Re: CENDI/NFAIS - and Cameron Neylon post

[Matthew Turk <matthewturk@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Arthur,

On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 7:24 AM, Arthur Smith <apsmith@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> I think what the blog post highlights, at least for me, is the "moving data
> around" piece is much more significant at the local scale: copying data from
> an instrument database onto local storage for analysis, copying analysis
> products derived from other data sources, putting it somewhere for long-term
> storage, while having it clearly identified and labeled - those seem like
> such simple things but surprisingly tricky to do consistently and reliably
> for the unique circumstances of actual experimental lab situations.

Good point.  That's something that I've been thinking about too -- how
can the data lifecycle be made much more easy, and more transparent?
From the perspective of an NDS system, what I think might work is to
have a staging area, an ingestion system, analysis, and then
connecting all three of those in all directions.  EUDAT has taken this
approach using ownCloud, which (independently of finding out EUDAT had
done so!) we've been experimenting with deploying on an experimental
"NDS Labs" testbed.  I can only assume further pain points would be
illuminated after experimenting with this type of system.

>
> There were a few folks I have seen at NDS meetings also at the CENDI/NFAIS
> meeting - Jane Greenberg from Drexel was there and spoke about Dryad (and
> metadata). Jim Warren from NIST was there also, and one or two others. A lot
> of the talks were about motivating scientists to be more open with their
> data - about the incentive structure, etc. About making it easier, focusing
> on what scientists actually need, helping them to do their jobs. All the
> federal agencies there have some sort of data policy to promote integrity
> and reproducibility - requiring "Data Management Plans" in funding
> proposals, for instance. But what researchers actually do still seems highly
> variable and generally limited.
>
> Two things I learned - there is a federal "Data Reference Model" which all
> the agencies are supposed to be mindful of in providing data and metadata:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Reference_Model
>

This is great -- I didn't know about this either.

> It's supposed to promote interoperability but it doesn't seem to have met
> with wide success (or perhaps it has? Wasn't clear from presentations there
> though).
>
> The other thing was - there's a new "Data Carpentry" effort to train
> scientists on being better managers of their data:
> http://datacarpentry.org
> - it seems to be just starting up. As with Software Carpentry it looks like
> it'll have a python/github slant - something to be aware of, perhaps, maybe
> NDS should participate somehow...
>

I agree completely.  I've been in touch with a few folks from data
carpentry, but not in connection with NDS.  It could be very
interesting to deploy DC on an NDS system...

>    Arthur
>
>
> On 11/25/14, 3:24 PM, Matthew Turk wrote:
>
> Hi Arthur,
>
> I can't speak for anyone else, but I was at SC last week and not at the PTO.
> How was the meeting?  At SC there were a lot of really good opportunities to
> meet with folks and brainstorm ideas; I plan to send out a roundup at some
> point, once I've gotten my head screwed back on after the conference!  :)
>
> This blog post is pretty great.  I think he's hit something really
> fundamental.  A few weeks ago, David Tarboton from Hydroshare gave a
> colloquium at NCSA and he made the point that they hope to see adoption by
> the software becoming a part of the daily workflow.  I think there's
> something really powerful there -- and from my perspective, I think that's
> an easier goal to reach the *smaller* the initial scope of a project, or
> aims...  Start small, build outward, develop an ecosystem.
>
> -Matt
>
> On Wed Nov 19 2014 at 7:24:17 AM Arthur Smith <apsmith@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> Are any other people on this list attending the CENDI/NFAIS meeting on
>> "Data Infrastructure" at the US PTO tomorrow? Details at
>> http://cendievents.iiaweb.com/CENDI_NFAIS_2014/ - I know the supercomputing
>> meeting is going on this week also...
>>
>> On a completely different topic - for those who were interested in working
>> on a "laboratory workbench" prototype project, Cameron Neylon has a post
>> today on exactly that problem:
>>
>> http://cameronneylon.net/blog/data-capture-for-the-real-world/
>>
>> He notes that there are a lot of good projects out there supporting
>> research data, but " The bit that is lacking is often the interface onto the
>> day to day workings of an experimental laboratory. Something like this
>> system could be the glue-ware that brings those much more powerful systems
>> into play for the average researcher."
>>
>>
>>      Arthur
>
>