Table 4.
Data practices.
| Category | Practice | Definitions |
|---|---|---|
| Findable | Data available from project website (Y/N) | Availability of data from the project's own website in a downloadable or queryable format |
| Findable | Data available from repositories or registries (Y/N) | Availability of data in a research data repository or via a data clearinghouse or registry |
| Accessible | Downloadable data file(s) available (Y/N) | Existence of download data files via project website, repository, or third party |
| Accessible | Tools for data exploration (Y/N) | Existence of tools for visualizing, summarizing, or querying project data via an app or website |
| Accessible | Data licensing specified (Y/N) | Existence of text specifying terms and conditions for data use |
| Accessible | Metadata available (Y/N) | Existence of documents with descriptive metadata such as known problems and data cleaning tips |
| Accessible | API documentation (Y/N) | Existence of documentation to support users of an API, where applicable |
| Interoperable | Data recorded in standard formats for discipline (Y/N) | Application of disciplinary standards for structural metadata and data formatting |
| Reusable | Uniqueness of data (describe) | Description of the unique contributions and features of the project's data |
| Reusable | Time scale of data (# yrs) | Number of years of records in the data set; may include historical data |
| Reusable | Spatial scale of data (describe) | Description of the geographic range for project data, such as continent, country, state, city, or watershed |
| Reusable | How much data (# data points, describe) | Description of data volume in terms relevant to the data collected, such as number of data points |
| Reusable | Errors documented (Y/N) | Existence of documentation for known errors in the data set |
| Reusable | Quality assurance or quality control documented (Y/N) | Existence of documentation for quality-assurance and quality-control processes |
| Reusable | Changes documented (Y/N) | Existence of documentation for data edited after initial receipt |
| Reusable | Questionable data flagged (Y/N) | Existence of documentation for data considered questionable or problematic |
| Reusable | Software or platform development (Y/N) | Existence of software or hosted technologies (platforms) that support external projects |