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The Nodes Advisory Group has also recommended developing clear guidelines for the publishing of biodiversity data, including the citation of authors of biodiversity data. The progress achieved to date regarding citations of biodiversity data include the approved GBIF Data Sharing and Use Agreements which contain recommendations on how to cite biodiversity data made available by GBIF participants (http://data.gbif.org/tutorial/datauseagreement )
In response to the Nodes requirement, the Secretariat convened a Data Citation Task Group (DCTG). The DCTG objective is to provide recommendations on how to ensure the proper technical citation of data sources and data providers. In preparation, a white paper was commissioned that analyses existing international practices in electronic data citations including ‘best practice’ lessons learned. The paper identified several priority challenges to be addressed, namely: current journal restrictions (less pages, less words), citable and persistent identifiers (e.g. GUIDs) to a given ”download event” vs individual IDs; persistency (data not changed and in a trusted repository) and scientific verifiability (re-use of data).
In July a call was issued to identify suitable members to participate in the DCTG. In early August the TG initiated a wiki discussion (http://wiki.gbif.org/gbif/wikka.php?wakka=DataCitation ) to facilitate their deliberations. The main issues addressed were:
- Identification of key issues regarding citation of biodiversity data served on line.
- Elaboration of technical recommendations to improve the current on line citation practices.
- Draft coherent and comprehensive guidelines for data users on how to cite data served by the GBIF network.
- Identification of additional issues and future actions needed in the area of citations.
A draft report of the main findings and recommendations of the DCTG will be presented at GB15 and, will address the points listed above.
For more information contact Beatriz Torres at the GBIF Secretariat (btorres@gbif.org)
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