Report prepared for the Experts Meeting Towards the Implementation of a Global Invasive Species
Information Network (GISIN), 6-8 April, 2004. Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Page 96
8/30/2004
Database Content
Group Leaders: Vishwas Chavan (NCL)¹,
Robert Meese (UC-Davis)²
Rapporteur: Catherine Crosier (USGS)³
Introduction
The Content breakout group was tasked
with discussing the practical issues
associated with connecting (electronically
linking) databases. Specific issues included
identification of the types of databases and
data that could be provided through the
GISIN, commonalities or common data
fields among databases, and possible
obstacles and solutions associated with
connecting databases.
Report
The topics discussed by the Developing
Database Content breakout group initially
paralleled those discussed in the Capacity
Building breakout group. Both groups
considered the question of which data fields
should be recommended for inclusion in a
standard IAS database, or in the database
of a typical GISIN data provider.
After consulting with the Infrastructure
breakout group, the Content breakout group
acknowledged that the data fields they
identified would not only define the
important information types for invasive
alien species (IAS) databases, but would
also affect the connectivity and searchability
of different databases. So the group
concentrated on separating out the absolute
minimum data fields that databases would
need in order to be searchable.
1
National Chemical Laboratory
2
University of California at Davis
3
United States Geological Survey
The GISIN may in fact adopt the role
of defining and issuing a unique
identifier for each GISIN data
provider.
First, six possible database types were
defined based on the information that GISIN
data providers might serve:
1)
fact sheet or species profiles,
2)
experts/expertise,
3)
observation-based,
4)
specimen-based,
5)
bibliographic, and
6)
projects/research.
If these databases were to be registered as
part of the GISIN, they should be asked to
provide a comprehensive description of the
data types they serve, which may involve
defining their database as falling into one or
more of these six database types. It was
recommended that additional information be
included in the GISIN registry pertaining to
the geographic scope of each database.
…all data must have a source or
authority for it to have any value.
The only globally required registry entry
recommended by the breakout group was a
unique resource identifier that would provide
a link between the data and the source
database or publisher information. Although
online information sources are often
referenced according to their uniform
resource locator (URL), it was agreed that
the transient nature of URLs effectively
excluded them from being used as unique
identifiers for the purposes of the GISIN.
The GISIN may in fact adopt the role of
defining and issuing a unique identifier for
each GISIN data provider.
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