DataONE: A Glimpse into the Practices of Data Managers

Data Observation Network for Earth (DataONE; https://www.dataone.org/) is supported by the National Science Foundation and will ensure the preservation of and access to multi-scale, multi-discipline, and multi-national science data about Earth. DataONE will make biological data available from the genome to the ecosystem; make environmental data available from atmospheric, ecological, hydrological, and oceanographic sources; and engage scientists, land-managers, policy makers, students, educators, and the public through logical access and intuitive visualizations. The DataONE Usability and Assessment Working Group is tasked with conducting a variety of assessments on aspects of the DataONE project. This presentation will discuss the results of a survey sent to data managers to assess current data management and data sharing needs, practices, and attitudes. IASSIST members were invited to participate in the survey via the listserv. Questions asked included how much data is deposited on public, internal, or personal websites, access/use conditions, the reasons data managers do not make their data available to others electronically, policies and processes for data deposition and storage, use of metadata to describe data and the metadata standards and tools used, training on best practices and adequate funding for data management, and data management plans, among other things.