USGS Science Data Lifecycle Model
This Open-File Report outlines data management steps to help ensure that USGS data are discoverable, and preserved beyond the research project. (Public domain)

Plan

Create a data management plan and learn about important planning activities. Prior to starting a project, it is important to plan how data will be managed throughout the lifecycle. This section of the website discusses the following topics:

• Creating a Data Management Plan
• Roles and Responsibilities of Data Stewards
• Developing Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) & Data Sharing Agreements
• Understanding Data Access Controls and Copyrights

Acquire

Acquiring data for a project involves collecting or generating new data or obtaining existing data. This section of the website discusses the following topics:

• Methods for Acquiring Data
• Security Requirements for Data Acquisition
• Following Data Standards
• Using Data Templates
• Choosing File Types
• Organizing Files and Data

Process

Processing data involves various activities associated with the preparation of new or previously collected data inputs, including:

• Validating Data
• Summarizing Data
• Transforming Data
• Integrating Data
• Subsetting Data
• Deriving Data

This section also describes how to document processing steps through Workflow Capture.

Analyze

Data analysis involves various activities associated with exploring and interpreting processed data. Analysis activities covered on the Analyze page include:

• Statistical Analysis
• Visualization
• Spatial Analysis
• Image Analysis
• Modeling
• Interpretation

Preserve

Preservation involves actions and procedures used to ensure long-term viability and accessibility of data. This section of the website discusses the following topics:

• Data Archiving
• Data Disposition
• Repositories for Data

This section also describes the USGS Science Data Exit Survey, a tool for documenting data and transforming the knowledge and experience of a departing employee.

Publish/Share

Publishing and sharing data is an important and required stage in the research process, just like publishing traditional peer-reviewed journal articles. This section of the website discusses the following topics:

• Why share your data?
• USGS Data Release Process (‘Data release’ is the USGS term for data publishing)
• Sensitive Data
• Digital Object Identifiers
• Data Citation
• Data Catalogs and Portals

Cross-Cutting Elements 

Cross-cutting elements describe activities that must be performed continuously across all stages of the lifecycle to help support effective data management.

Describe (Metadata, Documentation)

Throughout the data lifecycle, documentation must be created and updated to reflect actions taken upon the data. This section of the website discusses the following topics:

• Metadata Creation
• The Importance of Data Dictionaries
• Using Keywords for Data Discovery

Manage Quality

Data-quality management is a process where protocols and methods are employed to ensure that data are properly collected, handled, processed, used, and maintained at all stages of the scientific data lifecycle. The Manage Quality page covers the following topics:

• Quality Assurance Plans
• Quality Assurance
• Quality Control
• Documenting Data Quality
   

Backup & Secure

Backing up and securing data involves protecting data from accidental data loss, corruption, and unauthorize access. View the Backup & Secure page.