PublisherProfiles

Publishing biodiversity data decision tree

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Choosing how to publish your data
• Recommended publishing resources

Introduction

Are you an ecologist, researcher or institution with biodiversity data that is interested in unlocking its hidden potential while getting wider recognition?

If so, please consider making your data open access via GBIF.org. This requires you to convert the data into a standardized format, however, doing so can unlock enormous hidden value in your data compared with simply depositing your raw data in a general-purpose repository such as Dryad or Figshare.

If you'd like to read more about the benefits of sharing your data through GBIF, you can continue reading here. Otherwise if you're already convinced that you'd like to share your data through GBIF and have (or have been granted) rights to publish the data, start by choosing how to publish your data below.

Choosing how to publish your data

To start, identify who you are and how much time and resources you can commit to publishing your data. Based on your profile, the appropriate path to publishing your data is provided.

• Are you an individual..

  • ..with plenty of time and interest in learning how to publish your own data by yourself?

    Great! Simply follow the instructions in this simple how to publish guide.

  • ..with limited time and require help publishing your data?

    No problem! Simply fill in the dataset catcher form with a description of your dataset. This makes your dataset visible to hundreds of data publishers who can help publish your dataset for you. To speed up the process, be sure to include a link to where your raw data can be downloaded and to indicate why your dataset would be a valuable addition to the GBIF data-pool. Rest assured, you still retain ownership of your data, but you will need to give credit to the data publishers that help you as co-authors.

• Do you represent an organization, or GBIF Node..

  • ..with plenty of resources to commit to the long-term hosting and publishing of your own data..

    • ..and capacity and desire to write custom publishing software?

      Amazing! GBIF has an easy to use Restful JSON API. You will need to create datasets in standardized format known as Darwin Core Archives (DwC-A) and then register them with GBIF using the API. For help creating DwC-A, you can refer to the Create your own Darwin Core Archive, Step-by-Step Guide.

    • ..and there are system administrators that can install and maintain publishing software?

      Then you're in luck! The GBIF IPT is a free publishing tool that can be installed on your server. An administrator then needs to configure it and create user accounts for potential publishers who can then login and publish their own resources following the simple how to publish guide.

  • ..with limited resources and you cannot commit to the long-term hosting and publishing of your data?

    No worries! There is an extensive list of data hosting centres throughout the world that you can use to host and publish your data. Try contacting one close to you (either regionally or thematically) to ask for support. In some cases, the host can even setup and maintain an instance of the GBIF IPT in the cloud for you. Rest assured, you still retain ownership of your data even though you leverage a host's generosity and goodwill to host your data.

Recommended publishing resources

Here is an overview of all recommended publishing resources, specifying their target audience, format, date of publication, and purpose.

Resource	Type	Audience	Date Published	Purpose
Create your own Darwin Core Archive, Step-by-Step Guide	PDF	Organisation writing custom publishing software	2010	Step-by-step guide how to manually create Darwin Core Archives (DwC-A) without installing the IPT.