BIS TDWG Conference28 October 2013, Florence

Documenting data quality in a global network: the challenge for GBIF

Éamonn Ó Tuama, Andrea Hahn, Markus DöringGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

Outline1. The GBIF network and the Data

Quality challenge

2. Current DQ processes in GBIF Portal

3. DQ and GBIF Nodes

4. Addressing DQ in GBIF work programme 2014-2016

GBIF is … - a connected community

- an informatics infrastructure

- a window on biodiversity

- a tool for science and society

http://www.gbif.org/resources/2311

Addressing data quality

Meeting the challenge of documenting data quality as the network and volume of data grow …

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As of August 2013: >405,720,500 indexed records from 10,139 datasets from 493 publishers and spanning a wide range of geospatial, temporal and taxonomic coverages.

http://tinyurl.com/gbifMap

Current GBIF Network Data Coverage

DQ processes in GBIF portal

• Minimum obligatory metadata• Check geographic values• Check taxonomic values

Packaging metadata with data

Verbatim data asserted to originate in USA as shared on the network

Geographic attributes

Data following quality check• Coastal regions recognised• Offshore islands recognised

Geographic attributes85% (355/417 mil)georeferenced records

2.7% (9.4 million)georeferenced with issues

Trochilidae (Hummingbirds)Using verbatim higher classification

Taxonomic attributes

Taxonomic attributes

Trochilidae (Hummingbirds)Classification based on authoritative sources

56% of name usages also found in CoL

Authoritative checklists• Fill gaps in the

GBIF taxonomic backbone

• Increase list of known synonyms

• Increase the number of common names known to GBIF

New improved algorithm for GBIF backbone taxonomy

• Some taxa (mainly autonyms) do not have stable IDs

• Too many accepted species created because of lack of a good database of taxonomic synonyms

Working with Catalogue of Life

GBIF backbonetaxonomy

Catalogue of Life

Global Species

Databases

GBIFChecklistBankDwC-A

Checklists

GBIF backbonetaxonomy

Catalogue of Life

Global Species

Databases

GBIFChecklistBankDwC-A

Checklists

Working with Catalogue of Life

• 8188 names annotated• 6825 rejected names• 541 placed names (added to ILDIS)• remaining have syntactical problems

(CoL issue, not ILDIS)

First backbone based on CoL feedback loop expected around December 2013

The first two GSDs have already provided annotations:International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS)

Scarabs: World Scarabaeidae Database • 1339 names annotated• 0 rejected names

Data Quality issuesNon-standardised valuesExample: dwc:country (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/country)

29,052 distinct values for country namesOf these, 18,704 (concerning 2.2 mil records) could not be mapped to an ISO country code.

Typical issues:• Variants: 126 different values for “Italy”• Mismappings: taxon names instead of country

names• Incorrect level of detail: sub-national units, non-

country geographical entities

Data Quality issuesNon-standardised valuesExample: dwc:basisOfRecord (http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/basisOfRecord)

625 values that cannot be interpreted at all (accounting for 13.3 mil records) Typical issues:• Spelling variants / language variants• Mismappings• Misunderstanding definition

30 mil records with no value or “unknown”

Interpretable values quite variede.g. 31 values mapped to “observation”, 146 to “specimen”

DQ and GBIF Nodes

Desirable improvements• Better metadata• Persistent IDs• Controlled vocabularies• Annotations• Independently validated datasets• Genetic validation of taxonomy

DQ and GBIF Nodes

Implementing improvements• Collate experiences of all

Nodes and share best practices• Build reusable DQ components

(e.g., tools, vocabularies, workflows)

DQ and GBIF Nodes

Next steps• Expand Data Quality Interest

Group• Establish a collaboration platform

Addressing Data Quality

inGBIF Work Programme

2014-2016

• Ensure stable identifiers for datasets and records• Provide a method for citation of data sets• Enable annotation of data

GBIF Work Programme2014-2016

Essential Infrastructure to support Data Quality

Engagement of expert communities to form fitness-for-use working groups

• enhancements to data standards and classes of data in use in GBIF

• criteria and algorithms for evaluating data quality, fitness-for-use, coverage and completeness

• content mobilisation priorities (inc. improving already mobilised data)

• identification and curation of reference data sets

GBIF Work Programme2014-2016

Guidelines and supporting tools to assess and improve metadata completeness for all data

• Evaluation and reporting on metadata completeness and quality

• Seeking to ensure that the basis of record is clear for each data record

GBIF Work Programme2014-2016

Criteria from fitness-for-use working groups

GBIF portal upgrades to report data quality and fitness-for-use for each data set and species

Standards compliance

Metadata completeness

Presence of key data elements

Automated checks for issues and outliers

Endorsements of data publishers and data sets by Nodes, fitness-for-use working groups and other stakeholders

GBIF Work Programme2014-2016

Criteria from fitness-for-use working groups

Thank you

GBIF SecretariatUniversitetsparken 15DK-2100 Copenhagen ØDenmark

www.gbif.org

E-mail: info@gbif.orgPhone: +45 3532 1470Fax: +45 3532 1480