Data Management
Data Lifecycle
Data are corporate assets with value beyond USGS's immediate need and should be manage throughout the entire data lifecycle. Questions of documentation, storage, quality assurance, and ownership need to be answered for each stage of the lifecycle.
USGS Science Data Lifecycle Model
The USGS Science Data Lifecycle Model (SDLM) illustrates the stages of data management and describes how data flow through a research project from start to finish.
Related Training Module
Check out the USGS Science Data Lifecycle training module to learn more about the science data lifecycle.
View training moduleTable of Contents
This page briefly describes the USGS Science Data Lifecycle model components and how they are used to organize the content on this website.
Cross-Cutting Elements (Describe, Manage Quality, Backup & Secure)
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 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:
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
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.