Canadian RDC Report

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Canadian RDC Report

• Where are we now?

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Outline

• RDC Project status
• An e-Science framework for our RDC project
• Information flow for managing RDC operations
• Making metadata sustainable

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RDC project status

• Phase I RFP is ready to go to bid
• Two projects
• Production of metadata for 100 survey titles
• Develop tools to create metadata for virtual data
  files
• Phase II RFP developed in Fall 2008
• One project
• Develop metadata analysis tools for making
  comparisons
• This includes instances of searching (1) for
  comparable variables within ongoing surveys
  across multiple cycles, (2) for similar variables
  across different surveys, (3) for variables
  employing the use of thesauri and concept
  registers, and (4) for varying ways of
  representing conceptual relationships among
  variables.

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Why use the e-science framework?

• U.S. (cyberinfrastructure) and European
  (e-science) funding envelopes have been
  established to provide access to global science
  resources.
• The e-science framework provides a reporting
  structure to the Canadian Foundation for
  Innovation on our progress.
• The e-science framework positions the RDC Network
  within the larger infrastructure of other
  sciences.

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Global virtual research community
Source Ulf Dahlsten, Building a global virtual
research community, at the International Data
Forum, Beijing, June 7, 2007
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RDC Infrastructural Architecture
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
Data Metadata
Data Metadata
Data Metadata
DDI Foundation Tools
Middleware
RDC lightpath / APN
National Optical Research Network
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RDC Infrastructural Architecture
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
RDC Virtual Project
Service-oriented information architecture (Foster,
2005)
Data Metadata
Data Metadata
Data Metadata
DDI Foundation Tools
Middleware
RDC lightpath / APN
National Optical Research Network
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Service-oriented information architecture

• See Foster, Ian (2005). Service-oriented
  information architecture. Science, 308 814-817.
• This method is based on networks of loosely
  coupled information services structured as a
  system.
• Fundamental to the interoperability of
  services-oriented architecture are standards and
  protocols.
• Metadata enable the interoperability.

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Metadata enabled interoperability

• The metadata in the RDC project serve as the
  source for building services.
• The metadata come from the stages in the life
  cycle of RDC virtual projects.

Stages in the life cycle
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Information package for managing RDC projects
Project Application
Project Approval
Project Creation
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Information package for managing RDC data
Generate Analysis Files
Access to Data
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Information package for managing research outputs
Output Disclosure Analysis
Research Commun- icatons
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Factors in Sustainability

• Persuade data producers to provide their metadata
  in DDI 3.0
• Statistics Canada has an internal working group
  exploring the production of DDI metadata
• Increase the widespread adoption of the metadata
  in practice
• Other Canadian initiatives producing DDI
  metadata, e.g., the Ontario College and
  University Libraries ODESI project
• Expand the return on the costs of producing
  metadata by generating new uses of the metadata
• International interest in developing tools for
  mining DDI metadata for comparative purposes