Showing papers by "R. S. Bogart published in 2007"

Design Considerations for Data Catalogs

Abstract: Mission data catalogs are typically built with the specifi c mission in mind. This can create challenges when trying to abstract the metadata to make it useful to other researchers. The deluge of data from new missions such as STEREO and Hinode have brought in not only issues in scale, but also complexities due to the diff erence in these new experiments in the context of existing norms. We will discuss issues and use cases to be considered in designing a mission’s data systems in order to better serve the Heliospheric community. J.A. Hourclé A.R. Davey I. Suárez-Solá K.Q. Tian K. Yoshimura (RSIS/NASA-GSFC) (SAO) (NSO) (Stanford U.) (MSU-Bozeman) Documentation for Catalogs Users of the catalogs need to understand what the fi elds and values within the catalogs mean. As catalogs can be used for cross-discipline work, terminology used in a given catalog may diff er from what the scientist using the catalog expects it to mean. Terms which have no formal scientifi c defi nitions should always be documented, so that a scientist can understand how the term is used by the person or team constructing the catalog. Although some values may require signifi cant detail to fully explain, a quick description can allow a scientist to determine if a record is something that they are not interested in, and can later follow up on the items that might be useful. Examples of Problem Terms: One catalog uses the term ‘Orange’ to describe three diff erent fi lters. Documentation for the instruments reveal that observations using one of the fi lters are sensitive to a diff erent spectral range than observations using the other two. Another mission makes the fi eld ‘obsdir’ available, but does not defi ne what it is, or what all of the valid permutations are. Descriptions of these values were not possible until public interfaces were available and text in the interface was associated with the values in the fi eld. http://www.virtualsolar.org/ SH51A-0261 contact info : http://vso1.nascom.nasa.gov/docs/wiki/ContactUs