Project BAM Data Store - Rollout of a digital research data management system

02/08/2022

• Challenge
• Objectives
• Methods
• Partners

Reproducibility is a core element of good scientific practice. Scientific results can only be reproduced reliably and in the long term if all important steps from the collection of the data through various processing steps to the result are traceable. To achieve this, suitable data loss-proof documentation and archiving of data and metadata in a digital system for research data management (RDM) are essential.

The project BAM Data Store aims to introduce a central system for digital RDM which will allow BAM researchers to document research data from the materials science domain throughout their life cycle, to link data with contextual information (metadata) and to store them reliably in the long term.

The BAM Data Store uses the RDM open-source software openBIS, which is developed and provided by the ETH Zurich Scientific IT Services.

Partners

Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)

Funding

The BAM Data Store project is funded by internal BAM resources.

BAM Data Store – Rollout of a central system for digital research data management at BAM

Motivation

Sustainable research data management (RDM) ensures the access, re-use and reproducibility of research data and constitutes one of the cornerstones of good scientific practice.

In view of the increasing digitization of research and the use of data-intensive methods, BAM and its employees are faced with the challenge of documenting constantly growing volumes of data in a comprehensible manner, storing them for the long term and making them reusable for others in accordance with the FAIR principles. Funding bodies increasingly require information on the planned handling of data generated in a research project in the form of a structured data management plan (DMP). To meet these requirements, the use of software solutions that link the management of research data with the digital representation of laboratory inventory and experiments in electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) is recommended.

Within the framework of a pilot project (01.12.2020-28.02.2022), the open source RDM and ELN software openBIS was tested in five selected research groups of BAM to determine its suitability for various materials science domains. Based on the positive experiences of the pilot phase, it was decided to establish the BAM Data Store as a central system for internal RDM at BAM.

The BAM Data Store

The project BAM Data Store aims to introduce a central RDM system which will allow BAM researchers to document research data from the materials science domain throughout their whole life cycle, to link data with contextual information (metadata) and to store them reliably in the long term.

In the Data Store, BAM research groups will be able to digitally represent laboratory inventory and related information – e.g., measuring devices and samples but also experimental instructions and standard operating procedures (SOPs), describe them with user-defined properties and attach associated documents. In addition, researchers will be provided with their own lab book space in which they can document their research activities in a standardized manner and store the resulting research data. The experimental steps recorded in the ELN are linked to entities from the inventory, allowing for the central documentation of all tools and procedures used to collect, process, and analyze research data.

Linking research data with standardized metadata within a central FDM system makes it easier for researchers to document, retrieve, and trace research results. The BAM Data Store also paves the way for the publication of research data in accordance with the FAIR principles, thus promoting not only their internal but also their external reuse in accordance with the requirements of funding bodies. Storing and interlinking of data and metadata within one central system further promotes interdisciplinary and cross-organizational collaboration at BAM. Digital RDM is also a prerequisite for modern data analysis methods in the fields of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.

The BAM Data Store rollout project is co-led by the sections eScience and Information Technology.

openBIS

The BAM Data Store uses the open-source RDM and ELN software openBIS which is developed and maintained by the ETH Zurich Scientific IT Services. openBIS was originally intended for the life sciences but is now also increasingly used in the materials science domain.

The platform combines various elements, including a browser-based user interface for the digital representation of laboratory inventories and an ELN for the standardized documentation of measurements and analyses. Datasets can be imported into openBIS via the graphical user interface as well as via programming interfaces and linked to inventory elements and experimental steps. In addition, openBIS offers various interfaces, e.g. for exporting data and metadata to the research data repository Zenodo as well as for the analysis of scientific data in the web-based environment Jupyter Notebook.

Partners

Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
BAM's eScience division in cooperation with other BAM divisions

Funding

The BAM Data Store project is funded by internal BAM resources.