Abstract
The ecological and environmental sciences are
comprised of many different disciplines, each with their own
methods, theories, and culture. A characteristic that most of these
different disciplines share, however, is a lack of culture for good
stewardship of data. Characteristics of good data stewardship
include understanding the importance of data management, using
best practices for managing data, and recognizing the value of
data sharing and data reuse for the future of ecology and the
environmental sciences. The Data Observation Network for Earth
(DataONE) is actively developing a community database of best
practices that can be easily accessed and adopted by scientists to
promote good data stewardship practices and lead to high quality
data products. Here we introduce DataONE’s approach to
developing the best practices database and provide a data
management primer that contains examples relevant to all
elements of the data life cycle.