Implementing a Registry Federation for Materials Science Data Discovery

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Information Science
• Data Management

Background:

• Growing volume of web-based materials science data presents discovery challenges.
• Difficulty in identifying and accessing relevant data resources for researchers.

Purpose of the Study:

• Establish an international federation of registries for global materials science data discovery.
• Address the challenge of finding and accessing distributed data resources.

Main Methods:

• Formed the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Working Group for International Materials Science Registries (IMRR).
• Developed a blueprint for a registry federation using interoperable standards.
• Leveraged the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) for metadata exchange.

Main Results:

• Successfully piloted a registry federation for materials science data discovery.
• Defined requirements for interoperable standards, including metadata exchange protocols and schemas.
• Developed and reviewed registry software for the federation.

Conclusions:

• An international federation of registries can provide a global view of materials science data.
• Standardized metadata exchange and registry interoperability are crucial for effective data discovery.
• The developed system enhances accessibility of data for researchers across sectors.