Publish Your Data

Cookbook Guide

Step 1: Prepare Your Data Dictionary

What you need: - Your dataset (CSV or Excel file) - A data dictionary template

How to do it:

  1. Download the Data Dictionary Template
  2. Open your dataset and identify all columns
  3. For each column, fill in:
    • variable_name: Exact column name from your data
    • label: Human-readable description
    • data_type: string, integer, float, boolean, or categorical
    • definition: Plain-language explanation
    • standard_term_uri: URI from the controlled vocabulary (if available)

Example:

variable_name,label,data_type,definition,standard_term_uri
CU,Conservation Unit,string,The conservation unit identifier,http://purl.dataone.org/odo/SALMON_00000239

Step 2: Find Standard Terms

What you need: - Access to the Controlled Vocabulary & Thesauri

How to do it:

  1. Open the vocabulary page
  2. Search for terms matching your columns
  3. Copy the URI for each matching term
  4. Paste the URI into your data dictionary’s standard_term_uri column

Tips: - Start with common terms like CU, brood year, escapement - If a term doesn’t exist, note it for future vocabulary updates - Use partial URIs if the full URI is too long

Step 3: Create Your Data Package

What you need: - Completed data dictionary - Your data files - Understanding of the Salmon Data Exchange Package specification

How to do it:

  1. Create a directory for your package: SDEP_yourproject/
  2. Place your data files in a data/ subdirectory
  3. Create metadata files:
    • dataset.csv: Dataset-level metadata
    • tables.csv: Table descriptions
    • column_dictionary.csv: Your completed data dictionary
    • codes.csv: Controlled value lists (if applicable)

Example structure:

SDEP_escapement_2023/
├── dataset.csv
├── tables.csv
├── column_dictionary.csv
├── codes.csv
└── data/
    └── escapement_data.csv

Step 4: Validate and Submit

What you need: - Completed data package - Validation tools (optional)

How to do it:

  1. Review your data dictionary for completeness
  2. Verify all URIs are valid and accessible
  3. Check that required fields are filled
  4. Submit to the Data Stewardship Unit for review

Validation checklist: - [ ] All columns have definitions - [ ] Standard term URIs are included where available - [ ] Data types are correctly specified - [ ] Units are documented for numeric fields - [ ] Code lists reference controlled vocabularies

Next Steps