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ScienceBase Data Release Checklist

By ScienceBase Instructions and Documentation

The ScienceBase data release team will check the following as part of their workflow:

► The data release has been approved in IPDS. 

► All data sets are described by metadata in an FGDC-endorsed format. 

  • Metadata records pass validation by the metadata parser tool (the tool used by the USGS Metadata Wizard and Online Metadata Editor). 

  • The DOI is in the metadata as the full URL (i.e. https://doi.org/10.5066/xxxxxxxx) in the online linkage element (citation information section). 

  • The metadata titles are descriptive and will make sense outside the context of the data release. ScienceBase sends metadata records to the USGS Science Data Catalog, where the titles will show up in search results.  

► The citation format is correct (see instructions). The ScienceBase team will propagate the landing page citation to all child items, so only the landing page citation should be edited. 

► Data are in machine-readable, open formats (exceptions may apply). 

► The data release structure follows one of the examples described in the instructions.  

► If there are in-text citations (e.g., Jones, 2015) in any descriptions, there are corresponding references. 

► Recommendations: 

  • Uploaded files have meaningful filenames and titles. If there are links in the "Related External Resources" section, the links also have meaningful titles. 

  • Names in the "Contacts" section should have a format of first name, middle initial, last name. If a name doesn’t have the correct format, it can be edited in the edit form. The "Who" tab of the edit form has an autocomplete feature that suggests names from the directory. 

  • If your data release is associated with a related primary publication, you can add the publication's citation to the "Related External Resources" section (this section can be edited in the "External Sources" tab of the edit form). Add the full citation in the title field and the DOI as the URL. Select the type "Related Primary Publication". You can also add the citation to the summary section of the landing page and explain how the publication is related (see example).  

  • If you would like to reference and link to additional related publications, add the publication citations to the "Related External Resources" section with the type "Publication that references this resource".