Morpho User Guide

 

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Creating a New Data Package

This chapter will describe the important task of creating a new data package, which is necessary if you want to document (create metadata for) your own data.

 

There are three equivalent ways you can begin to create your own, new data package. Begin by doing one of the following:

  • Click the new data package icon in the main toolbar.
  • Click on "Create a New Data Package..." on the Main Welcome Screen.
  • Under the "File" menu, choose "New Data Package".

You will then be presented with the Data Package Wizard, a handy and powerful tool which enables you to collect the general information and basic descriptions about your data. Morpho uses the resulting documentation to generate your data package.

Data Package Wizard

The Data Package Wizard will help you create the minimum amount of documentation necessary for a Data Package. This process consists of 15 simple steps, each involving a separate screen. The Date Package Wizard alerts you to fields that are required by coloring their label red. However, the more documentation (i.e., metadata) you provide, the easier it will be for scientists (including you!) and the KNB network to understand and utilize your data package. If you do not fill in a field whose label is colored red, you will receive a reminder message and will not be allowed to continue. Remember, you can always change the required or any other information at a later time using the Morpho Editor. See the later section, Editing a Data Package, for details on this.

Throughout the Data Package Wizard, instructions for filling out fields on each screen will be shown. It is recommended that you read the explanatory text of any Morpho screen.

Each of the Data Package Wizard screens are displayed and explained below. You go from one screen to the next, or back to a previous screen, using the "Next" and "Back" buttons. Hit "Cancel" to cancel the creation of the new data package.

The first screen of the data package wizard lists the types of information you should gather (or have in mind) before beginning to create a new data package. This screen is pictured below.

 

You enter the title and an abstract for the data package on the next screen. The data set title is required. The abstract is optional, but is one of the most useful portions of the data documentation for those who may view the documentation in the future, and therefore it is highly recommended that an abstract be included. You may type the abstract directly into the field, or paste it in after creating it elsewhere. (The keyboard shortcuts, control+C for copy and control+V for paste can be used here.)

 

 

Clicking "Next" brings you to the Keywords screen. One or many keywords can be entered by clicking "Add".

 

 

Clicking "Add" brings you to the screen pictured below. Click "Add" to add a keyword. Click "Add" again to add another keyword. You may delete a keyword you have entered by selecting it and clicking "Delete". You can also alter the order of the keywords by using the "Move Up" and "Move Down" buttons while the keyword you wish to move is selected.

If the keywords are taken from a predefined list, such as a thesaurus, then click on the circle next to "These keywords are chosen from a predefined list", and type the name of the source in the box that appears. Otherwise, click "OK" when you are done adding keywords. You will then be shown the list of keywords you have created in the screen that is pictured above. To add another, entirely separate list of keywords, click "Add" and repeat the steps described above to create another keyword list. You can also use the "Edit", "Delete", "Move Up", and "Move Down" buttons to edit, delete or change the order of the keyword lists. When you are finished adding keywords and keyword lists, click "Next" at the bottom of the screen.

 

 

You will then see the screen pictured below which lists the information that can be entered in the next few screens. Read the screen, and click "Next".

 

 

Click "Add" on the next screen (pictured below) to add information about the data set owners.

 

 

The "Owner Details" screen, pictured below, is where you can enter name, address, contact, and other information about the owner of the data set. Alternatively, you can choose an entry that you have already made previously by choosing it from the drop-down list at the top of the screen. This drop-down list includes an option to choose a previous entry made in a different data package, where you will be presented with a list of data packages and their owners, and you can select one from the list. One of the three fields shown in red must have information entered into it to proceed. Click "OK" when done.

 

 

You will then be presented with a screen which will display the information you have entered. You may add additional owners, delete owners that are listed, edit entries, or change the order of the owners using the buttons on the right of the screen. Click "Next" when you are finished entering the owner or owners' information.

Next, a screen similar to the one used for entering information about the data set owner will appear, except that this screen is used to enter information about the contact for the data set. This person or organization may be the same as the owner, in which case you can choose the appropriate owner from the drop-down list at the top of the screen. Otherwise, enter the information for the contact into the fields, and click "OK". Just as before, you will then be shown the contact person you entered, and have the ability to add additional contacts, delete contacts listed, edit entries, or change the order in which the contacts appear in the list. Click "Next" when you are finished entering the contact(s) for the data set.

The next screen, pictured below, allows you to enter information for parties (people, organizations, etc.) associated with the data set. Clicking "Add" will bring you to a screen where the information about the associated party can be entered. It is similar to that used to enter information about the data set owner and contact. Similarly, after clicking "OK", you may add additional associated parties, edit entries, delete entries, and change the order of entries in the list. Click "Next" at the bottom of the screen when you are finished adding associated party information.

 

You will then be presented with the following screen. Click the box if the project associated with the data set is part of a larger project. Leave the box unchecked otherwise. If it is associated with a larger project and you click in the box, you will be prompted to enter the name of the larger project, its funding source, and one or more personnel associated with the larger project. Click "Next".

 

The next screen allows you to enter a description of the usage rights of the data package. You may type directly in the field, or paste (using keyboard shortcuts) in a paragraph of text created elsewhere. Click "Next" when finished with this screen.

 

 

In the next step of the Data Package Wizard (pictured below), you have the ability to enter information about the geographic coverage of the data. Click "Add" to add a geographic coverage documentation.

 

 

You will then be presented with the screen pictured below. You may type a textual description of the spatial coverage of the data in the first field (or paste a description in from elsewhere). In addition, you can specify the geographic coordinates of the coverage. There are three options for choosing the geographic coordinates. For any of these options, click "Zoom In" or "Zoom Out" to change the view of the map. Do one of the following:

  • Create a bounding box by selecting "Box Tool" and dragging the mouse on the map. You can then adjust the edges of the box by selecting and dragging the white squares located on the edges of the bounding box.
  • Select a point on the map by selecting "Point Tool" and clicking on the map.
  • Select a predefined region or point by selecting one of the choices in the list of Named Regions at the bottom of the screen. To add a named region so that in the future it will appear in this list, select the region or point on the map, and click "Add". To remove a named region from the list, select the region and click "Delete". You can also "Sort" the items in the list.

After doing any of these options, the coordinates for the bounding box or for the point will be displayed on the right of the screen. Click "OK" when finished adding the documentation or selecting the coordinates for the geographic coverage. You will then be returned to the screen pictured above, and your documentation will be listed.

You may add additional geographic coverage documentation by clicking "Add" again on the screen pictured above. As before, you can edit, delete, or change the order of the geographic descriptions you have entered.

 

You will next be prompted to describe the temporal coverage of the data set. Click "Add" to add a temporal coverage description.

 

 

You will then see the screen below. There are two options for selecting a temporal coverage for your data. Do one of the following:

  • Select "Single Point in Time" for a temporal coverage of a single year, month, or day.
  • Select "Range of Date/Time" to specify a starting and ending of the temporal coverage of the data.

After choosing either of these options, select whether you want to specify the year only, the month and the year, or the day, month and year. Next, choose the appropriate temporal coverage in the calendar displayed. You may use the arrows (dropdown box) to select the month and year, or you can type the month or year into the appropriate fields. To select a day, click on that day in the calendar pictured. When selecting a date/time range, make sure to select the start date/time on the left calendar, and the ending date/time on the right calendar. If the data is still being collected or added to, and therefore there is no end date/ time for the data set, then leave the right hand calendar blank.

Click "OK" at the bottom of the screen when finished. You will be shown your temporal coverage entry on the screen pictured above. You may add another temporal coverage for the data set, or edit, delete, and change the order of existing entries in the list. Click"Next" when finished adding temporal coverage information.

 

You will then see the screen pictured below which is where taxonomic coverage documentation can be entered.

 

There are two ways to add taxonomic information to the documentation. One is to type in the fields shown in the screen above to add taxonomic coverage for one or two taxon ranks (such as genus and species). To add additional levels of taxonomic information, click on the "Edit" button. You will then see the screen pictured below, where you can specify the name and common names for various taxonomic ranks. When finished, click the "Add" button. You may also delete an entry, or change the order of entries using the buttons located at the right of the screen.

 

 

The second way to add taxonomic information is to click on "Import Taxon Information from Data Table". This data table must be one that you have already added to the data package in Morpho (see Adding Data to a Data Package for information on how this is done). If you have not yet added a data table to the data package, ignore this option for now - you can always add data and documentation for the taxonomic coverage later (click here to read how). If you click on the import taxon information link after adding data to the data package, you will see the screen pictured below.

 

 

These columns are from a data table in a fictitious sample data package that comes with Morpho. This feature can be used to select taxonomic names from a data table which contains a column of taxonomic information, which will speed the input of taxonomic information into the documentation. Begin by choosing which columns of taxonomic information you wish to import by checking the box of that column. Notice that a pop up box will prompt you to choose the taxon rank that the values in the column correspond to. Next, decide whether all of the values in the selected column(s) will be imported, or if only certain values which actually appear in the data are to be imported. Finally, click "Import".

You will then be returned to the previous screen, where the taxonomic information will be displayed. You can then add additional taxonomic information, or edit or delete selected information. You may also specify what taxonomic classification system is used for the taxonomic information by clicking the box at the bottom left of the screen and typing in the name of that system. Click "OK" when finished, and then "Next".

You will then be prompted to describe the methods, study extent, and sampling description, on the screen shown below. Each of these can be typed directly into the fields or pasted in from elsewhere.

Methods can be described in a single or multiple steps. To add a description of the method as a whole, or the first step in the method, click "Add". You will then be prompted to enter a method title (optional) and a method description. Click "OK" when finished entering the method title and /or description. The method will be displayed in the list on the screen pictured below. Click "Add" again to add another method or method step. You can also edit, delete, and change the order of methods or method steps you have entered using the buttons on the right of the screen.

Enter information into study extent to supplement the information you already provided on the temporal or spatial extent of the study. For example, missing years for temporal coverage should be noted here, or a description of temporal coverage for data sets beyond the calendar range provided previously (such as "the pleistocene").

Finally, in the sampling description field you can provide detail on the sampling design of the study. Click "Next" after describing methods, study extent, and sampling description as you would like.

 

The next screen allows you to control the access to your data and the data set. First, indicate whether or not you would like the public to be able to read your data package documentation once it is placed on a network (which is described in the section Uploading and Downloading Data Packages).

You may then specify specific people and detail the permission you wish to grant them for the data package. Click "Add" if you wish to specify access rights for these people.

 

 

Defining the people and their access rights is accomplished on the screen pictured below. Begin by browsing through the list of groups and users on the left of the screen. You can expand the list by clicking on the plus sign next to the group, or shrink the list back to its original form by clicking refresh at the bottom of the screen.

After selecting a specific user, you will be prompted to type in their name, organization,and email address. Next, define their access permissions on the right of the screen. Choose Allow or Deny, and then Read, Read and Write, Read and Write and Change Permissions, or All from the drop down menus. If you are unsure about what each of these means, read the description of each at the bottom of the screen. Click "OK" when you are finished defining access for one user.

You may define access for additional users by clicking "Add" again on the screen pictured above. As before, you can also edit, delete, or change the ordering of entries you have made by using the buttons on the right of the screen pictured above. Click "Next" when finished.

 

 

The final screen of the Data Package Wizard is pictured below. Congratulations - you have created a rudimentary data package documentation! Click "Finish" to view the documentation. Alternatively, you may add an actual data object, such as a table or an image, at this step in the Data Package Wizard by choosing "or click here to finish this wizard and add a new data table now...", or you can do this at a later time. Either way, read the section titled Adding Data to a Data Package for instructions on how to do this.

 

 

The data package shown below is an example (for a fictitious data set with no data added to it) of what your data package would look like after finishing the Data Package Wizard. Note that there are different panels in the documentation.

 

 

Alternatively, on the final screen of the Data Package Wizard, before clicking "Finish", you may click on the link at the bottom of the screen which says "or click here to finish this wizard and add a new data table now..." to add data to your data package. You may also add data later on at any time (go to Adding Data to a Data Package for a description of how to do this).

 

After creating your data package, you can edit it or add additional information about your data, using the Morpho Editor. Go to a later section for a description of how to do this.

 

You can also access, edit, and add to major portions of the documentation at any time by looking under the Documentation menu, pictured below. You may edit or add any type of documentation by selecting "Add Documentation..." which will take you to the Morpho Editor (read about using Morpho Editor here), or add or edit specific types of documentation by choosing one of the other five choices.

 

 

The next section describes how to add data to your data package.

 

 

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