Data – So What?
I have been attending industry-focused meetings over the past month and I’m finding the different perspectives regarding agri-food data very interesting and want to bring some of my thoughts to light.
I first want to talk about my interpretation of the academic views. In research and academia we focus on Research Data Management, how and where does data fit into our research. How can and should we make the data FAIR? During a research project, our focus is on what data to collect, how to collect without bias, how to clean it so we can use it for analysis and eventually draw conclusions to our research question. We KNOW what we are collecting since we DECIDE what we’re collecting. In my statistics and experimental design classes, I would caution my students to only collect what they need to answer their research question. We don’t go off collecting data willy-nilly or just because it looks interesting or fun or because it’s there – there is a purpose.
I’ve also been talking about OAC’s 150th anniversary and how we have been conducting research for many years, yet, the data is no where to be found! Ok, yes I am biased here – as I, personally, want to see all that historical data captured, preserved, and accessible if possible – in other words FAIR. But… what happens when you find those treasure troves of older data and there is little to no documentation? Or the principal investigator has passed on? Do you let the data go? Remember, how I love puzzles and I see these treasure troves as a puzzle – but…. When do you decide that it is not worth the effort? How do you decide what stays and what doesn’t? These are questions that data curators around the world are asking – and ones I’ve been struggling with lately. There is NO easy answer!
In academia, we’ve been working with data and these challenges for decades – now let’s turn our attention to the agri-food industry. Here data has also been collected for decades or more as well – but the data could be viewed more as “personal” data. What happened on my fields or with my animals. Sharing would happen by word of mouth, maybe a local report, or through extension work. Today, though, the data being collected on farms is enormous and growing by the minute – dare I say. As a researcher, I get excited at all that information being collected, but… on a more practical basis – the best way to describe this was penned by a colleague who works in industry – as “So What!”.
Goes back to my statement that we should only collect data that is relevant to our research question. The amount and type of data being collected by today’s farming technology is great but – what are we doing with it? Are producers using it? Is anyone using it? I don’t want to bring the BIG question of data ownership here – so let’s stay practical for a moment – and think about WHY is all that data being collected? WHAT is being done with that data? WHO is going to use it? Oh the questions keep coming – but you get the idea!
In the one meeting I attended – the So What question really resonated with me. We can collect every aspect of what is happening with our soils and crops – but if we can’t use the data when we need it and how we need it – what’s the point?
Yes, I’ve been rambling a bit here, trying to navigate this world of data! So many reasons to make data FAIR and just as many reasons to question making it FAIR. Just as a researcher creates a research question to guide their research, I think we all need to consider the W5 of collecting data: WHO is collecting it, WHAT is being collected, WHERE is it being collected and stored, WHEN is it being collected – on the fly or scheduled, WHY this is the big one!!
A lot to ponder here….
