Data

Your first step when you plan to submit data is to contact the FCE Information Manager, Gabe Kamener, with details about the data you intend to archive.  He will need to know the number of data files you will submit and how they relate to each other.  He can then advise you on how to organize the data files for archiving.  Let him know at this time if you will be submitting code, photographs or other non-tabular data to include with the archived data package (a data package = metadata + data and other resources archived together). 

Data should be organized into logical units based on data structure and theme for archiving.  If you are submitting data for multiple years, for instance, all data should be compiled into a single file.  If you are submitting several data tables that were all collected as part of a single experiment, they should probably be archived together in a single dataset.  The IM will advise you on the best organization for your dataset.

1. Data may be submitted as Microsoft Excel files or comma-separated files (.csv) for initial review.
2. Column header names should not include spaces or special characters such as ‘/’ (forward slash).  Underscores are permitted. 
3. Format dates as YYYY-MM-DD.  Spreadsheets are notorious for “coercing” date and time formats into proprietary numerical formats when data is entered.  It is your responsibility to ensure that the spreadsheet you submit shows the correct dates.
4. Do not include commas in cell contents.  For instance, do not enter in a Comments field "missing tag, could be 602." Instead, enter "missing tag; could be 602." The data will be archived as a comma-separated file, and commas within the data will cause some records to have too many fields.
5. Do not submit data with empty cells.  Instead, enter a code for the missing observations, such as -9999 for numerical variables or NA for text variables.  Define the missing value code in the metadata.

1. Metadata describe the who, what, where, when and why of a dataset, and provide the details that a secondary user will need to understand and reuse your dataset. The information you submit will be encoded as Ecological Metadata Language (EML), the metadata standard used by the LTER Network. EML makes the metadata machine-readable, enabling discovery and automated processing.
2. Whether you are submitting a new dataset or an update to an existing one, please first contact the FCE IM (gkamener at fiu.edu) with a request to create or update a data package document. The FCE IM will then assign an FCE dataset ID (if applicable) and create a designated data package document in EDI's ezEML editor. This is a form-based online metadata editor that you can login to using your ORCID, Github or Google credentials.  Here are more detailed instructions to help you get started.

• Introduction to Data Management and Publication - spring 2025 (video)

• Introduction to Data Management and Publication - spring 2025 (slides)

• Organizing and Visualizing Data in R spring 2024 workshop material

• Briney, K. A., Coates, H. L., & Goben, A. (2020). Foundational practices of research data management. Research Ideas and Outcomes 6: e56508. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.6.e56508
• Briney, K. (2023). The Research Data Management Workbook. Caltech Library. https://doi.org/10.7907/z6czh-7zx60

• Broman, K. W., & Woo, K. H. (2018). Data organization in spreadsheets. The American Statistician, 72(1), 2-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.2017.1375989

• FCE ezEML instructions
• ezEML User Guide
• Tips for submitting FCE data and metadata