1 / 26

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT: a path less taken

This presentation explores the trajectory of information management at the Puerto Rico Nuclear Center and the Long Term Ecological Research program. It covers topics such as information flow, tools, LTER culture, and other projects.

bhairston
Download Presentation

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT: a path less taken

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; INFORMATION MANAGEMENT: a path less taken A PRESENTATION TO THE ITES PERSONNEL

  2. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT • Time set, Trajectory and Introduction • Information Flow • Pathway • Tools • LTER Culture • Other Projects

  3. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT :Time set The Puerto Rico Nuclear Center (PRNC) was created in 1957 The Center for Energy and Environmental Research (CEER) was the official name of the Nuclear Center in Puerto Rico Terrestrial Ecology Division (TED) was part of CEER when it was dissolved in the 1990’s

  4. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT :Trajectory in Time The National Science Foundation (NSF) granted TED the Long Term-Ecological Research program (LTER) in 1988 In 1988 the first information manager and data entry person were recruited by TED TED hired the current information manager in 1989 and the current data entry person in 1995, and they both stayed Luquillo LTER (LUQ) was the first LTER site in the Tropics

  5. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT :Trajectory in Time IM staff has always been constituted by: One or two students One or two data entry person An information manager

  6. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Introduction : Mission Then took the other, as just as fair And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, Assist the scientific community in their endeavor to understand nature and make sure that their products are widely available to the present generation as well as future ones

  7. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Introduction : Mission And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. Scientific needs and new technologies: • Changes in procedures • Science methods • Technology

  8. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Introduction : Processes I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost... The Road Not Taken • Data entry protocols • Quality Control (QC) methods • Communication with scientific staff • Produce metadata = data about data

  9. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : Advantages MINIMIZED • Errors are MINIMIZED • Promotes the establishments of standard procedures • Measurements: units • Management: data structures • Facilitates: • Analyses • Cross-site investigation • Long-Term life of data

  10. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : Flow of Information Field and / or Lab,  Office  Web or Plone  Analisys Publications (Flowchart)

  11. Information Flow • Receive, entry, quality control (QC), report, and archiving. • Filing and labling • Loging: project status • Entry : • using spreadsheets and/or database programs • Saved in database format

  12. Information Flow • QC:Data correction • Double check in IM • Reports • Backups : • 2 different external media • hardcopy archival • Data delivery (via email or Plone)

  13. Information Flow • Data Entry sheets generation • Illustration of data entry sheets evolution in time

  14. Information Flow • Example: CTE Seedling data entry sheet evolution: • June 30, 2003

  15. Information Flow • Example: CTE Seedling data entry sheet evolution: • Nov 13, 2007

  16. Information Flow • Data Entry sheets generation • Used for comparison with previous data at the field • Ease process of electronic data entry • Facilitate registration of data in the field, e.g. unit of measurement taken (cm vs m)

  17. Information Flow: Conclusion Why are IM procedures important? … A centralized office for management … • Provides organization • Prevents data loss and repetition • Makes sure good quality metadata is in place

  18. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : Tools The selection of the computer program depends on the type of information to be entered

  19. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : Tools Data Base Management Systems (DBMS) vs Spreadsheets • DBMS facilitate synthesis by standardizing data columns • DBMS usually export data more accurately • DBMS provide more powerful searching tools • Spreadsheets facilitate data entry and visualization • The computer expertise needed to use a spreadsheets is less

  20. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT :The LTER Culture What is so peculiar about the LTER? In the science component… • Collaborative research is developed • Centralized working hypothesis approach to collaboration • Spread all over the world

  21. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : LUQ IM in the LTER Culture

  22. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : LUQ IM in the LTER Culture • Short-Term data may be just part of the story

  23. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : LUQ IM in the LTER Culture • Data without metadata is worthless ..\lterdb114\metadata\lterdb114.htm

  24. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : LUQ IM in the LTER Culture • LUQ developed metadata standards as early as 1990 • Fully compliant with the LTER Network minimum standards

  25. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : Other Projects • Schoolyard • Community special projects - Colegio creativo de Puerto Rico web site and data: http://luq.lternet.edu/outreach/IMRemoteSensingandSchoolComm.htm - Buchanan Antilles Middle School web page: http://luq.lternet.edu/outreach/IMandAMS.htm

  26. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT : Other Projects • International presentations and workshops Mexico Venezuela Costa Rica Taiwan • Collaboration with other agencies Forest Service: Creation of a Research web with an IM component • Other ITES’ Programs: ITES Scientists’ publication data base Website: http://www.ites.upr.edu/

More Related