Presentation that describes the experiences and insights of the IEDA data facility gained during the >10 years of building cyberinfrastructure for a long-tail community geochemistry

1. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
eResearch 2008 AGU 2012

2. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
New Communities for CI
“At the heart of the cyberinfrastructure vision is the
development of a cultural community that supports
peer-to-peer collaboration and new modes of education
based upon broad and open access to leadership
computing; data and information resources; online
instruments and observatories; and visualization and
collaboration services.”
Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr.
Director of the US National Science Foundation

3. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Science Community & Culture
“A community is a collection of persons
sharing common values, shared goals,
and similar practices.”
 Scientific Approaches & Methods
 Quality of Work & Evaluation
 Recognition of Achievements
 Publication/Sharing Culture

4. Understanding the Cultural & Social Challenges
 Social & cultural standards such as
norms of practice, shared terms &
concepts play as much a key role in
linking systems as do technical
solutions.
 The most significant problems that
impede infrastructure development
(‘Reverse Salients’) are not technical,
but legal, political, social, or cultural.
 Emerging infrastructures can be the site
of intense conflict.
 The path to infrastructure development
is slow - decades, not months or years.
“Robust cyberinfrastructure
will develop only when
social, organizational, and
cultural issues are resolved in
tandem with the creation of
technology-based services.”
“Robust cyberinfrastructure
will develop only when
social, organizational, and
cultural issues are resolved in
tandem with the creation of
technology-based services.”
”History & Theory of
Infrastructure: Lessons for the
New Scientific
Cyberinfrastructures”
(P. Edwards et al., 2007)

5. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Community Reviews of Geochemical Database Proposals to the US NSF/GEO
Culture Change in Geochemistry
:1999
““I remain skeptical that a database has everI remain skeptical that a database has ever
generated any new scientific insight of greatgenerated any new scientific insight of great
.significance.significance ””
:2005
““ ,Easily accessible large databases of geochemical,Easily accessible large databases of geochemical
data are vital for the continued growth of the earthdata are vital for the continued growth of the earth
.sciences Funding this effort should be the highest.sciences Funding this effort should be the highest
.priority.priority ””
““In the last couple of years it has becomeIn the last couple of years it has become
increasingly apparent that centralized databasesincreasingly apparent that centralized databases
.are invaluable tools in the Earth Sciences This.are invaluable tools in the Earth Sciences This

6. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Impact of Databases
 have revolutionized access to data in igneous
petrology.
 have changed the way science is done in igneous
petrology.
 have fundamentally contributed to new science.
 have been embraced by the community.
 triggered a culture change in geochemistry.

7. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Recognition
“More than just a timesaver, these databases make it possible to
address both global and regional questions that I would
otherwise never bother to attempt.
The amount of time saved is such that countless ideas cross from
the realm of the totally impractical for a busy working scientist
into the realm of easy to squeeze into a spare half hour.
Simply put, I can now test theoretical ideas against all the
world's data, and can readily compare any specific region I am
working on to its global counterparts. This is a monumental
benefit.”
User feedback about the PetDB database, 2005

8. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Community Acceptance
 Hundreds of citations in the literature
 Thousands of unique users per month

9. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Culture Change
 Community recognized the value of proper data
management.
 Community became aware of requirements for
proper data curation, e.g. metadata.
 Community has engaged in development of
standards and best practices.
 Community has started to develop and
implement new policies for data sharing.

10. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Ingredients for Success
 Systems provided substantial benefits for
researchers.
- Capabilities that did not exist before.
- Capabilities that the individual cannot achieve.
 Systems did initially not rely on contributions
from the community.
 Community liaison.
 User friendliness.

11. IEDA Concept
IN43D-07: Advancing Long Tail Data Capture and Access Through Trusted, Community-Driven Data Services at the IEDA Data Facility
11
ExpertiseExpertise ResponsivenessResponsiveness ReliabilityReliability
QualityQuality UtilityUtility
TrustTrust

12. 12
Responsiveness
 Community liaison
 Soliciting community input & feedback to IEDA
 Providing input & feedback to science programs
 Acting timely, reliably, & transparently on input &
feedback
 Providing support & guidance
 Openness to collaboration & innovation
IN43D-07: Advancing Long Tail Data Capture and Access Through Trusted, Community-Driven Data Services at the IEDA Data Facility
12

13. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Support from Professional Societies
 Databases housing geochemical information should be available to
the community at large. (open access)
 The metadata are as important as the data.
 Published data and metadata should be available in electronic
format.
 After final acceptance of a manuscript for publication, any new data
that it contains should be submitted for entry into an established
database, if an appropriate database exists.
 Databases housing geochemical information should be available to
the community at large. (open access)
 The metadata are as important as the data.
 Published data and metadata should be available in electronic
format.
 After final acceptance of a manuscript for publication, any new data
that it contains should be submitted for entry into an established
database, if an appropriate database exists.

14. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Support from Editors & Publishers
 Joint policy approved! (2009)
- Complete data publication:
Authors need to present all data
used in a publication (“if it is plotted
it should be tabulated”).
- Annotation: Authors need to
provide essential metadata
• Analytical procedure & data quality
• Sample locations
• Unique sample identifiers
• Nature
• Science
• Earth & Planet Sci Lett
• Chemical Geology
• G-Cubed
• Journal of Petrology
• Geochim Cosmoc Acta
• Geology
• Contr Miner Petrology
• Elsevier
• GSA Publications
• Springer
 Editors Roundtable: Editors, Publishers, Databases
 Goal: Implement Best Practices for Data ReportingBest Practices for Data Reporting

15. Goal: “Connect Earth Science publishers and Data Facilities to
help translate the aspirations of open, available, and useful data
from policy into practice.”
15
COPDESS (2014)

17. EarthCube RCNs
 Address specific problems that will advance CI
from within the science community
- Need the domain science champions!
 Integrate with relevant scientific communities
and facilities.
- Science programs, data facilities, sample repositories,
analytical labs, etc.
 Provide incentives to participate
 Create new resources as demanded by
researchers.
Example of Geochemistry

18. Kerstin Lehnert: New Science Communities for Cyberinfrastructure - The Example of Geochemistry
Credit: Sarah Chong, http://www.techinasia.com/we-trust-brands-on-social-networks-
almost-as-much-as-we-trust-peers/