Open Data and Digital Morphology

Authors

Thomas G. Davies, University of Bristol
Imran A. Rahman, University of Bristol
Stephan Lautenschlager, University of Bristol
John A. Cunningham, University of Bristol
Robert J. Asher, University of Cambridge
Paul M. Barrett, Natural History Museum, London, UK
Karl T. Bates, University of Liverpool
Stefan Bengtson, Swedish Museum of Natural History
Roger B. J. Benson, University of York
Doug M. Boyer, Duke University
José Braga, Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier)
Jen A. Bright, University of South FloridaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2017

Keywords

digital data, functional analysis, computed tomography, three-dimensional models, visualization, phenotype

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0194

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the development of methods for visualizing and analysing specimens digitally, in three and even four dimensions, has transformed the study of living and fossil organisms. However, the initial promise that the widespread application of such methods would facilitate access to the underlying digital data has not been fully achieved. The underlying datasets for many published studies are not readily or freely available, introducing a barrier to verification and reproducibility, and the reuse of data. There is no current agreement or policy on the amount and type of data that should be made available alongside studies that use, and in some cases are wholly reliant on, digital morphology. Here, we propose a set of recommendations for minimum standards and additional best practice for three-dimensional digital data publication, and review the issues around data storage, management and accessibility.

Comments

Complete list of authors: Leon P. A. M. Claessens, Philip G. Cox, Xi-Ping Dong,Alistair R. Evans, Peter L. Falkingham, Matt Friedman, Russell J. Garwood, Anjali Goswami, John R. Hutchinson, Nathan S. Jeffery, Zerina Johanson, Renaud Lebrun, Carlos Martínez-Pérez, Jesús Marugán-Lobón, Paul M. O'Higgins, Brian Metscher, Maëva Orliac, Timothy B. Rowe,Martin Rücklin, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra, Neil H. Shubin, Selena Y. Smith, J. Matthias Starck,Chris Stringer, Adam P. Summers, Mark D. Sutton, Stig A. Walsh, Vera Weisbecker, Lawrence M. Witmer, Stephen Wroe, Zongjun Yin, Emily J. Rayfield and Philip C. J. Donoghue

Rights Information

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Proceedings of the Royal Society B, v. 284, issue 1852, art. 20170194

Scholar Commons Citation

Davies, Thomas G.; Rahman, Imran A.; Lautenschlager, Stephan; Cunningham, John A.; Asher, Robert J.; Barrett, Paul M.; Bates, Karl T.; Bengtson, Stefan; Benson, Roger B. J.; Boyer, Doug M.; Braga, José; and Bright, Jen A., "Open Data and Digital Morphology" (2017). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 1187.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1187