Open Data and E-Research: the Revolution in Information

[Poetic Economics Heather <heatherm@eln.bc.ca>]

Open Data and E-Research:  the Revolution in Creation, 
Collection, and Use of Information

A revolution is quietly occurring in the way information 
resources can be created, collected, and used.  It is now 
possible to capture the data from research itself, using 
techniques which collect the data directly from the instruments. 
The data can then be linked to published results, as well as used 
by other researchers, often in new ways.

Are collections librarians beginning to connect their users to 
the new resources, and alert them to the new possibilities?

Cambridge's Dr. Peter Murray-Rust did a fascinating presentation 
- the half hour webcast of "Open data in science - technical and 
cultural aspects" - is free to download, and worth every second 
of watching: 
http://indico.cern.ch/sessionDisplay.py?sessionId=9&slotId=0&confId=0514#200 
5-10-22 (So are the other presentations in this session of OAI4, 
and all the OAI4 presentations, for that matter).

After watching this webcast, I'm sure that you will agree with me 
that a system that involves printing out born-electronic 
information, using a ruler to measure and create tables, then 
carefully copying - and copyediting - the tables - is ludicrous 
in a day and age when we can capture the data directly. 
Publishing open data is both a very great deal more useful, and 
MORE accurate than current methods.

Peter also shows Oscar, a program developed by undergrads which 
peer-reviews chemical compound information BETTER than humans.

The revolution in information production and dissemination of our 
times, in my opinion, is every bit as fundamental a change as the 
invention of the printing press.

Before the printing press, we did have quality control mechanisms 
in place - careful handcopying by carefully trained monks, and so 
forth.  Their services were very appropriately valued.  However, 
once the printing press was invented, wouldn't it have been silly 
to carry on this way?

Heather G. Morrison
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com