Abstract
The absence of a uniform and comprehensive representation for complex scientific data makes the adaptation of database technology to multidisciplinary research projects difficult. In this paper, we clarify the taxonomy of data representations required for scientific database systems. Then, based on our proposed scientific database environment, we present a scientific data abstraction at the conceptual level, a schema model for scientific data. This schema model allows us to store and manipulate scientific data in a uniform way independent of the implementation data model. We believe that more information has to be maintained as metadata for scientific data analysis than in statistical and commercial databases. Clearly, metadata constitutes an important part of our schema model. As part of the schema model, we provide an operational definition for metadata. This definition enables us to focus on the complex relationship between data and metadata.
The Scientific Database Research Project at the University of New Hampshire is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant IRI-9117153.
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Kao, D.T., Bergeron, R.D., Sparr, T.M. (1994). An extended schema model for scientific data. In: Lee, J.P., Grinstein, G.G. (eds) Database Issues for Data Visualization. DBVIS 1993. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 871. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0021145
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0021145
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