Little more than decade back biodiversity data publishing was opportunistic and secondary spin-off activity of the biodiversity research and conservation management chain. Today, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility facilitate free and open access to over 420 million primary biodiversity data records contributed by publishers across the globe. This is an outcome of a growing realization that free and open access to biodiversity data is crucial to take informed decisions and actions for sustainable use of biotic resources and conservation of biodiversity areas. In recent past use of biodiversity data in research, conservation and management activities is on rise. However, users often complain about the low degree of ‘fitness-for-use’ of the accessible data. Most of the times potential use of data is hampered because of lack of adequate metadata, that can demonstrate the fintness-for-use of a given dataset. To overcome this an appropriate incentivisation mechanism is essential, that can provide due credit and acknowledgement to a research groups for their efforts in authoring good metadata. In recent past a concept of ‘scholarly data publishing’ is being talked about where in both data and metadata undergo peer-review similar to other scientific publications. Pensoft publishing has launched a fresh data only journal called ‘Biodiversity Data Journal, and accepts data papers in six of its other journal titles. European aquatic biodiversity community through EU funded project ‘BioFresh’ has engaged with editors of 29 aquatic biodiversity journals to being accepting data papers. GBIF node in Columbia and South Africa are planning to kick start a journal that will publish data papers. Recently, Nature Publishing Group has announced a peer-reviewed data publishing only journal called ‘Scientific Data’. These developments announce the arrival of the new data publishing era ‘Scholarly Data Publishing’. Biodiversity science and biodiversity informatics stands to gain a lot by being on the forefront of this tide.

1. TDWG 2013
Exploring the future of
scholarly publishing of
biodiversity data
Vishwas Chavan
Senior Programme Officer for CONETNT MOBILISATION
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Email:
vchavan@gbif.org
30 October 2013

2. How data publishing was
viewed?
1993

3. Attitude towards data
publishing then…
Online & CDROM Review, 1993,17(2): 77-82

4. Attitude towards data
publishing then…
Institutional
Publications
Committee’s
opinion
Online & CDROM Review, 1993,17(2): 77-82

5. 2001

6. Significance of data
• Policy and Decisions
can benefit from
• Knowledge
and
• Information
that depends on
• Primary Data

7. Need for International
Mechanism
“An international mechanism is needed to make
biodiversity data and information accessible
worldwide.”
- OECD MegaScience Forum

8. The GBIF Informatics
infrastructure
A global infrastructure
for PUBLISHING
biodiversity data
Last updated: 2

9. Free & Open Access to
biodiversity Data

10. Scientific Publications using GBIF
mediated data
The numbers on this slide have been revised from previous versions to exclude official reports, academic theses
and conference proceedings.
Last updated: 2013-04-08

11. Scientific Publications using GBIF
mediated data
Main uses:
Main uses:
••EcologicalNiche Modelling (ENM)
Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM)
••Speciesdistributions
Species distributions
••Climateimpact studies
Climate impact studies
••Conservation
Conservation
••Invasivealien species
Invasive alien species
••Agriculture
Agriculture
••Humanhealth
Human health
http://www.mendeley.com/groups/1068301/gbif-public-library/

12. Use by Chinese scientists …

13. 12 years of GBIF: Lessons learnt….
• Technology
• Infrastructure
•
•
•
Capacity Building
Political support
Social
understanding
• Cultural change

14. But, where is the DATA?
Existing biodiversity data is
scattered & locked up in
individual and institutional
cupboards

15. Impediments to data publishing
Lack of
Data Publishing
Framework
Lack of Incentives

16. 2009

17. GBIF Data Publishing
Framework Task Group

18. Mainstreaming data publishing
Source: Moritz et. al. (2011). Towards mainstreaming of biodiversity
data publishing: recommendations of the GBIF Data Publishing
Framework Task Group. BMC Bioinformatics, 12 (Suppl. 15): S1
GBIF Data Publishing Framework Task Group
GBIF Data Publishing Framework Task Group

19. Data Paper….
Enhancements such
Enhancements such
as statistical analysis,
as statistical analysis,
content assessment
content assessment
and visual
and visual
presentation are
presentation are
feasible….
feasible….

20. Data Paper Progress….
Anticipated
Anticipated
Data Papers
Data Papers
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2014
2014

21. Biodiversity Data Journal

22. Biota Colombiana

24. Data Paper….
“The Data Paper is an evolutionary step in
ensuring discovery and access of biodiversity
data resources over Internet. It will place
publication of biodiversity data …on a par
with scholarly publishing”
Lyubomir Penev
Lyubomir Penev
Managing Editor
Managing Editor
PenSoft Publications
PenSoft Publications

25. Towards Data citation….

26. Data Citation….
“It is difficult or impossible given the
existing citation metrics system to identify
who originally created or added value to
the datum”
Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts
Natural History Museum,
Natural History Museum,
London
London
Please cite this data as follows:
Please cite this data as follows:
(accessed through GBIF data portal, Mammal specimens,
(accessed through GBIF data portal, Mammal specimens,
http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/559)
http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/559)
(accessed through GBIF data portal, Vertebrate specimens,
(accessed through GBIF data portal, Vertebrate specimens,
http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/541)
http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/541)
(accessed through GBIF data portal, Natural History Museum
(accessed through GBIF data portal, Natural History Museum
Rotterdam, http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/693)
Rotterdam, http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/693)
(accessed through GBIF data portal, Database Schema for UC
(accessed through GBIF data portal, Database Schema for UC
Davis Wildlife museum,
Davis Wildlife museum,
http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/736)
http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/736)
......................................................................
......................................................................

27. Data Citation….
http://www.gbif.org/orc/?doc_id=4659

30. http://ands.org.au/services/cite-my-data.html

31. http://wokinfo.com/products_tools/multidisciplinary/dci/dci-vid2.html

33. Towards Data Usage Index….

34. Data Usage Index
“Similar to the Impact Factor for scholarly
publishing, a professional recognition
mechanism that can also assess the impact
of data publishing is urgently required”
Peter Ingwersen, Professor
Peter Ingwersen, Professor
Abo Akademi University, Finland
Abo Akademi University, Finland
Oslo University College, Norway
Oslo University College, Norway
Royal School of Library & Information Sciences, Denmark
Royal School of Library & Information Sciences, Denmark

35. Data Usage Index
Data Usage Index
(DUI)
What it is: The Data Usage Index is a
measure of the impact of data
publishing by being accessed and used
by the stakeholder communities
Source: Chavan and Ingwersen (2009) Towards a data publishing framework for
primary biodiversity data: challenges and potentials for the biodiversity
informatics community. BMC Bioinformatics, 10 (Sppl 14): S2

36. Data Usage Index
DUI is computed on the basis of 14
biodiversity data usage indicators
DUI for..
DUI for..
publishers
publishers
datasets
datasets
thematic
thematic
data
data
country
country
Source: Ingwersen and Chavan (in press). Indicators for Data Usage Index (DUI): An
incentive for publishing primary biodiversity data through the global information
infrastructure. BMC Bioinformatics (special supplement).

37. Data Usage Index

38. 2013

41. Dreaming of a future….
‘Data Publishing’ will be
treated on par with ‘Scholarly
Publishing’
‘Data Publishing’ will become
integral component of
‘Scholarly Publishing’

42. Dreaming of a future….
towards
towards
Unified
Publishing
Index

43. Unified Publishing Index….
Impact
Factor
Citation
Impact indices
Data
Usage
Index
Other indices
Unified
Publishing
Index

44. Reassured Future….
Ambition to:
• deliver predictive modeling of the
biosphere
• compete with BIG science projects

45. Reassured Future….
Determination to:
• demand-driven mobilisation
• publishing in-tune with national &
global relevance

46. Reassured Future….
Changing winds:
• Supportive political environment
• Funding linked to data publishing
• Early signs of cultural changes

47. Biggest challenge

48. Impossible ….….
Impossible is nothing!