This document discusses annotating research datasets. It defines annotation as adding notes or explanations for clarification. Genome annotation attaches biological information to sequences. Research data annotation makes opaque data visible, sensible and valuable. It notes that many researchers have limited funding for data services and are not taught proper data management, so their datasets are difficult to find and curate. The document proposes that research data is well-suited for crowd-sourced annotation to help address these issues.

1. Annota&ng
Research
Datasets
1 1
A p r i l
2 0 1 3
U n i v e r s i t y
o f
C a l i f o r n i a
C u r a & o n
C e n t e r
C a l i f o r n i a
D i g i t a l
L i b r a r y

2. Term
skew
Annota&on:
The
act
of
adding
a
note
by
way
of
comment
or
explana&on.
Genome
annota&on:
The
process
of
aFaching
biological
informa&on
to
sequences.
E.g.,
• Protein
Data
Bank
annota&on
manual:
247
pgs
Research
data
annota&on:
(?!)
Adding
to
opaque
data
to
make
it
visible,
sensible,
and
valuable.

3. The
Long
Tail
Size
of
dataset
#
datasets

4. The
Long
Tail
Size
of
dataset
#
datasets
#
researchers

5. The
Long
Tail
Size
of
dataset
#
datasets
#
researchers
#
grants

6. The
Long
Tail
Size
of
dataset
grant
($)
#
datasets
#
researchers
#
grants

7. The
Long
Tail
With
data
managers
and
fancy
tools
Size
of
dataset
grant
($)
#
datasets
#
researchers
Do-­‐it-­‐yourself
tools
#
grants

8. UGLY
TRUTH
Many
researchers…
have
limited
funding
for
data
services
are
not
taught
data
management
don’t
know
what
metadata
or
data
centers
are
don’t
share
data
publicly
or
store
it
in
an
archive
aren’t
convinced
they
should
share
data
From
Flickr
By
puck90

9. The research data problem
• Journal article • Research data
– Uniquely and persistently – Nope
identified
– Concept of “publish” – Not really
– Multiple copies – Typically one
– Easily findable – Difficult
– Impact metrics, etc. – Nope
– Curation funding – Barely
Research data is ripe for crowd-sourced annotation