Application and Evaluation of the Hoffman et al. (2020) Data Rescue Framework using an historic Scottish Cloud and Rain Chemistry Dataset exemplar

Environmental data are vitally important and valuable research outputs, and there are vast quantities in laboratory storage and on servers where they are not easily or openly accessible. It is imperative for preservation and for potential reuse purposes that historical data of long-term value are ef...

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Main Authors: Shona Ferguson, John Cape, Alan Crossley, Frank Harvey, David Fowler, David Leaver, Christine Braban
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Edinburgh 2025-08-01
Series:International Journal of Digital Curation
Online Access:https://ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/1027
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author Shona Ferguson
John Cape
Alan Crossley
Frank Harvey
David Fowler
David Leaver
Christine Braban
author_facet Shona Ferguson
John Cape
Alan Crossley
Frank Harvey
David Fowler
David Leaver
Christine Braban
author_sort Shona Ferguson
collection DOAJ
description Environmental data are vitally important and valuable research outputs, and there are vast quantities in laboratory storage and on servers where they are not easily or openly accessible. It is imperative for preservation and for potential reuse purposes that historical data of long-term value are efficiently curated and made publicly available. We evaluated the Hoffman et al. (2020) data rescue framework (DRF) for the initial assessment stage of a data rescue by applying it to an historic Scottish cloud and rain chemistry dataset. The DRF facilitated workload prioritisation, anticipating potential obstacles, and approximating resources required. We used a novel points-based adaptation of the DRF to identify suitability of datasets for rescue and compare the dataset status before and after rescue, particularly taking FAIR principles into account. The reusability of the dataset was greatly improved by the Hoffman et al. (2020) framework, and it is now published in an appropriate open access data centre with detailed metadata. It is recommended that the traceable DRF and scoring system be adopted in future to begin moving twentieth and early twenty-first century environmental data into the public domain.
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spelling doaj-art-fd4741a161d7435da1e6c23a2f128f8e2025-08-20T03:41:03ZengUniversity of EdinburghInternational Journal of Digital Curation1746-82562025-08-0119110.2218/ijdc.v19i1.1027Application and Evaluation of the Hoffman et al. (2020) Data Rescue Framework using an historic Scottish Cloud and Rain Chemistry Dataset exemplarShona Ferguson0John Cape1Alan Crossley2Frank Harvey3David Fowler4David Leaver5Christine Braban6UKCEHUKCEH EdinburghUKCEH EdinburghUKCEH EdinburghUKCEH EdinburghUKCEH EdinburghUKCEH EdinburghEnvironmental data are vitally important and valuable research outputs, and there are vast quantities in laboratory storage and on servers where they are not easily or openly accessible. It is imperative for preservation and for potential reuse purposes that historical data of long-term value are efficiently curated and made publicly available. We evaluated the Hoffman et al. (2020) data rescue framework (DRF) for the initial assessment stage of a data rescue by applying it to an historic Scottish cloud and rain chemistry dataset. The DRF facilitated workload prioritisation, anticipating potential obstacles, and approximating resources required. We used a novel points-based adaptation of the DRF to identify suitability of datasets for rescue and compare the dataset status before and after rescue, particularly taking FAIR principles into account. The reusability of the dataset was greatly improved by the Hoffman et al. (2020) framework, and it is now published in an appropriate open access data centre with detailed metadata. It is recommended that the traceable DRF and scoring system be adopted in future to begin moving twentieth and early twenty-first century environmental data into the public domain. https://ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/1027
spellingShingle Shona Ferguson
John Cape
Alan Crossley
Frank Harvey
David Fowler
David Leaver
Christine Braban
Application and Evaluation of the Hoffman et al. (2020) Data Rescue Framework using an historic Scottish Cloud and Rain Chemistry Dataset exemplar
International Journal of Digital Curation
title Application and Evaluation of the Hoffman et al. (2020) Data Rescue Framework using an historic Scottish Cloud and Rain Chemistry Dataset exemplar
title_full Application and Evaluation of the Hoffman et al. (2020) Data Rescue Framework using an historic Scottish Cloud and Rain Chemistry Dataset exemplar
title_fullStr Application and Evaluation of the Hoffman et al. (2020) Data Rescue Framework using an historic Scottish Cloud and Rain Chemistry Dataset exemplar
title_full_unstemmed Application and Evaluation of the Hoffman et al. (2020) Data Rescue Framework using an historic Scottish Cloud and Rain Chemistry Dataset exemplar
title_short Application and Evaluation of the Hoffman et al. (2020) Data Rescue Framework using an historic Scottish Cloud and Rain Chemistry Dataset exemplar
title_sort application and evaluation of the hoffman et al 2020 data rescue framework using an historic scottish cloud and rain chemistry dataset exemplar
url https://ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/1027
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