Communicating science and engineering data in the information age
By: Panel on Communicating National Science Foundation Science and Engineering Information to Data Users ; Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education ; Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences ; National Research Council of the National Academies
Contributors: National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on National Statistics; National Research Council (U.S.). Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 106
ISBN-13: 9780309222099
Subjects: Data transmission systems; Statistical services; Statistics; Database management; National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (National Science Foundation (U.S.)); Information retrieval; Standards
Description: The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) communicates its science and engineering (S&E) information to data users in a very fluid environment that is undergoing modernization at a pace at which data producer dissemination practices, protocols, and technologies, on one hand, and user demands and capabilities, on the other, are changing faster than the agency has been able to accommodate. NCSES asked the Committee on National Statistics and the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council to form a panel to review the NCSES communication and dissemination program that is concerned with the collection and distribution of information on science and engineering and to recommend future directions for the program.  Communicating science and engineering data in the information age includes recommendations to improve NCSES's dissemination program and improve data user engagement. This report includes recommendations such as NCSES's transition to a dissemination framework that emphasizes database management rather than data presentation, and that NCSES analyze the results of its initial online consumer survey and refine it over time. The implementation of the report's recommendations should be undertaken within an overall framework that accords priority to the basic quality of the data and the fundamentals of dissemination, then to significant enhancements that are achievable in the short term, while laying the groundwork for other long-term improvements--
Notes: Includes bibliographic references (p. 87-90).

Also available in Open Book format via the National Academies Press home page.
Table of contents: title: The changing data dissemination landscape; title: The current dissemination program; title: Strategy for modernizing data storage, retrieval, and dissemination; title: Engaging data users; title: The way ahead.