ScienceBase Instructions and Documentation

ScienceBase Overview

ScienceBase is a collaborative scientific data and information management platform used directly by science teams. It provides access to aggregated information derived from many data domains, including feeds from existing data systems, metadata catalogs, and scientists contributing new and original content. The architecture is designed to help science teams and data practitioners centralize their data and information resources to create a foundation needed for their work. ScienceBase, both original software and engineered components, is released as an open source project to promote involvement from the larger scientific programming community both inside and outside the USGS.

Key Elements

Data cataloging and collaborative data management platform 

• Data uploading and documentation, shared publicly or privately
• Data discovery using standardized elements such as common key words, spatial locations, people or organizational contacts, and projects 
• Flexible data model includes descriptive core elements and extensible metadata for thorough description of different item types 

Central search and discovery application 

• Tools for science and management teams to find and organize information resources important to their work and to provide additional attributes (e.g., keywords, spatial references) to add value to existing resources 
• Access to data records harvested from external systems and to native items uploaded to and hosted by ScienceBase 

Web services facilitating other applications 

• Data and metadata accessed and managed via standards-based Web services to drive diverse applications and Web sites 
• Harvesting of small and large data sources through Web catalog services to increase and diversify resources available to communities 
• JSON-based native syntax via REST API 

Research community catalogs 

• Community spaces for participants to catalog, manage, and share information, publicly or privately  
• Flexible authorization permissions allow security designation for individual access