Harmonising Citations, Acknowledgments and Credit for Physical Samples/Specimens in Scholarly Publications

26 Feb 2022

By Lesley Wyborn

Group(s) submitting the application:

Physical Samples and Collections in the Research Data Ecosystem IG

Meeting objectives:

The focus of the P19 Plenary session of the RDA Physical Samples and Collections in the Research Data Ecosystem Interest Group (PSACIRDE-IG) is on harmonising citation, acknowledgment and credit for physical samples and specimens in Scholarly Publications. Samples and specimen citation is a complex topic in publications, and has to also involve giving credit to and acknowledgment to those who either collected, curated and/or funded a physical sample/specimen. Currently journal editors have varying recommendations for referencing any physical sample/specimen cited in a research paper, and there are differing ways for both listing and positioning identifiers in a publication. Particularly where a research paper is underpinned by hundreds, if not thousands of samples/specimens most journals either do not or cannot provide enough space for listing all materials examined in a sufficiently detailed manner that the source of each sample referenced can be consistently cited and enable the creator/curator funder to be acknowledged

The objectives of this session is to raise awareness of:

Draft guidelines that have been developed by the ESIP Physical Samples Cluster for proper and consistent citation in a publication that can make samples/specimens more accessible for reuse, and help support the reproducibility; and
Preliminary work on giving credit and acknowledgements to those who collected, managed, curated and/or funded any sample/specimen during its lifecycle starting at its creation/collection through to its curation/preservation in a trustworthy repository.

Meeting agenda:

Collaborative meeting notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZAZXhjI2gYDYg7hAw-U_QpEGMJsHhNl5Gr7n...

0-5 Minutes (5 minutes): Introduction to group and sign on (Kerstin Lehnert)
5-15 MInutes (10 minutes): Wrapping up the ‘23 things’ documment (Esther Plomp)
15-30 MInutes (15 minutes max): Short presentations highlighting member activities
1. The concept of the separation of registration metadata from descriptive medata - who manages what? (Jens Klump)
2. Metadata Schemas/systems available for giving “Credit where Credit is Due” (Lesley Wyborn)
3. Space for members to speak
30-70 Minutes (40 minutes): Joint activity with the ESIP Physical Samples Cluster (Sarah Ramdeen)

This Cluster is currently working on author guidelines and recommendations for physical samples to help journals and publishers communicate expectations for authors. During this session, the cluster will share its progress to date and solicit feedback on their draft guidelines.

70-85 Minutes (15 minutes): Discussion on next steps for the IG
1. Continuing the joint ESIP/RDA webinar series? Future Possible Topics:
  1. Defining roles for credit related to samples;
  2. Harmonising Descriptive Sample Metadata from multiple disciplines;
2. Burning topics for the next Plenary?
85-90 Minutes (5 minutes): Wrap up

Target Audience:

Anyone from any sector that is trying to integrate metadata and data on samples from Multiple Communities.
Research data repository developers and providers who manage sample-based data;
Curators and developers from sample repositories, museums, and other institutions who maintain physical sample collections and related digital sample and collection catalogues;
Publishers and editors of journals that publish sample-based data; and
Other stakeholders interested in topics such as persistent identifiers, metadata standards, and interoperability protocols for samples and sample-based data.
Researchers that use physical samples in their workflows and can provide case studies or insights for relevant metadata (standards).

Group chair serving as contact person:

Lesley Wyborn

Brief introduction describing the activities and scope of the group:

The group formed at P10 in Montreal in September 2017 and aims to facilitate cross-domain exchange and convergence on key issues related to the digital representation of physical samples and collections, including but not limited to use of globally unique and persistent identifiers for samples to support unambiguous citation and linking of information in distributed data systems and with publications, metadata standards for documenting samples and collections and for landing pages, access policies, and best practices for sample and collection catalog, including a broad range of issues from interoperability to persistence. As an interest group, we seek to showcase new for community developments that promote the use of the sample and its connections to any derived observations, images and analytical data. We also seek to help individual communities identify what is truly unique about their samples but still make it easy to interoperate within the global samples ecosystem.

Short Group Status:

The group formed in Montreal and P10 and has met at each plenary ever since.