Life cycle referential model of scientific data

a methodological proposal

Abstract

Objective: To propose a reference model, resulting from the intersection of the Digital Curation Centre, the Data Observation Network for Earth, and the Data Documentation Initiative, for describing scientific data in Information Science, with a focus on the broad area of Social Sciences.
Methodology: Qualitative bibliographic study with a descriptive purpose. To construct this model, an association was made between the elements of the data life cycles and the literature on methodological procedures in the Social Sciences.
Results: It was observed that the literature clearly addresses stages of the life cycle such as planning, collecting, and analyzing. However, other phases of the cycle such as organizing, preserving, and integrating appear subtly, and some others were not identified. For a more detailed understanding of the phases and to avoid the suppression of essential elements, a new model was developed involving the following stages: planning, collecting, organizing, describing, ensuring, preserving, finding, reusing, and analyzing.
Conclusions: The research practically contributes to the management of scientific data through the developed model, facilitating the processes of sharing and reusing them in new investigations, providing greater completeness to the information about the produced/collected data.