Protocols for Submitting Data to the Black Rock Forest Database

General Guidelines

Use the Data Submission Form. Follow these guidelines for filling it out.
All data must have metadata that meet the standards set by the Black Rock Forest Consortium (see below).
All data should be submitted in a format that is transferable among a variety of spreadsheet programs (comma-delimited ASCII is preferred).
All data and metadata must have titles at the top of the data page that clearly identify the investigator(s) and mark what the data are, where they were gathered, and the dates of collection.

Protocols for Metadata

Metadata are required to present enough information that a person unfamiliar with the study may understand the nature of the data and the context in which they were collected. An interested researcher should be able to replicate all collection techniques, including locations of prior collections. Metadata should include the following.

General Descriptors

Code. This is a general descriptor of the type of data. It should be related to the categories in the Black Rock Forest database. The Forest database includes such categories as environmental monitoring, hydrology, environmental chemistry, soils, maps, air photos and remote sensing, plants, animals, fungi, microbes.

Last Updated. Date that the metadata were last modified.

Title. The researcher submitting the data enters the title of the data set to which the metadata relate.

PI. The name of the principal investigator responsible for the generation of the data set.

Co-PIs. Other investigators involved in data generation.

Abstract.

Keywords.

File Format. Format of data being submitted.

Description of Research Origin

Funding. Source of funding for the project.

Study Purpose. Reason why study was initiated.

Experimental Design. Brief description of the design

Site Characteristics. Location of the site(s) where data collection was conducted, including elevation, latitude, and longitude. Also include a description of the nature of the site.

Research Methods. Detailed description of sampling techniques, individual measurements, testing procedures, and analytical processes for each of the variables monitored.

Start Date. Month, day and year that data collection was initiated.

End Date. Month, day and year that data collection was ceased. “Ongoing” if data collection is still occurring.

Physical Structure and Descriptors

File Name and Contents. Name of the file(s) the data are stored in and their contents.

QA/QC. Methods of record keeping, data entry and quality control.

Data Location.Where the data are currently being stored.

Data Format. A list of variables, where they are found in the spreadsheet, the units measured, the format the data are in, and whether or not they are coded (see example below).

Field	Format	Variable	Definition	Coded	Units
1	Text	Location	site location	yes
2	Integer	Temp	Temperature	no	degrees c

VAR codes. A list of the definitions used for the codes found in the spreadsheet (see example below).

Variable	Code	Definition
Location	4a1c	Arthur’s Brook site - control plot
Location	4a1	Arthur’s Brook site - thinned plot

Data Anomalies: List of influencing factors that may have affected data reliability (e.g., change in sampling technique, environmental conditions).

Miss Code: Code for missing data within data set (e.g., 7999).

Comments: Comments or concerns about the data. To be read by the data administrator or future users.

Also see protocols for disseminating and citing Black Rock Forest data.