FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

See also Guidelines for Depositors and Guidelines for Editors on the OceanBestPractices Home page .

If you do not find an answer to your query, please email oceanbestpractices@iode.org .

OceanBestPractices Repository (OBPS)

Registration and Passwords

Submitting Metadata and Digital files

After Submission: Citation, Browsing, Statistics

Updates and Corrections

Searching OceanBestPractices

Contacts with the repository team

ANSWERS

What are the benefits of depositing my Best Practice in OceanBestPractices?

  • Permanent and securely hosted open access repository
  • Hosted by international recognized IODE of IOC / UNESCO and coordinated activity with GOOS
  • Inclusion in a repository corpus for all best practices used by the ocean observing community
  • Repository offers semantic indexing and semantic search interface
  • Tagged to SDG, EOV, EBV and ECV values
  • Repository indexed by all major search engines - aids discovery
  • Repository harvested by Google Scholar , Scopus , etc - greater Best Practice promotion
  • Deposit in OBPS complies with Funders Mandate for open access
  • Repository allocates a DOI persistent identifier to each document record when an original DOI is not input
  • Repository offers use metrics down to the document level
  • Document records can be streamed to organization website
  • Document records can be exported
  • Document citations from a search can be exported

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My Best Practice is on my project website - does it need to be deposited in OceanBestPractices?

A website is not a permanent archive. Deposit your best practices into OBPS for the above benefits but also to ensure your Best Practices are permanently findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR)

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My Best Practice is already in my institutional repository - why should I deposit it into OceanBestPractices?

  • Hosted by international recognized IODE of IOC / UNESCO and coordinated activity with GOOS
  • Inclusion in a repository focussed only on best practices used by the ocean observing community
  • Repository includes an automated review/update alert
  • Repository offers semantic indexing and semantic search interface
  • Tagged to SDG, EOV, EBV and ECV values
  • Repository allocates a DOI persistent identifier to each document record when an original DOI is not input
  • Repository offers use metrics down to the document level

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My software is on GitHub. Should I put it also in OBPS?

You can deposit it into OBPS, but otherwise enter the GitHub link in the Resource URL: Code Repository metadata field

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How can I publish a Best Practice?

  • Register in OceanBestPractices (OBPS) and deposit your community practices in OBPS to obtain global dissemination and a DOI for greater citation
  • Contribute an article about your Best Practice in Frontiers in Marine Science, Research Topic: Best Practices
  • In addition, you will want to expose your Best Practice on your website or even contribute it to your own Institutional Repository. Multiple instances are not a problem, but records in OBPS aggregate into a Best Practices corpus

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What is the definition of a Best Practice?

A community Best Practice is a methodology that has repeatedly produced superior results relative to other methodologies with the same objective. To be fully elevated to a Best Practice, a promising method will have been adopted and employed by multiple organizations.

Best Practices may come in any of a number of format types - Best Practices, standard operating procedures, manuals, operating instructions, etc and as documents or multimedia.

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I have a CookBook - can I deposit it into OceanBestPractices?

Best Practices may come in any of several format/title types - Best Practices, standard operating procedures, manuals, operating instructions, Handbooks, Guides, Cookbooks etc. It may be deposited into OBPS with the understanding that the document content is put forth by the provider as a community practice.

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My Best Practice includes proprietary information - can I still deposit it into OceanBestPractices?

OceanBestPractices is an open access repository and requires the full text of your Best Practice to be uploaded to the OBPS record. It is expected that all Best Practices deposited are openly available for download and reuse. If your Best Practice contains proprietary information you will need to obtain permission from the owner of that information to agree repository deposit.

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Is OceanBestPractices Repository available 24/7?

Apart from downtime for scheduled maintenance (users are informed), OceanBestPractices is available 24/7.

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Who is eligible to submit to the OceanBestPractices?

Depositors will be Creators (or their agents) of ocean-related Best Practices and must register on the system. The digital items deposited will be reviewed by editors for metadata content. The validity and authenticity of the full text content submitted is the sole responsibility of the author.

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How do I register?

On https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/register follow the instructions in the Guidelines for Depositors or click on Register in the Right Hand sidebar. As a registered user, you will be able to subscribe to collections to receive daily e-mail alerts of new items added. You can subscribe to as many or as few collections as you wish. This feature is accessible through MY ACCOUNT/Profile. If you also intend to DEPOSIT DOCUMENTS in OceanBestPractices, after registration send an email to info@oceanbestpractices.org with the following details:

  1. Your full name
  2. Name of your institution
  3. Address of your institution
  4. Your Role in your institution
  5. Collection(s) to which you wish to deposit

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I have forgotten my password: what should I do?

On the Login screen click on Forgot your Password . You will be asked to Enter the email address you provided when you registered with OceanBestPractices. An email will be sent to that address with further instructions. If all else fails, email info@oceanbestpractices.org

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How do I become an Editor or Community Administrator?

Discuss with the OceanBestPractices Project Manager, email info@oceanbestpractices.org

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How do I submit a document?

To deposit you must first register (see How to register above) and request to be allocated to a Community and Collection/s. Login, click on Submissions on the right hand side bar. Click on start another submission. The first page of a multi-page submission form will appear, asking you to choose an Item Type for your Deposit. Continue to complete each screen and deposit your record including the digital pdf file. There is Help text attached to each metadata field.

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Does OBPS accept metadata only?

Submittals to the repository must include the metadata and upload of the digital object referenced.

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What items are eligible for submission?

Acceptable item types are:

  • Book/Monograph: A book or a conference volume or complete serial issue.
  • Book Section: A chapter or section in a book, monograph or conference volume.
  • Journal Contribution: A contribution to a journal
  • Report: This may be a technical report, project report, documentation, manual or guideline, working paper, discussion paper.
  • Report Section: A chapter or section in a report.
  • Software: Computer programs and applications.
  • Video: A recording of moving visual images made digitally.
  • Web Based Content: Usually a website/webpage. If a document is hosted on a website, use the appropriate document type for the item and include the website URL in the Official URL metadata field.
  • Other: Something within the scope of the repository, but not covered by the other categories.

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What type of file format do you require for submission?

Submittals to the repository must include the metadata and the digital object referenced. File formats for the following digital objects are:

  • Text - pdf (pdf/a if possible) and native format (Word) hidden file
  • Powerpoint - pdf
  • Images - jpeg
  • Video - mpeg
  • Audio - wav
  • Dataset - excel (and others)

OceanBestPractices can accept a variety of formats, but we focus on standard formats for which most users will have viewers. For example not so many people have a Postscript reader on their desktop. Email info@oceanbestpractices.org if you have an esoteric format.

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How do I convert my file to PDF format?

Using MicroSoft Word, OpenOffice, LibreOffice and most other modern wordprocessors, you can save the file as a pdf. The preferred format for documents is PDF/a.

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Can I upload more than one file to an OBP record?

Yes, on the Upload Screen you can deposit as many files as you want, use the Description field to identify the differences between the files.

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Is there any quality control of OBP deposits?

The validity and authenticity of the content of full text submissions is the sole responsibility of the author. Each metadata record submitted is reviewed by a repository editor to assure only subject relevancy and correct metadata and metadata completeness. A record with errors will be identified and be returned to the depositor with advice on correct resubmission.

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Do I really have to fill in all those metadata boxes?

The short answer is "No". The boxes that you are required to fill in are marked with asterisks and there aren't many of them. On the other hand, you might wish to fill in some of the others as they will help provide better publicity and retrieval for your work: the material in non-essential boxes (abstract, reference list, keywords and suchlike) will get scanned by the web-crawlers from, for example, Google Scholar and so filling them in will enhance the odds that someone "Googling" around your subject will find your Best Practice document.

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Do I have to input all authors (however many)?

We recommend that all identified authors are listed (if you were author number 10 you would still want the record to be found under your name), so all authors should be entered into the author fields in the order they are listed in the document).

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I want to deposit several papers with similar metadata (e.g. a number of Best Practices from the same series). Can I copy metadata from one record to a new one?

OBPS software does not offer replication of a record. If your record belongs to a discrete title Collection, then a template can be created with the repeatable metadata. So each time you submit to a particular named series Collection you will be presented with screens holding the core metadata. Discuss with the administrator of your collection or OceanBestPractices Project Manager info@oceanbestpractices.org

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Can I submit a new version of my document/object?

If the content of a document becomes out-of-date you need to submit an updated version in a new record. OBPS now has version control:

  • The original version remains in OBPS and is accessible but overtly displays that it is not the latest version
  • The new document is submitted as a new version of the original (and that way it is automatically linked) and any metadata changes are made for the new version record and the new version file uploaded
  • Searching for either version will provide you with details and access to all versions and their records.
  • The new version retains the same DOI stem (if OBPS has issued a DOI - we do not issue a DOI if there is an existing DOI) and Handle stem as the original.

Examples of versioning:

Before version control was implemented, the old version record was annotated with [Superseded] or [Obsolete]. All records remain in OceanBestPractices, but in special cases a record can be withdrawn or removed from the public database. The Deposit Agreement states: I understand that once the Work is deposited, a citation to the Work will always remain visible, although the author retains the right to update the Work. Removal of the item can be made after discussion with the OceanBestPractices repository manager.

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What is a DOI?

It is a "Digital Object Identifier" and is intended to provide a permanent way to keep track of things (published papers, for example) on the web. The idea is that the DOI will remain the same even when the publisher changes the name of the journal or decides to reorganize its web site. You can read more about the DOI system at http://www.doi.org/. OceanBestPractices allocates Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) to records that are not input with an original DOI entered.

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Why is the DOI not displayed immediately the record has been approved?

DOIs need to be automatically "minted" and registered with the DOI Agent and this can take upto a couple of hours.

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If my document already has a DOI will OBPS still issue one?

OBPS will not issue its own DOI if an original DOI is entered into the metadata

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What is a Handle?

The Handle System is similar to a DOI. It is a persistent identifier (Universal Resource Identifier URI). OceanBestPractices software (DSpace) automatically allocates a Handle to each record and that can be used to retrieve the OBPS record and full text of your Best Practice by using it to search in your browser..

OceanBestPractices also allocates Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) see above

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Do I need to be part of a Community/Collection?

To be able to deposit into OceanBestPractices, you will need to identify a Community and Collection in which you wish to deposit. You can request your own new Community and Collections, if there is not already an appropriate entry. Contact: info@oceanbestpractices.org

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What do I need to do to establish a new Community/Collection?

Email info@oceanbestpractices.org and make the request. A new Community must be agreed with the OceanBestPractices Project Manager. If you are designated as an Administrator for your Community you are able to create your own sub-communities and collections by using the create options on the right hand side bar.

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Is there a maximum file size that I can upload to OceanBestPractices?

In theory you are only limited by Server disk size, but there is always "ymmv" to consider. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/your_mileage_may_vary. We have had experience of uploading a file of 2G but it can take time. The speed at which you can upload and download digital objects within OceanBestPractices is very dependent on your bandwidth and internet provider maximums. Any file approaching or double figure Mbs is going to take longer to upload and more importantly download. It is possible to upload a number of files to one record, so if your original file is large enough to cause possible problems, it might be advisable to split the file into easily viewable 'chunks'. Use the Description field on the File upload screen to describe the contents of each 'chunk', this will display in the record. eg. pp.1-100. Large file sizes are often caused if the document has been scanned at a wrongly selected resolution, so you may need to rescan the document (if not borne digital).

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Who will check the copyright status of my item?

The depositor is entirely responsible for the copyright status. The Deposit Agreement states " I declare that I have the authority of the authors to make this agreement and I understand that IODE does not assume any responsibility for any content errors, or any breach of copyright in distributing these files or metadata. (All authors are urged to prominently assert their copyright on the title page of their work).

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What is Creative Commons (CC)?

OceanBestPractices recommends allocating a Creative Commons License to your Best Practice. This leaves users in no doubt as how they can reuse your Best Practice. Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons licenses free of charge to the public. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators. An easy-to-understand one-page explanation of rights, with associated visual symbols, explains the specifics of each Creative Commons license. Creative Commons licenses do not replace copyright, but are based upon it. See https://creativecommons.org/

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My list of authors (or title or abstract) has accents and/or other diacritical marks: can the system accommodate them?

The OBP DSpace software has been designed to work with most languages and uses the UTF8 character set, which includes all the accented characters appearing in European languages as well as other symbols. To get these special characters into your title, author list or abstract you will need to use an appropriate character set as you enter the metadata. (if you can manage to enter them into the submission form, all should be well thereafter).

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My title (or abstract) contains Greek letters and other mathematical symbols: can I arrange for them to be displayed correctly?

It depends on which symbols you need. For Greek letters, see the answer to a ">previous question: it's mainly a matter of figuring out how to do the necessary input. Complicated mathematical typesetting is not supported at this time. If you feel very strongly about it, write to info@oceanbestpractices.org

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Can I do batch upload of metadata and files?

Import guidelines are included in User Guides available on OceanBestPractices Home

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I see a record in OBPS that looks almost the same as I want to submit. Can I still submit?

Unless your document is definitely a new version (obvious differences), this question needs to be addressed on a case by case basis. Talk to the OceanBestPractices Project Manager

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What do I do if I cannot download a Best Practice?

Contact : info@oceanbestpractices.org

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Do all Best Practices have a citation statement?

Depositors are presented with a field in which they can manually enter the citation for their Best Practice.

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I submitted my paper ages ago: why can't I see it?

Once you submit your deposit it goes into a Review area and does not appear in the publicly-visible part of the repository until an editor accepts it. It will then appear immediately in Recently Added on the OceanBestPractices homepage but, it may take as much as a few hours before it appears in the Browse lists or can be found via the Search forms as various indexing programmes do not run continuously over 24 hours. If it really has been ages (minimum 48 hours or many days or weeks) you might want to email info@oceanbestpractices.org

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I do not see a thumbnail image displayed against the OBP record I submitted just now?

Thumbnails are generated by the system and it can take up to 2 hours for the thumbnail of the pdf that accompanies records to display. If it has not appeared after some four hours then email info@oceanbestpractices.org

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How do I obtain statistics for my deposits?

Go to the record e.g. https://www.oceanbestpractices.net/handle/11329/292

At the bottom of the right hand side bar click View Usage Statistics

Statistics can also be displayed at Collection level as well

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May I remove an item once it has been submitted?

If an item has not been approved into the live repository it can be removed.

Once in the live repository, Items may be removed at the request of the author/copyright holder, but this is strongly discouraged.

Acceptable reasons for withdrawal include:

  • Publishers' rules
  • Proven copyright violation or plagiarism
  • Legal requirements and proven violations
  • National security
  • Falsified research

Withdrawn items are deleted entirely from the database and metadata will not be searchable.

If necessary, an updated version may be deposited but normally old versions are retained in OBP.

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I have just noticed a mistake on my records abstract page: how can I correct it?

You can't, at least not directly: once you submit a record it passes out of your control (unless you are an editor). Email info@oceanbestpractices.org to make the changes for you.

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I left out the abstract (or some other bit of information) when I submitted my record but now I would like to add them: how can I do that?

With the help of an editor: email info@oceanbestpractices.org .

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I have found a mistake in my record and have a corrected PDF. What should I do?

Unless you are the editor for your collection, email info@oceanbestpractices.org .

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I have a new version of my Best Practice: do I add it to the original version record or input a new record?

If the content of a document becomes out-of-date you need to submit an updated version in a new record. OBPS now has version control:

  • The original version remains in OBPS and is accessible but overtly displays that it is not the latest version
  • The new document is submitted as a new version of the original (and that way it is automatically linked) and any metadata changes are made for the new version record and the new version file uploaded
  • Searching for either version will provide you with details and access to all versions and their records
  • The new version retains the same DOI stem (if OBPS has issued a DOI - we do not issue a DOI if there is an existing DOI) and Handle stem as the original

Examples of versioning:

Before version control was implemented, the old version record was annotated with [Superseded] or [Obsolete]. All records remain in OceanBestPractices, but in special cases a record can be withdrawn or removed from the public database. The Deposit Agreement states: I understand that once the Work is deposited, a citation to the Work will always remain visible, although the author retains the right to update the Work. Removal of the item can be made after discussion with the OceanBestPractices repository manager.

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What is the best way to search in OBP?

See Search Tips video on OceanBestPractices Search Interface .

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How can I contact the repository team?

Use the Contact/Feedback on this page or Contact/Feedback options at the bottom of the OBP Home Page or email info@oceanbestpractices.org

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