National Physical Laboratory Scoping Study on Provenance, Curation and Data Quality

Cheney, J., Chapman, A. and Davidson, J. (2018) National Physical Laboratory Scoping Study on Provenance, Curation and Data Quality. Project Report. National Physics Laboratory. (Submitted)

Abstract

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the UK’s National Measurement Institute and an important international authority on measurement. NPL facilitates reliable measurement in academic, industrial and commercial research. As data driven science is fast becoming the norm across all research sectors, the need for researchers with data science skills and access to appropriate research infrastructure is increasingly vital. Developing data science capabilities to support confident and intelligent data reuse is a key priority for NPL as outlined in the 2017 UK National Measurement Strategy. As demand for transparency in data driven research grows, the ability of NPL researchers to more precisely describe methods, metrics and quality will become crucial aspects of their work. Also, increasing use of data science in industry (including cloud computing, machine learning, and other capabilities) poses a number of related challenges to understanding data quality, reliability, and integrity. A better understanding of data quality, uncertainty, and provenance is needed. Over the past decade, a great deal of academic research has addressed problems of provenance, curation, and data quality, often motivated by scientific needs for reproducibility and transparency when scientific analysis is done online using distributed databases and computational resources. In this report, we present the results of a study of the current and future needs for provenance, curation, and data quality within NPL and in the Advanced Manufacturing, Life Science & Health, and Energy & Environment sectors. We compare these needs against current capabilities available in commercial and academic settings, and highlight areas for potential collaboration or technology transfer (particularly drawing on the depth of expertise available within the UK). Finally, we offer recommendations regarding future steps that NPL can take to develop practical tools and frameworks that support effective provenance management, data curation, and data quality assessment.

• Item Type: Research Reports or Papers (Project Report)
• Additional Information: Funded by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL): NPL Scoping Study on Data Provenance, Curation, and Interoperability
• Status: Submitted
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Davidson, Ms Joy
• Authors: Cheney, J., Chapman, A., and Davidson, J.
• Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics; Q Science > QD Chemistry; Q Science > QR Microbiology; R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine; T Technology > TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery; T Technology > TS Manufactures; Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z665 Library Science. Information Science
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Publisher: National Physics Laboratory
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 National Physics Laboratory