for the name (the two text
fields will disappear). To delete an entry, click on the "X". If you have entered several taxa and want to change the order in which they appear, use the blue up and
down arrows.
Taxonomic Reference: The name
or complete citation of the source(s) used for identifying and naming taxa (e.g., name of a field guide, key, or nomenclature revision).
Method Title: A title for the method used to generate
the data (e.g., Measure of zooplankton abundance using radial quadrat sub-sampling).
Method Description: Description of the method used.
This is intended to be a general method description that is suitable to help potential users of the data decide if the data are appropriate for their purposes.
You can add multiple paragraphs to the description by clicking on the "Add Paragraph to Method Description"
button (paragraphs added by using the ENTER key in the Method Description field will not appear as paragraphs in the submitted form).
Extent of Study Description:
Describe the temporal, spatial and taxonomic extent of the study, supplementing
the information on coverage provided above. For example, if the temporal
coverage of the data is 1990-2000, you might provide details about any years
that were missed or the months in which sampling actually occurred. If you
provide information in this field (Extent of Study Description), then you must also provide
a Method Title, a Method Description and a Sampling Description.
Sampling Description:
Describe the sampling design of the study. For example, you might describe
the way in which treatments were assigned to sampling units. If you provide
information in this field (Sampling Description), then you must also provide
a a Method Title, a Method Description and an Extent of Study Description.
Contact information of the person to be contacted for more information on the data
set or to obtain the data set itself. This is analogous to the Principal Data Set Owner information above. Please
see that section for more information on filling out the
individual fields. If the Data Set Contact and the Principal Data Set Owner are the same, check the box provided.
Data Set Identifier: If available, please enter a name or number that uniquely identifies and describes concisely the data set.
Alternatively, provide other pertinent information that can identify and locate the data set within your site's data management system.
*Data Medium:
Specify whether the data medium is
digital (e.g., computer file) or hardcopy (e.g., paper), or specify any other type of data medium the data are recorded on (e.g., video tape).
*Usage Rights: Specify the usage rights that apply
to the data set (e.g., no restrictions, obtain permission from data set owner(s), cite the data set in publications, etc.).
URL: If available, provide a link for the
location of more metadata or the data set itself (this URL should be as permanent as possible).
Additional Information:
Add any additional information here that you deem relevant to the data set, which has not been covered in the form. For example, if the data set is in the form
of a computer file, you could specify the file format here (e.g., Excel, Access, FoxPro, DBase, etc.).
Select files from your computer to include in the data package submission. Text-based data files (e.g., CSV) are preferred, but there is no restriction on the file type.
Multiple files can be included in the package.
Ideally, data files will be made publicly accessible on submission, but we recognize there are some cases where access to the data should be restricted until a later date.
Select the appropriate permission level for each file as it is attached to the package. Files can be 'unattached' using the delete button.
