We ask researchers wishing to contribute data to FuTRES to use the following procedure to provide data.

Contents:

Video on Loading Data into GEOME (video)

Generating a template

1. Go to GEOME and create an account
2. Create a project and join the FuTRES Team
   • Naming convention: FuTRES_taxon_contributor_locality_time.period
   • It is up to the user to choose projects / expeditions (datasets) as necessary
     • e.g., each expedition could be a site and each project a collection
     • the organization of expedition (datasets) can be however you would like (e.g., by site or time). FuTRES API already searches based on taxonomy and measurement.
3. Fill in project metadata
   • project title
   • project description
   • visibility (public/private)
     • Note that even if projects are public, expeditions can be private
   • principle investigator
   • principle investigator affiliation
   • citation
     • This is needed if your license is CC BY or BSD
4. Select the template generator to create a spreadsheet for entering data
   • Select terms
   • Export to a spreadsheet application
     • Speadsheet has:
       • Instructions
       • Template (required field in red)
       • Controlled vocabulary
       • Definition for attributes
     • Note that licensing is assumed to be CC0, unless specified as CC BY or BSD
5. Fill in expedition (dataset) metadata
   • expedition title
     • Naming convention: FuTRES_taxon_contributor_locality_time.period_version number or date
   • expedition code
   • if expedition can be public or private

Uploading and validating data

1. Upload to GEOME under your project in FuTRES Team Project
   • Can load multiple spreadsheets at one time under same expedition name
   • Will give a warning if something is wrong, but not fatal (can ignore; use your discretion)
   • Will give an error if a value in a field is wrong (e.g., a string where numbers should be)
2. Fill in expedition metadata
   • expedition title - Naming convention: FuTRES_taxon_contributor_locality_time.period_version number or date
   • expedition code
3. Name your expedition:
   • FuTRES_taxon_contributor_locality_time.period and version number or date

Requesting trait terms

1. Check that the term is not currently there
   • Click on measurementType DEF of template
2. Go to FuTRES Ontology of Vertebrate Traits (FOVT)
3. Create a New issue
   • Needs:
   • term label
   • synonyms
   • Parts of the term
     • anatomical feature
     • anatomical points and/or anatomical axis
     • measurement (e.g., width, length, etc.)
   • reference for measurement (illustration if have it)
   • attribution (ORCID id)