Biocuration: Distilling data into knowledge.
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Authors
International Society for Biocuration
Publication Date
2018-04Journal Title
PLoS Biol
ISSN
1544-9173
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Volume
16
Issue
4
Number
ARTN e2002846
Pages
e2002846
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Physical Medium
Electronic-eCollection
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
International Society for Biocuration. (2018). Biocuration: Distilling data into knowledge.. PLoS Biol, 16 (4. ARTN e2002846), e2002846. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2002846
Abstract
Data, including information generated from them by processing and analysis, are an asset with measurable value. The assets that biological research funding produces are the data generated, the information derived from these data, and, ultimately, the discoveries and knowledge these lead to. From the time when Henry Oldenburg published the first scientific journal in 1665 (Proceedings of the Royal Society) to the founding of the United States National Library of Medicine in 1879 to the present, there has been a sustained drive to improve how researchers can record and discover what is known. Researchers' experimental work builds upon years and (collectively) billions of dollars' worth of earlier work. Today, researchers are generating data at ever-faster rates because of advances in instrumentation and technology, coupled with decreases in production costs. Unfortunately, the ability of researchers to manage and disseminate their results has not kept pace, so their work cannot achieve its maximal impact. Strides have recently been made, but more awareness is needed of the essential role that biological data resources, including biocuration, play in maintaining and linking this ever-growing flood of data and information. The aim of this paper is to describe the nature of data as an asset, the role biocurators play in increasing its value, and consistent, practical means to measure effectiveness that can guide planning and justify costs in biological research information resources' development and management.
Keywords
Data Aggregation, Data Science, Humans, Information Dissemination, Information Management, Knowledge
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2002846
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/332774
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