Data Standards & Reproducible Research

Background

This module aims to provide background on the data standards adopted by GCRMN. Although there are numerous different ways to achieve a similar result, including some monitoring methods, coding techniques and reporting. This is particularly relevant when using the R programming language.

The adoption of standards facilitates the Interoperability of code and provides a familiarity when collaborating across coral reef monitoring groups. Such standards can also help in learning within and across organisations, although there should be flexibility in the standards to allow for innovations in packages, tools and techniques for data standardisation, visualisation and monitoring. For this, we sim to provide comments on each step of the coding and link with comments in tracking changes in git as part of the documentation process.

The adoption of these practises make it easier when aggregating data for regional or global summaries.

Training resources

• Introduction to data standards and reproducible research module

• GCRMN data standards and FAIR principles

• Knowledge management and version control

• Setting up your computer

• Creating a data repository

• Project workflow and using integrate.R

• R basics

• Coding standards and tidyverse principles

• Using pipes from magrittr

• Exercises for R coding and git synchronisation

• Homework for DSaRR Module

• Consolidation and discussion for DSaRR Module

• Module evaluation