Speaker
Description
The International Generic Sample Number (IGSN) is a unique and persistent identifier, originally developed for samples in the Geosciences. A strategic partnership between IGSN e.V. and DataCite in 2023 led to the integration of all IGSNs as DataCite DOIs. While samples can be registered with the DataCite mandatory metadata, this schema is not designed to the comprehensive description of physical objects.
Within the project “FAIR Workflows to establish IGSN for Samples in the Helmholtz Association (FAIR WISH)”, funded by the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration Platform (HMC), we developed the FAIR SAMPLES template. The template is Excel-based, generic and customizable to fit for various use cases and disciplines in Earth and Environmental sciences. It is designed for individual researchers to submit sample metadata for bulk registration of IGSN, regardless of the scientist’s technical background. On the other hand, the Hereon use case within our project demonstrated the use of the template for populating data from an existing sample database.
The template offers flexibility, comprising both few mandatory and many optional variables to describe a sample, the sampling activity, location and more. Users can easily create a personalized template, including only the variables relevant to describe their samples.
The information collected with the template is currently transmitted to GFZ and there converted in XML files to generate IGSN landing pages and DataCite metadata.
The usage of IGSNs for samples bridges one of the last gaps in the full provenance of research results. In this presentation, we showcase the FAIR SAMPLES template, highlighting its user-friendly design and varied applicability across disciplines.
