Developing records

 

Overview

This page provides a non-technical overview of the processes for creating and publishing records in the ANDS Registry.

• For help with creating and publishing records, contact your ANDS Client Liaison Officer.
• For help with accessing ANDS systems or technical issues, contact services@ands.org.au
• Detailed documentation is available, see the ORCA Assessment Workflow Technical Guide (PDF)

Development environment  | Create manual records  |  Harvest records  |  Quality assessment  |  Publish records  |

Record development environment

From September 2011 there is a new system to facilitate easier publication of research data records to Research Data Australia.

Before this release, ANDS had a system whereby draft records were developed in or harvested to Sandbox. The records were assessed, edited and approved there, before they were published into Research Data Australia. This system has now changed.

ANDS now uses a single environment, with a workflow to move records from draft status to publication. The interface is different from the old Sandbox interface, and the publication process is different. It is no longer necessary to take approved records out of the Sandbox, then host them somewhere else for harvesting to Research Data Australia. The new system also facilitates a new quality assessment process for records.

Accessing the system

You will need to have Australian Access Federation (AAF) credentials before you can use the new system.

Current Sandbox Data Source Administrators may not have these credentials, as Sandbox is accessed using credentials issued by ANDS, and based on an email address.

• Check here to see if your institution is a member of the AAF: http://www.aaf.edu.au/subscribe/subscribers/
  

If your institution is listed you will be able to log into ANDS' new system using your institutional credentials.

• Instructions for testing your login: ANDS Online Services FAQ

Users whose institutions are not members of the AAF should contact services@ands.org.au for advice.

If you already have login credentials for the ANDS production system, they will still work for the new system.

In addition to login credentials, you will also need to have a Data Source set up for your use in the new system, and you will need to complete some ANDS paperwork to set this up. Speak with your ANDS liaison officer about these requirements.

Create manual records

Create a record using the Add Record screens. For details of what each element should include, see the Content Providers Guide. Then save your record.

Save draft tab

Choose from these options:

• Leave the record as Draft and return to Manage My Records
• Leave the record as Draft but flag the record as being ready for assessment
• Submit the record for assessment

Record statuses

Explanations of record statuses:

Draft	The record is still being worked on
Submitted for Assessment	The record has been submitted for assessment
Assessment in Progress	The record is currently being assessed by the ANDS quality assessors
More Work Required	The ANDS quality assessors have determined that more work is required on the record before it can be published to Research Data Australia
Approved	The record has been approved by ANDS, but the record is not visible in Research Data Australia
Published	The record has been published and is visible in Research Data Australia
Deleted	The previously approved or published record has been deleted (but can be restored via the History tool)

 

Read Only mode

To allow users to view unpublished records, a feature has been added to the Add Record screens that allows users to load records in Read Only mode. Read Only mode allows users to view the errors and warnings within a record while also viewing the final report on the Save Draft tab without actually affecting the record.

A link that allows users to preview saved unpublished records in Research Data Australia has also been added to the bottom of the Save Draft tab in the Add Record screens. The link is only available after saving Draft records and is always available in Read Only mode.

These changes are best understood in the context of the new system, but you can also read the ORCA Assessment Workflow Technical Guide (PDF) or speak with your ANDS liaison officer for more information.

How do I harvest records?

The Data Source screen that you have used until now to manage harvests of your records to ANDS systems has a new layout in the new system. You will be able to trigger and manage harvests in the same manner as you have until now with the addition a new Manually Publish Records option (more info about this).

There are some changes to the way harvested records are assessed and approved for publication.

If you are harvesting records to the system, your records will be shown on the Manage My Records screen as 'Harvest' under 'Feed Type'. Harvested records are also subject to the quality assessment process and users will now be able to track their progress via the Manage My Records screen. Harvested records are automatically submitted for assessment or, if assessment is not required, automatically approved.

Quality Assessment Process

The new system facilitates a new approach to quality assessment of records.

Quality Assessment Required Flag

The first change is the Quality Assessment Required flag. To control which data sources are required to publish their records through the quality assessment workflow, a Quality Assessment Required flag has been set up in all data source accounts. The flag is set by default for new accounts and can only be managed by ANDS staff. Having the flag checked (On) for a data source will force all manually created, edited and harvested records through the quality assessment workflow. Once ANDS believes that a data provider has a good understanding of RIF-CS and best practices, the flag can be cleared, allowing any future records to be automatically approved.

I think my records are ready, how do I get them published?

The quality assessment workflow allows ANDS to incorporate quality assessment and approval into the record publishing process for both manually created and harvested records. The workflow is managed using the enhanced Manage My Records screen.

The information below is a broad overview only; please contact your ANDS Client Liaison Officer for more information.

Step 1: Data Quality Check

First, run the Data Quality Check over your draft records and make any required changes.

Step 2: Records assessment report

Then, to kick off the assessment process, you will need to submit a records assessment report. This report asks you to report the results of the Data Quality Check.

You can find the Manual RIF-CS records and RIF-CS Records from an automated feed report forms on the ANDS website: http://www.ands.org.au/partner/forms.html

Check with your ANDS Client Liaison Officer about which report is relevant and how to submit it.

Step 3: Selecting records for assessment

You indicate which records you want assessed by changing their status to Submitted for Assessment on the Manage My Records screen.

Step 4: Assessment process

The ANDS metadata assessor will assess your records, you will receive a report back, and your ANDS liaison officer will put you in touch with the metadata assessor. You will then work through the changes required until agreement is reached that the records are ready for publication. You will be able to track this process and move it along on the Manage My Records screen, using the record statuses discussed above.

Bypassing assessment

Once your project has established a track record of successful publication of quality records, any new records you create will bypass the assessment process. This means your records will go straight from draft to approved or published.

Publishing records

The next step depends on how you set the Manually Publish Records flag in your Data Source Account.

• If your data source is set to manual publication, you initiate the workflow to publish your records by changing the status of your records to Published.
• If your data source is not set to manual publication your records are published as soon as they are approved.

Manually Publish Records option

In some situations data providers may be required to have their records assessed and approved by ANDS but do not want to have them published immediately to Research Data Australia. For these users a Manually Publish Records flag has been set up in all data sources. Having the flag checked (On) will prevent records automatically moving from Approved to Published after being approved by a metadata assessor. Users will need to use the Manage My Records screen to move these records to Published. The flag will not be set by default.

The Manually Publish Records flag will also be useful for approved providers (not required to have their records assessed by ANDS) who wish to test their harvest and view the records. By checking the flag (On) the provider's harvested records will be held at a status of Approved and will not be visible in Research Data Australia. The provider then has the option to either delete the records, remove the flag and re-harvest, or publish the records manually via the Manage My Records screen.

Date	Change history
29 Sept 2011	First web publication

 

 

Please send any feedback on this page to guides@ands.org.au