資料品質檢核表

Use this checklist to help review biodiversity datasets. Note it is particularly suited for checking occurrence and sampling event datasets.

The checklist will help ensure that the data is complete, meaning it contains valid answers to the five Ws:

Examples of events include a species observation, a physical specimen being collected, or a biological sampling event.

Additionally, the checklist ensures that the Dataset Metadata also contains answers to the five Ws in order to facilitate reuse of the data.

Instructions

If the dataset has been registered with GBIF, give yourself a running start by reviewing the dataset’s 'Stats' page. Here you can find the set of issues that GBIF discovered while interpreting the dataset:

InterpretationIssues2

Next, read the dataset metadata to get a better understanding about the data.

Next, load the data into OpenRefine. This will allow faceted browsing to get the big picture of the data.

There are various ways each of the five Ws can be answered. Each 'check' relates to one or more Darwin Core fields. Therefore try to perform as many checks as possible based on the Darwin Core fields present in the dataset.

Compile a list of all checks that fail and report them back to the data publisher, referring to each check by its 'Check-ID'. This will make providing feedback a less time consuming and verbose process.

Quality checks

What event happened?

What type of event was it?

Check-ID Fields Requirements

what 1

occurrenceID, basisOfRecord, eventID

The species observation event uniquely identified by occurrenceID and having basisOfRecord equal to HumanObservation or MachineObservation indicating whether the observation was performed by a machine or by one or more people. If this observation was derived from a sampling event, it must have the eventID of the sampling event filled in.

what 2

occurrenceID, basisOfRecord, catalogNumber, collectionCode, eventID

The specimen preservation event uniquely identified by occurrenceID and having basisOfRecord equal to PreservedSpecimen, FossilSpecimen or LivingSpecimen indicating its specific type. Ideally a specimen is deposited in a collection and therefore can be assigned both a catalogNumber and collectionCode. If this specimen was derived from a sampling event, it must have the eventID of the sampling event filled in.

what 3

occurrenceID, basisOfRecord, materialSampleID, catalogNumber, collectionCode, eventID

The physical result of a sampling event uniquely identified by both occurrenceID and having basisOfRecord equal to MaterialSample. If the sample was preserved (vs destructively processed) as a specimen and deposited in a collection it will ideally be assigned both a catalogNumber and collectionCode. The eventID of the sampling event must be filled in.

what 4

eventID, fieldNumber, parentEventID

The actual sampling event uniquely identified by eventID. The eventID should be a GUID, otherwise it should reuse the fieldNumber. The parentEventID indicates the event is a sub-sampling event. To be valid, all parentEventIDs must reference eventIDs of records defined in the same dataset. Otherwise, the parentEventID must be a globally unique identifier (e.g. DOI, HTTP, URI, etc) that resolves to an event record described elsewhere. Ideally all sub-sampling events share the same data and location as the parent event.
Check-ID Fields Requirements

what 5

individualCount, organismQuantity, organismQuantityType, occurrenceStatus

The species abundance must be filled in using individualCount and the pair organismQuantity & organismQuantityType. For relative abundance use the pair organismQuantity & organismQuantityType with values for organismQuantityType coming from the GBIF Quantity Type Vocabulary. Zero abundance (absence of the species) must be coupled with occurrenceStatus set to "absence" per the GBIF Occurrence Status Vocabulary.
Check-ID Fields Requirements

what 6

scientificName, taxonRank, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, subgenus

The full scientific name with authorship and date information if known must be entered in scientificName. To prevent ambiguity, the taxonRank of the scientific name should be supplied as per the GBIF Taxonomic Rank Vocabulary. Also to prevent ambiguity, as much higher taxonomy as possible should be filled in: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus.

what 7

taxonID, nameAccordingTo, nameAccordingToID

The identifier for the Taxon assigned to the subject. If the Taxon is defined according to a well known source, it is recommended filling in nameAccordingTo with the name of the source and nameAccordingToID with the identifier for the Taxon assigned as per the source (same as taxonID).

Case 1: Species observation from a camera trap

Field Value Constraint

occurrenceID

"HAMAARAG:T0_L_049:6199"

Must be a GUID or an identifier that is near globally unique. Integer identifiers are not allowed.

basisOfRecord

"MachineObservation"

Must match Darwin Core Type Vocabulary

individualCount

1

Must be an integer, 0 or greater

organismQuantity

1

Must pair with organismQuantityType

organismQuantityType

"individuals"

Must match GBIF Quantity Type Vocabulary

occurrenceStatus

"present"

Must match GBIF Occurrence Status Vocabulary

scientificName

"Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758"

Must be the full scientific name, with authorship and date information if known.

taxonRank

"species"

Must match GBIF Taxon Rank Vocabulary

kingdom

"Animalia"

Must be the full scientific name of the kingdom in which the taxon is classified.

phylum

"Chordata"

Must be the full scientific name of the phylum or division in which the taxon is classified.

class

"Mammalia"

Must be the full scientific name of the class in which the taxon is classified.

order

"Carnivora"

Must be the full scientific name of the order in which the taxon is classified.

family

"Canidae"

Must be the full scientific name of the family in which the taxon is classified.

genus

"Canis Linnaeus, 1758"

Must be the full scientific name of the genus in which the taxon is classified.

taxonID

http://www.gbif.org/species/5219219

Must be a GUID or an identifier related to the source

nameAccordingTo

"GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, May 2016"

Must be reference including date

nameAccordingToID

"http://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c"

Must be a GUID or an identifier for the source

Who acted in the event?

Check-ID Fields Requirements

who 1

recordedBy

The full names of each person acting in the event (e.g. collecting, observing, etc) should be entered in recordedBy using the vertical bar as a separator. Note there is a separate field for capturing the person(s) making the identification (see below).

who 2

institutionCode, ownerInstitutionCode

A name or acronym of the institution acting in the event may be entered in institutionCode and ownerInstitutionCode. These can be different hence institutionCode can have physical custody of a specimen and ownerInstitutionCode can have legal ownership of the specimen.

who 3

identifiedBy

The full names of each person, group, or organization responsible for assigning the Taxon to the subject should be entered in identifiedBy using the vertical bar as a separator.

Case 1: Two different people collecting and identifying a specimen

Field Value Constraint

recordedBy

"Ole Karsholt"

Must be one or more persons' names

institutionCode

"ZMUC"

Must be an acronym or name of an institution

ownerInstitutionCode

"ZMUC"

Must be an acronym or name of an institution

identifiedBy

"Jan Pedersen"

Must be names of one or more persons, groups or organizations

When did the event take place?

Check-ID Fields Requirements

when 1

eventDate

The date, date-time, date range, or date-time range during which the Event occurred should be entered in eventDate in ISO 8601 format. Partial dates can be provided if they have at least a year and month, e.g. "2007-03".

when 2

verbatimEventDate

If the original value has to be converted into ISO 8601 verbatimEventDate should be filled in with the original value.

when 3

eventTime, year, month, day, startDayOfYear

Although it appears redundant, it is recommended trying to fill in year, month, day, eventTime and startDayOfYear for single dates/date-times. If the start date resolution is specific to the day fill in startDayOfYear.

when 4

eventTime, year, month, day, startDayOfYear, endDayOfYear

Although it appears redundant, it is recommended trying to fill in eventTime, year, month, day, startDayOfYear and endDayOfYear for date ranges as completely as possible. If there is a date range spanning days, day is left blank. If there is a date range spanning months, month is left blank. If there is a date range spanning years, year is left blank. If the start date resolution is specific to the day fill in startDayOfYear. If the end date resolution is specific to the day fill in endDayOfYear.

when 5

eventRemarks

If no eventDate can be filled in, an explanation should be provided in eventRemarks

Case 1: Single date

Field Value Constraint

eventDate

2007-03-20

Must be in ISO 8601 format

year

2007

Must be four-digit year

month

3

Must be between 1-12

day

20

Must be between 1-31

startDayOfYear

79

Must be between 1-366

verbatimEventDate

"Mar 20, 07"

Original date or date description

Case 2: Date-time range spanning days

Field Value

eventDate

2007-03-20T00:00:00Z/2007-03-27T06:00:00Z

eventTime

00:00:00Z/06:00:00Z

year

2007

month

3

day

startDayOfYear

79

endDayOfYear

86

verbatimEventDate

"The third week in March 07, for 6 hours starting at midnight."

Case 3: Partial date

Field Value

eventDate

2007-03

year

2007

month

3

day

eventRemarks

"Exact collection day was never recorded"

Case 4: Missing date

Field Value

eventRemarks

"Event date was not found in legacy data"

Where did the event take place?

Check-ID Fields Requirements

where 1

decimalLatitude, decimalLongitude, geodeticDatum

The point location coordinates should be entered in decimal degrees in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude. The spatial reference system upon which the coordinates are based must be entered in geodeticDatum using the EPSG code if known, e.g. "EPSG:4326". Otherwise use a controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the geodeticDatum if known, e.g. "WGS84". If none of these is known, use the value "unknown".

where 2

footprintWKT, footprintSRS

To provide a specific shape location enter a well-Known Text (WKT) representation of the shape in footprintWKT. The corresponding spatial reference system upon which the shape is based must be entered in footprintSRS using the EPSG code, e.g. "EPSG:4326".

where 3

coordinateUncertaintyInMeters, dataGeneralizations

coordinateUncertaintyInMeters should express the uncertainty in meters of the GPS reading. For large uncertainties (more than 1000 meters) check dataGeneralizations to see if the location was generalized on purpose, e.g. to protect sensitive species.

where 4

verbatimCoordinates, verbatimLatitude, verbatimLongitude, verbatimCoordinateSystem, verbatimSRS

If the original point location coordinates had to be converted from another coordinate system such as 'degrees minutes seconds' verbatimCoordinates, verbatimLatitude, verbatimLongitude, verbatimCoordinateSystem, verbatimSRS should be filled in with the original coordinates of the Location.

where 5

dataGeneralizations

If actions were taken to make the point location less specific than in its original form or the coordinateUncertaintyInMeters is very high, an explanation should be provided in dataGeneralizations.

where 6

informationWitheld

If the point location should exist, but has not been entered, an explanation should be provided in informationWitheld.

where 7

georeferenceRemarks

If the point location does not exist, or the point location is calculated from the cent er of a grid cell (versus from GPS reading) an explanation should be provided in georeferenceRemarks.

where 8

continent, waterBody, islandGroup, island, country, countryCode, stateProvince, county, municipality, locality, locationRemarks

As much supplementary information as possible about the location should also be provided. If no country and countryCode can be provided then an explanation as to why should be entered in locationRemarks

Case 1: Point location converted from degrees minutes seconds to decimal degrees

Field Value Constraint

decimalLatitude

42.4566

Must be between -90 and 90, inclusive

decimalLongitude

-76.45442

Must be between -180 and 180, inclusive

geodeticDatum

"EPSG:4326"

Ideally an EPSG code or from a controlled vocabulary otherwise "unknown"

coordinateUncertaintyInMeters

500

Zero is NOT a valid value

verbatimCoordinates

42° 27' 23.76", -76° 27' 15.91"

verbatimLatitude

42° 27' 23.76"

verbatimLongitude

-76° 27' 15.91"

verbatimCoordinateSystem

"degrees minutes seconds"

continent

"North America"

Must be preferred English name according to Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

country

"United States"

Must be preferred English name according to Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

countryCode

"US"

Must be ISO 3166-1-alpha-2 country code

stateProvince

"New York"

county

"Tomkins County"

locality

"Ithaca, Forest Home, CU Rifle Range"

Must be a specific description of the place

Case 2: Point location that was generalized

Field Value

decimalLatitude

42.44

decimalLongitude

-76.33

geodeticDatum

"EPSG:4326"

coordinateUncertaintyInMeters

5000

dataGeneralizations

"Point location obscured by a factor of 5000m"

Case 3: Point location exists but not provided

Field Value

informationWitheld

"Point location hidden to protect sensitive species. Available upon request."

Case 4: Point location does not exist

Field Value

dataGeneralizations

"Point location was not found in legacy data"

Why did the event happen?

Check-ID Fields Requirements

why 1

samplingProtocol, sampleSizeValue, sampleSizeUnit, samplingEffort, eventRemarks

The name of the method or sampling protocol used to create the event should be entered in samplingProtocol. A URL referencing the description is preferred over lengthy method descriptions. A sampling protocol must define its area, duration, etc using the pair sampleSizeValue & sampleSizeUnit, with values for sampleSizeUnit coming from the Unit of Measurement Vocabulary. More generic descriptions of the effort or duration of the sampling event can be entered in samplingEffort. If information about the area or duration is missing, eventRemarks must provide an explanation why.

Case 1: Because of a butterfly monitoring scheme

Field Value Constraint

samplingProtocol

"Pollard walks"

Must be a short name or URL referencing a method or sampling protocol

sampleSizeValue

250

Must pair with sampleSizeUnit

sampleSizeUnit

"square_metre"

Must match Unit of Measurement Vocabulary

samplingEffort

"Average of 30 Minutes walk along transect"

Can be a free-text description

eventRemarks

"No occurrences of Lepidoptera recorded for entire transect"

Can be a free-text description

Dataset Metadata

The dataset metadata should contain enough information to facilitate reuse of the data while preventing misinterpretation. Publishers should also provide evidence of the rigour that went into producing the data while acknowledging its various contributors and funders. Ultimately this may lead to new sources of collaboration and funding.

Field Requirements Examples

Title

is a concise name that describes the contents of the dataset and that distinguishes it from others

"Reef Life Survey: Global reef fish dataset", "Insects from light trap (1992–2009), rooftop Zoological Museum, Copenhagen"

Description

is a short paragraph (abstract) describing the content of the dataset.

"This dataset contains records of bony fishes and elasmobranchs collected by Reef Life Survey (RLS) divers along 50 m transects on shallow rocky and coral reefs, worldwide. Abundance information is available for all records found within quantitative survey limits (50 x 5 m swathes during a single swim either side of the transect line, each distinguished as a Block), and out-of-survey records are identified as presence-only (Method 0)."

Publishing Organization

the organization responsible for publishing (producing, releasing, holding) this resource.

"Reef Life Survey"

License

must be one of three machine-readable options (CC0 1.0, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY-NC 4.0), which provide a standardized way to define appropriate uses of the dataset.

"This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License."

Creator(s)

the people and organizations who created the dataset, in priority order. Use of a personnel identifier such as an ORCID or ResearcherID is highly recommended.

"John Smith, jsmith@gbif.org, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097"

Metadata Provider(s)

the people and organizations who wrote the dataset metadata, in priority order. Use of a personnel identifier such as an ORCID or ResearcherID is highly recommended.

"John Smith, jsmith@gbif.org, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097"

Contact(s)

the people and organizations who should be contacted for more information about the resource or to whom putative problems with the dataset should be addressed. Use of a personnel identifier such as an ORCID or ResearcherID is highly recommended.

"John Smith, jsmith@gbif.org, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097"

Project Identifier

is a GUID or other identifier that is near globally unique. Note this is required for BID projects.

"BID-AF2015-0134-REG"

Sampling Methods

information about the sampling methodology used in creating the dataset, similar to the methods section of a journal article. Note this is required for sampling event datasets.

See here

Citation

how the dataset should be cited. Use of the IPT Citation Format (based on DataCite’s preferred citation format and that satisfies the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles) is highly recommended.

"Edgar G J, Stuart-Smith R D (2014): Reef Life Survey: Global reef fish dataset. v2.0. Reef Life Survey. Dataset/Sampling event. http://doi.org/10.15468/qjgwba"