Medical and Health Sciences

The life sciences are becoming increasingly data intensive, owing much to the huge improvements seen in large-scale gene sequencing and other molecular “omics” techniques. There is a need for large-scale sustainable and interoperable data management and storage methods that allow secure and easy access to and reuse of these highly complex data. Simultaneously, as omics-focussed life science research projects increasingly depend on more than one type of measurement, there is a widely felt need for the ability to integrate different data types.

Access and usage of data relevant to development studies, human rights, conflict research and vulnerable and hidden populations.

The Metadata IG will concern itself with all aspects of metadata for research data. In particular, it will attempt to coordinate the efforts of the WGs concerned with metadata to produce a coherent approach to metadata covering metadata modalities of description, restriction, navigation, provenance, preservation and the use of metadata for the purposes discovery, contextualisation, validation, analytical processing, simulation, visualisation and interoperation. It will also liaise with the other WGs especially Data Foundation and Terminology, PIDs, Standardisation of data categories and codes and Data Citation. This IG activity relates to data management policies and plans of research organisations and researchers, and to policies and standards of research funders and of research communities which may or may not be official standards.