Documenting Data to Improve Trust and Support Use Across Disciplines and Vocations

Data documentation allows audiences to determine whether and how to use data. Providing detailed descriptions of data products and services enables potential users to decide on the applicability of the data for an intended use. Furthermore, such data documentation also enables users to determine how the data could be used to meet a particular objective. Practically, creating effective data documentation requires detailed knowledge of the data that is ordinarily held by those who have been involved in the collection or production of the data. By utilizing such in-depth knowledge of a data product, rich documentation can be produced that is beneficial to data repository stakeholders. Offering rich data documentation provides opportunities to serve a diversified audience of users and potential users. The audience for data that includes rich documentation could span disciplinary and vocational boundaries, enabling use of data that is not necessarily dependent on the specialized knowledge that is associated with a specific discipline or sub-discipline. Providing rich documentation along with data also can improve the trust that the designated community has in a data repository by demonstrating the repository’s commitment for enabling use. The challenge for creating rich data documentation is in obtaining the documentation from data producers who have not been developing or routinely preparing such documentation as part of their data collection practices. Likewise, data producers who do not expect to be recognized or rewarded for such contributions may not be sufficiently motivated to produce rich data documentation. Aspects of rich data documentation are described along with the challenges and benefits of providing such documentation with data.