Crowdsourcing, Citizen Science, and Data-sharing | Sapien Labs | Neuroscience | Human Brain Diversity Project

"The obstacles to data-sharing and open science are poorly annotated data, gaps in metadata, and variation in data quality and formats–problems threatening the clarity and reliability of results. Devices record data with different sampling and signal filtering characteristics. Different data formats include some information about a recording but leave out others. Researchers store their data and collect different information on subjects in all formats and manners. Some researchers perform their recordings with exquisite care to detail while others have sloppy executions. There are plenty of minefields. Anyone who has tried to analyze datasets from another research lab can testify to the great deal of back and forth that must take place before the data can be clearly understood and interpreted.   However, sharing of data is essential for the community to combine forces to produce deeper insights on larger scale as well as to validate results.

This requires going beyond simple repositories of data to platforms with expert standards for experimental protocols and data formats as well as easy tools for data discovery, extraction and use. In addition, taking from the example of Sebastian Seung’s eyewire, platforms will also need innovative ways to harness the diverse backgrounds and abilities of hacker communities with limited background in neuroscience. With these in place, the possibilities are tremendous."