Data and Information Management in the Ecological Sciences: A Resource Guide

More than 100 individuals attended a two-day workshop (August 8-9, 1997) entitled Data and Information Management in the Ecological Sciences that was held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Objectives of the workshop were to: effect technology transfer, especially at biological field stations and marine laboratories; facilitate people networking; communicate training needs and opportunities; identify future needs for data management at field stations; and produce hard copy and digital versions of the proceedings. Workshop instructors provided comprehensive overviews of the technological infrastructure for a data management system (e.g., hardware, software, communications, and networking), data entry, quality assurance, database management systems, metadata, archival, the World Wide Web, and scientific visualization. Additional roundtable discussions focused specifically on software for field stations, challenges and opportunities at field stations, and site-specific data management implementation.