2 Getting Started

2.1 Overview

This is the user guide for entering data into the BETYdb database. The goal of this guide is to provide a consistent method of data entry that is transparent, reproducible, and well documented. The steps here generally accomplish one of two goals.

The first goal is to provide data that is associated with the experimental methods, species, site, and other factors associated with the original study. The second goal is to provide a record of all the transformations, assumptions, and data extraction steps used to migrate data from the primary literature to the standardized framework of the database.

2.2 Getting Started

2.2.1 Sign up for BETYdb

At a minimum, you should create an account on the instance of BETYdb that you will be using. For example, BETYdb.org. Other instances of BETYdb include:

Institution url Maintainer
University of Illinois https://betydb.org David LeBauer
Boston University https://psql-pecan.bu.edu/bety Mike Dietze
Brookhaven National Lab https://modex.bnl.gov/bety Shawn Serbin
University of Wisconsin http://tree.aos.wisc.edu:6480/bety Ankur Desai
TERRA Ref https://terraref.ncsa.illinois.edu/bety David LeBauer

Data entry requires a login with Create permissions; this can be obtained by contacting David LeBauer.

2.2.2 Other Accounts

There are multiple research groups running the database. To use the database; request "creator" access during signup to enter data; request "manager" to perform QA/QC.

  • Mendeley to track and annotate citaitons.
  • Google Docs to prepare and transform data prior to entry.
  • Github to track data that need to be checked and/or corrected.