Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
information to commence the analysis process. The full questionnaire and results
from the Ionosonde WDC holdings [
176
] can be obtained from the CASPAR
website.
14.2 Stakeholder and Archive Analysis
After carrying out the questionnaire process for each archive it is necessary to carry
out a stakeholder analysis for these archives. This is because:
•
stakeholders may hold different views of the knowledge a data set was capable
of providing an end user
•
stakeholders can identify different end users whose skill sets and knowledge
base vary
•
stakeholders may have produced or be custodians of information vital for re-use
of data
14.2.1 Stakeholder Categories
The stakeholder analysis classifies stakeholders into a number of categories each
with their own concerns. From experience with a number of datasets the following
categories of stakeholder are felt to be most useful.
Every digital archive will have some form of funding body associated with it
which provides the resources to collect and maintain the data. During its lifetime, the
custody of a data set may pass through several bodies generating rich documentation
which explains the scientific purpose of the dataset and how it has evolved over time.
These documents can take the form of experimental proposals which will explain
the original intent of the experiment/observation, institutional reports which state
the intent of maintaining supply of the data to a scientific community, and reports
which record scientific output.
Scientific organizations such as university departments or national and inter-
national institutes and laboratories are frequently associated with datasets. They
tend to work within a particular branch of science and can provide a great deal
of detailed information on how a dataset can fulfil that particular area of scien-
tific potential, providing for example software, support materials and field specific
bibliographies.
Every dataset will have an individual scientist, or group of scientists respon-
sible for its production. In addition to the scientific intent recorded in an experimen-
tal proposal, they may have made observations at the time of the data production
which could can enhance use of the data or produce new avenues of investigation.
Theses could be associations of events with other phenomena for example lighting
strikes with the ionization of a region of the atmosphere or identification of recurrent
patterns which would merit further investigation.
