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An implementation of the Sparrow data system (https://sparrow-data.org) is currently being developed to support laboratory workflows for sample preparation, geochemical analysis, and SEM imaging in support of tephra research. Tephra, consisting of fragmental material ejected from volcanoes, has a multidisciplinary array of applications from volcanology to geochronology, archaeology, environmental change, and more. The international tephra research community has developed a comprehensive set of recommendations for data and metadata collection and reporting (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3866266) as part of a broader effort to adopt FAIR practices. Implementations of these recommendations now exist for field data via StraboSpot (https://strabospot.org/files/StraboSpotTephraHelp.pdf) and for samples, analytical methods, and geochemistry via SESAR and EarthChem (https://earthchem.org/communities/tephra/). Implementing these recommended practices in Sparrow helps to (1) cover laboratory workflows between field sample collection and project data archiving and (2) address a key researcher pain point. As re-emphasized by participants in the Tephra Fusion 2022 workshop earlier this year (Wallace et al., this meeting), the huge workload currently needed to capture and organize data and metadata in preparation for archiving in community data repositories is a major obstacle to achieving FAIR practices. By capturing this information on the fly during laboratory workflows and integrating it together in a single data system, this challenge may be overcome. We are implementing the tephra community recommendations as extensions to Sparrow’s core database schema. Data import pipelines and user interfaces to streamline metadata capture are also being developed. In the longer term, we aim to achieve interoperability with an ecosystem of tools and repositories like StraboSpot, SESAR, EarthChem, and Throughput. The results of these developments will be applicable not just to tephra but also to other research areas which utilize similar laboratory and analytical methods - e.g. sedimentology, mineralogy, and petrology.
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MaRDA FAIR materials microscopy and LIMS data working groups’ community recommendations
AbstractManaging, processing, and sharing research data and experimental context produced on modern scientific instrumentation all present challenges to the materials research community. To address these issues, two MaRDA Working Groups on FAIR Data in Materials Microscopy Metadata and Materials Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) convened and generated recommended best practices regarding data handling in the materials research community. Overall, the Microscopy Metadata Group recommends (1) instruments should capture comprehensive metadata about operators, specimens/samples, instrument conditions, and data formation; and (2) microscopy data and metadata should use standardized vocabularies and community standard identifiers. The LIMS Group produced the following guides and recommendations: (1) a cost and benefit comparison when implementing LIMS; (2) summaries of prerequisite requirements, capabilities, and roles of LIMS stakeholders; and (3) a review of metadata schemas and information-storage best practices in LIMS. Together, the groups hope these recommendations will accelerate breakthrough scientific discoveries via FAIR data. Impact statementWith the deluge of data produced in today’s materials research laboratories, it is critical that researchers stay abreast of developments in modern research data management, particularly as it relates to the international effort to make data more FAIR – findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. Most crucially, being able to responsibly share research data is a foundational means to increase progress on the materials research problems of high importance to science and society. Operational data management and accessibility are pivotal in accelerating innovation in materials science and engineering and to address mounting challenges facing our world, but the materials research community generally lags behind its cognate disciplines in these areas. To address this issue, the Materials Research Coordination Network (MaRCN) convened two working groups comprised of experts from across the materials data landscape in order to make recommendations to the community related to improvements in materials microscopy metadata standards and the use of Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) in materials research. This manuscript contains a set of recommendations from the working groups and reflects the culmination of their 18-month efforts, with the hope of promoting discussion and reflection within the broader materials research community in these areas. Graphical abstract
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- PAR ID:
- 10603932
- Publisher / Repository:
- MRS
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- MRS Bulletin
- ISSN:
- 0883-7694
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1557/s43577-025-00882-2
