Agron 590: Blog Post #2

Posted by Kelsie Ferin

Ten Rules for the Care and Feeding of Scientific Data

(http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003542)

  1. Which rule are you most likely to follow and why?

I am most likely to follow Rule #3: “Conduct Science with a Particular Level of Reuse in Mind”. I am getting better at making my data more “user friendly”. Now that I have been working with the same data for over a year, I have found the best way to organize and name my data/files so I know exactly what it means and where to find it later. This took me awhile to master but I feel like I have it down now. This will help others that try to use my code, as well.

  1. Which rule do you think you may never follow and why?

I don’t think I will follow Rule #5: “Link Your Data to Your Publications as Often as Possible”. I feel like I would only link my data to a publication once it is officially published, and then not update it or link my data to my work that is not published. I’m not exactly sure why, but it is just how I see myself doing this in the future. I don’t think I would really want my data linked to the research I am working on until I have completed the majority of the project and know it is good data and that people would benifit from my work.

  1. Which rule would you really like to follow, but know deep down that you will fail? Why?

I would really like to follow Rule #2: “Share Your Data Online, with a Permanent Identifier”. It would be nice to follow this rule and allow others to find my data easily for their own use, but I feel like I will fail to do so. I don’t really do a great job at updating my data/files on online repositories and I am always indecisive on how to name things. Therefore, all of the data may never be there and under the same identifier.