- What is the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
The CRC1211DB is the project database of the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centre 1211. The CRC1211DB offers several functionalities as a centralized data management repository,
sustainable storage, backup and provision of CRC1211 data for all project participants.
Furthermore, the option for researchers to add adequate metadata to their project data,
specific to the type of data and the CRC1211 context is provided. In addition to measured project data and purchased (geo-)data, publications, reports, pictures and presentations by the
CRC1211 participants are also managed.
All features, such as representation and search of data via metadata are accessible online. Some functions are only available for authorized users.
This includes download of data, input and modification of corresponding metadata, application of specific CRC1211-DOIs for datasets, download of purchased and processed geodata as well as
the visualization of geodata in a Web-GIS. This is due to licence constrains.
- What is the aim of the CRC1211 database?Click to expand/collapse
In every interdisciplinary, long-term research project it is an important task to manage the resulting research data. Usually project participants create a lot of different,
heterogeneous data. The aim of the CRC1211 database is to provide a secure, stable, sustainable and backed up storage of this CRC1211 project data with corresponding metadata to make them
re-usable and facilitate sharing, e.g. with other project participants or for future studies in another context.
- How do I store my data in the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
- You need an account to upload data. If you don't have one, please contact the CRC1211DB admin: crc1211db-admin@uni-koeln.de
- Before uploading, organize your data locally. Make sure it is sorted and has a meaningful title, then compress it.
- Upload your data to the CRC1211DB. If your dataset is larger than 100 MB, you have to upload your data to the CRC1211DB storage via an FTP client like WinSCP or FileZilla. For smaller datasets, please use the 'Small Data Upload' on the CRC1211DB website. Further information how to upload data is provided in the 'Help and Tutorials' section.
- Add metadata to your uploaded data by filling in the metadata form through the CRC1211DB web interface.
Please note: For datasets larger than 100 MB it usually takes up to a day for metadata editing to become available because the file needs to be processed on the server overnight.
- How long will the data be available in the CRC1211 database?Click to expand/collapse
The data will be stored during the project activities and up to 10 years after the project is finished.
- How can I search for data in the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
The CRC1211DB has various functions to search for data.
- Advanced Search: Allows you to filter the available data according to various criteria, giving very specific sets of results.
Multiple filters can be used, so you can further refine searches as you require.
- Map Search: This map-based search function allows you to search for datasets by their geographic location.
Those without a geographic location cannot be searched for on the map.
- Browse by Topic: Gives a list of all available datasets according to the chosen topic.
- Browse by Type: Shows a list of all available datasets according to the CRC1211 data type categories.
- Browse by Region: This section gives an overview of the available CRC1211 measurement regions. Selecting a site creates a list of all related datasets.
- Browse by Phase: Search option to find datasets regarding to their funding phase.
- Browse by Cluster: This section gives an overview about current and former CRC1211 cluster groups and project sections. Selecting a cluster
lists all available data of this project group.
- Browse by DOI: Lists all available datasets with a CRC1211DB DOI. For further information about the DOI, please click on its name.
- Where can I find further explanations on the CRC1211DB website?Click to expand/collapse
Like this! Whenever you see this icon, move the cursor over it to get further information about an element.- For more information about the features of the CRC1211DB website and its functionality, please have a look at the CRC1211DB user guide in the 'Help and Tutorials' section.
- Where can I find further information on how to use the WebGIS?Click to expand/collapse
Click on 'Tutorial' in the CRC1211 WebGIS viewer to get access to the help section.
- What kind of climate data is available on the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
We provide meteorological and soil measurement data obtained from 15 weather stations in the Atacama Desert. The measurement sites are located in three
different transects from the coast to the hillslopes of the Andes each consisting of four to five stations. All stations were installed by the CRC1211 project.
The data is freely available and can be viewed and downloaded under 'Weather data'. There is an overview map with the location of all stations and tables with
technical information about each station. Furthermore, functions to search for specific climate station data and to quickly generate charts of climate data have been provided.
Additionally, the location of all weather stations can be found in the WebGIS (only available for CRC1211 Members).
The provided data is licensed under a
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Please don’t forget to include attribution if you use any of the data
in published or unpublished work and cite it as suggested on the corresponding pages.
- Are there any dataset statistics available on the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
Yes, some general statistics about the CRC1211 data are provided in the
CRC1211DB Statistics page.
Furthermore, for each dataset information about metadata visits and dataset downloads is available on the metadata overview page.
- Can I download metadata information to my citation management software?Click to expand/collapse
Yes, citations are downloadable in two generic formats: RIS (compatible with software such as EndNote, Reference Manager, ProCite, and RefWorks)
and BibTex (compatible with software such as LaTeX and BibDesk).
- Is there a trial version of the CRC1211DB website for testing purposes?Click to expand/collapse
- What should I consider primarily before uploading a dataset?Click to expand/collapse
- You are strongly encouraged to process your data before uploading.
- If you have a large amount of small files (for example regular measurements taken over a long period of time),
create a logical folder structure and compress them. This reduces hassle for everyone involved.
- All files should be sorted and have meaningful names. For the sake of automatic processing, avoid using special characters (such as &, #, é, ü, ...)
and spaces in your file names. Files should also be compressed using a common archiving format (.zip, .gz, ...).
For example 'temp_march_2017.zip'
is much easier to process than 'temp märz 2017.txt'. - Please make sure that you provide only well-documented data with all relevant details to make the dataset as interpretable and reusable as possible.
This is also in your interest since it encourages others to reuse and cite the original work. For more complex datasets it is recommended to create an additional
pdf file with further descriptions of the dataset.
- Please be aware before upload that your data follows the rules of our CRC1211DB data policy agreement.
All data must be prepared following applicable legal and ethical guidelines.
- What type of data can be uploaded?Click to expand/collapse
All types of data can be uploaded. However, please compress the data, in particular if you have collected a lot of similar, small files.
Additionally, try to use a common and standard file format. Everyone knows what to do with a .pdf or .txt file. Many people don't know what a .zht file is.
- Where is my uploaded data stored?Click to expand/collapse
Your data is stored and backed up on servers of the Regional Computing Centre of Cologne (RRZK).
- How can I upload my datasets to the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
- Datasets which are smaller than 100 MB can be uploaded via the 'Upload Small Data' function in the 'User Home'.
- Larger datasets must be uploaded to the CRC1211DB storage via FTP-Client-Software like WinSCP or FileZilla.
- What program do I need to upload larger files to the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
- Are there any file size limitations when uploading datasets to the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
- Is it possible to delete or change uploaded datasets?Click to expand/collapse
- I have uploaded a dataset but can't find it on the CRC1211 website. What happened?Click to expand/collapse
For each uploaded data file metadata information must be added through the CRC1211DB web interface. Only then will the upload be visible.
To add metadata, log in and go to 'User Home', click on 'Insert Metadata' and select the corresponding dataset from the list.
Please note: Files larger than 100MB need to be processed on the server overnight and it takes until the next day for metadata editing to become available.
- What is meant by the different data type categories and which one should I choose for my dataset?Click to expand/collapse
You have to pick one of the five available data type categories before uploading a dataset. Depending on your choice,
some metadata options to describe your dataset will be different. Here is a brief overview over the options you can pick:
- Data: This datatype encompasses all types of created/collected/measured/modelled data. Some examples are sets of observed data
(sensor readings, human observations, transcripts, survey results, ...), experimental data (such as data collected from a laboratory experiment),
simulation data (such as might be produced by climate/economic/biogeochemical models), geospatial (GIS) data, programming code or audio recordings.
This type can be used both for raw and processed datasets.
- Report: This type covers textual documents such as PhD reports, master's or bacherlor's theses, project proposals, reviews, documentation, guidelines, etc.
- Presentation: This covers anything that can be presented at a conference. In addition to slides from a talk, this also includes posters.
- Publication: Textual documents which are published in a scientific journal, book or conference proceedings.
- Picture: This includes all visual datasets, like videos and pictures.
- What is the difference between Data Upload and the Temporary Data Share?Click to expand/collapse
The data upload is the central service of the CRC1211DB and enables a persistent storage of data within the database.
To take advantage of this feature, please use the 'Upload Small Data' function in the 'User Home' section on the website (for files smaller than 100MB only).
If your file exceeds the 100MB file size limit, please store your data via FTP-Client-Software (WinSCP or FileZilla) in the corresponding subfolders under Upload_X.
Please note: After data upload the input of metadata to describe the data is mandatory. Otherwise the dataset is not visible and accessible for others on the website.
To add metadata after a successful upload, go to 'User Home', click on 'Insert Metadata' and select the corresponding dataset from the list.
The temporary data share is an additional service for a secure exchange of files with other project members of the CRC. It is intended as an internal short term data exchange only.
No further descriptions of the dataset is possible here. To exchange data please use the Share folder via FTP-Client-Software.
Important: Please do not
use this for a long term storage of datasets and remove your files from the Share folder after completion of exchange.
For more information, please look at the tutorials on how to upload data at the top of this site (Login required for download).
- What is metadata?Click to expand/collapse
Metadata is data that contain information about a corresponding dataset. Literally, it is data about data. It summarizes information and descriptions of a dataset.
For example: who is the creator of the data, when was the dataset created or what is the file format. The metadata enables search and categorization of all project data
and should be as detailed as possible as this is essential to make it findable and reusable. The ability to filter through detailed metadata makes it much easier for someone to find specific data.
- What metadata is needed and how can I describe my data?Click to expand/collapse
Elementary metadata (such as file size) is created automatically, but most metadata information has to be entered into the metadata editor manually by the user.
It is strongly recommended to describe your data in as much detail as possible to raise its visibility and make it interpretable and reusable for other users.
The metadata editor marks required fields that do not contain correct information. You are also able to upload additional information in a pdf file for individual
and more detailed descriptions of your data.
- What metadata can be added to a dataset?Click to expand/collapse
Basically, metadata elements of the qualified Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES) were chosen to describe the data.
In addition, the data can be described with properties which correspond to the data type and the background of the CRC1211.
- Where can I insert metadata to my uploaded data?Click to expand/collapse
All uploaded files with no corresponding metadata are listed in 'User Home' under 'Insert Metadata'.
Please note:
For data files which were uploaded to the CRC1211DB data storage via an FTP client the metadata input is possible one day after the file upload to the data storage at the earliest.
- What can I do if my metadata is not submitted successfully after I edited it?Click to expand/collapse
The editor will mark fields that have an error. You should only be able to submit metadata that is complete and correct.
If you cannot submit metadata despite this,
contact the CRC1211DB admin.
- Is it possible to edit metadata of a dataset at a later time?Click to expand/collapse
Yes, you can edit the metadata of your datasets by choosing the 'Edit Metadata' Button on the metadata overview page.
Please note: You are only allowed to edit the metadata of your own datasets.
- Is it possible to export the metadata information of a dataset?Click to expand/collapse
Yes, you can download the metadata as an XML file on the metadata overview page. You may export the metadata conforming to different standards (ISO 19115, INSPIRE)
just as in the CRC1211DB schema. Please note that a DOI must have been applied for the dataset for an export conforming to DataCite.
- How can I add creators to my datasets?Click to expand/collapse
To insert an existing creator, begin typing their name into the field in the metadata editor under 'Responsible Party', then choose the right creator from the list of suggestions.
To add more creators, click on the button 'Add' to generate more input fields for creators. In case the creator is not available in the list, use the option 'Insert New Creator' in the
metadata editor to add a new creator. After filling in all necessary information and clicking on 'Submit' the creator will now be selectable in the list.
- How can I add a new creator and/or institution to the database?Click to expand/collapse
Before adding a new creator or institution please make sure that it is not available in the database yet. A list of all available creators can be found
here. A list of all available institutions can be found
here.
Simply start typing the name you want to insert in the corresponding field, and if we don't have the name in our database, select the 'Insert' option at the bottom of the list and input all
necessary information. After clicking on 'Submit' the creator will be added to the list. To enter an existing institution please begin typing the name of the institution and choose it from
the autocompleted list. In case the institution is not listed choose 'Insert new Institution' and enter its information into the input fields.
- How can I add new keywords to the CRC1211DB?Click to expand/collapse
- How can I associate my data with a published paper?Click to expand/collapse
In the metadata editor you can add the DOI or URL link of a paper as a relation in the 'Identification' tab. Afterwards the link to the associated paper is easily
accessible for other researchers on the metadata overview page of your dataset.
