Reflection - Wk8
This week our class covered bioinformatics and data management. In our lecture, Andy made an interesting point about the benefits of open source software in that it is available to researchers worldwide and it is free. Proprietary or paid-for software is also available. But an important consideration should be made about using the latter type. If you are working on a research project and want to collaborate with another researcher from a different institution or country, the person may not have access or the budget to purchase—propriety software. Thus, you may run into issues and not be able to collaborate easily.
Andy also discussed the importance of record keeping and highlighted the need to keep “very clear and consistent tracking of metadata,” especially with regard to our topic of metabarcoding. He stressed it is critical to have “very rigorous, internally consistent standards for how you organize your data” to be able to work with the data “downstream.” Though inherently relevant in bioinformatics work, I also think being rigorous and mindful of one’s data organization translates across disciplines.
Rigor and being mindful of data also connects to the talk students gave about data management. We discussed methods that folks used to backup their data, keep it secure, and to plan ahead before a researcher leaves an institution. Also we discussed the importance of having multiple copies of lab notes (physical and digital) in case something happened like a spill or worse, like loss of access to them due to unforeseen circumstances like having to leave them behind a closed lab during the pandemic.