1 31 2013

DDS Telecon 1/31/2013 meeting notes

Present: Anne Wilson, Denise Hills, Robert Downs, Ruth Duerr, Paul Uhlir, Rama Ramapriyan, Heather [?], Beth Huffer, Steve Aulenbach, Sarah Ramdeen.

Notes: Anne reviewed the DDS wiki page

First goal would be to develop deliverables for the summer meeting and secondary to develop materials at the winter meeting.

The summer meeting is in Chapel Hill in July.

What do we mean and what are we trying to address?

Anne referenced a report on stewardship but did not address things like discovery, understanding and trust etc. What are our visions/options for this cluster? Also what scope do we want to tackle? (See wikipage for details).

Anne and Ruth believe that we should have a larger scope beyond just Earth Science data. This might include social science data. Ruth gave an example of Biologists using sea ice data for their research. Anne suggested that we collect some use cases and other examples. Use case needs to be fleshed out (how detailed).

Rama was worried about making this too broad. He believes it should be how Earth Sciences connect to other fields but not encompassing all fields. Denise echoed this - how these other fields interface with Earth Science. But we can use these other fields as examples. Rama suggested use cases of Earth Science data and other disciple data - how can we make it easier to process data in combination. This will be important for the use cases.

Ruth felt that gathering use cases was important, but what would be our intentions to use them in our recommendations on moving forward?

Anne felt the use cases would help scope the problem by indicating interface points. If we had the right use cases, across discipline, we could look at them comparatively and say what would we need to do to make it work across these boundaries.

Ruth provided an example to the group of a recent interaction with a researcher from another field. Anne and Denise felt it would be a great example to write up as a start. Ruth suggested involving these researchers in our process.

Steve volunteered to take part in this process. He is also in CO. and could be part of the process.

Beth asked if another group was creating use cases. Rama said that the preservation committee is creating use cases but they might not be relevant for this topic.

Rama thought it would be important to establish goals for a decadal survey/report. What are our expectations?

Beth asked what inspired the decision to push for a DDS? Anne recapped her background with this issue (also mentioned at the summer meeting).

Anne asked Rama for follow up on the goals. He thinks the high priority needs would be addressed by the use cases. "Here are the real world users and here is what we CAN'T do." These are the types of things we would want to do better. Beth suggested that we also focus on what are the barriers to using data as well. She also clarified the types of high level problems we might want to identify with this project.

Robert suggested that in addition to the use cases, something that is trying to be achieved. What objective would this met to help ensure data would be available in the future.

Beth is discussing that needing to know what kinds of users there are and how their needs change depending on who they are. She suggests collaborating with another group mentioned earlier who is assessing user needs. Suggests this could almost be a classification.

Paul suggests taking a view of the lifecycle of data from collection through archiving and re-use. Examine steps along the way to identify the areas of focus. Not look at it as a discipline perspective per se but rather as a functional perspective - i.e., what is it going to take to move data management and policy field forward. Use the use cases to illustrate the problem, rather than using the Use Cases to identify the problem. Goal - a research agenda for data management. In that case you don't need to limit it to Earth Science as it is a functional issue not a disciplinary issue.

Need to look at the life cycle but look at what has already been done, to find the gaps. This will help us focus and also to come to a uniform understanding amongst the group.

Need to start with reviewing the papers...? Can someone start a template as to what should be garnered out of the papers... Can Sarah help here? Anne is willing to help here too... Need to identify a life cycle, then see where the literature on our reading list fits in. Perhaps use the lifecycle from Harnessing the Lifecycle?

Paul can forward a list of data-related reports... He will look at the decadal survey process itself. Do an analysis of the study process and what it might do, and write up for the group

Telecons the fourth Thursday of the month...