Whose data do you trust? Integrity issues in the preservation of scientific data

Mayernik, Matthew S.; Wallis, Jillian C.; Pepe, Alberto; Borgman, Christine L.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/15119 Copy

Description

Title

Whose data do you trust? Integrity issues in the preservation of scientific data

Author(s)

• Mayernik, Matthew S.
• Wallis, Jillian C.
• Pepe, Alberto
• Borgman, Christine L.

Issue Date

2008-02-28

Keyword(s)

• Data integrity
• digital libraries
• scientific data practices

Abstract

Integrity of content is a generic issue in curation and preservation, but has not been extensively studied in relation to scientific data. Data are now being seen as an important end product of scholarship in themselves. In this paper, we will discuss data integrity issues in relation to environmental and ecological data, and the implications of these issues on the development of data digital libraries. For users to trust and interpret the data in scientific digital libraries, they must be able to assess the integrity of those data. Criteria for data integrity vary by context, by scientific problem, by individual, and a variety of other factors. The goal of this research is to identify functional requirements for digital libraries of scientific data, encompassing both technical and social factors that can affect data integrity. Mechanisms to ensure data integrity have to be present at each stage in the data life cycle, from data collection to data preservation and curation. The implications of our research on data integrity are multi-fold for the iSchool research community, and we hope to promote discussion of these issues.

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/15119

Owning Collections