Information on existing freshwater datasets is
indispensable for ensuring its discovery and (re)use,
e.g. in large scale analyses. The metadatabase on freshwater related datasets
was built as part of the EU BioFresh project to centralise such information and
provide free and universal access to it.
The Freshwater Metadatabase collects various
characteristics describing a specific dataset. This includes information about
the data provider and the related intellectual property issues, as well as
characterising parameters like regional coverage, spatial extend or information
about environmental and climate related parameters.
Regarding the collection of the relevant information a metadata
questionnaire was developed. To prioritise data entry, fields are
marked as mandatory/conditional, recommended or optional. In terms of
clearness and user friendliness fold-out sections, checkboxes,
selection lists as well as tooltips for further data field
explanations are on hand.
Publishing data via the Freshwater Metadatabase creates high
visibility of your dataset as scientists and the interested public can
discover useful datasets for analysis and for starting collaborations
via the metadata query tool
with multiple options to choose or a
full text search
on the database.
Additionally we have created the Freshwater Metadata Journal which allows to publish your metadata as journal article with an assigned
digital objective identifier (DOI) making it easily traceable and citeable like
any other scientific article thereby increasing recognition for your work.
If you are interested in submitting your metadata to the
Freshwater Metadatabase, please do not hesitate to contact Astrid
Schmidt-Kloiber (BOKU) or write to
data@freshwaterbiodiversity.eu.
