Lucy Nowell -Program Director: Data, Data Analysis & Visualization`at`NSF

Issues that come up often in our discussions of data preservation relate to how we can change the culture of science and engineering research and education to promote data sharing and re-use. Some scientists will literally decline funding rather than accept an award that requires them to share their data. Key issues pertain to the need to develop data citation standards and practices. This includes agreeing on appropriate metadata that will be preserved, so that people who generate/capture data can receive credit for their work, which should be equivalent to publication. I suspect this is essential to get most scientists to cooperate happily. Engaging publishers in this discussion would be a good idea.

Peer review standards and practices for data are also needed. Just what does it mean to review data, especially if a very large data set is in question?

Finally, there are a host of issues around data interoperability and knowledge representation standards that need to be sufficient to support inter/cross-disciplinary research. We began to address some of these issues with the INTEROP program, but the fate of the next round is far from certain.

Hope this helps. I look forward to hearing about how the meeting goes.

Best,
Lucy

Lucy Nowell, PhD
Program Director - Data, Data Analysis & Visualization
National Science Foundation Office of Cyberinfrastructure
4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1145
Arlington, VA 22230
Phone (703)292-8970; Fax (703)292-9060