U.S. Geological Survey

What I really think

No one can find all of the problems in a real data set by review alone. And in-house review costs both time and money. It is far better to enlist the help of your data users in carrying out review. They work for you because you work for them. But you get the benefit of their experience only if you're paying attention to their feedback, and if you fix the problems they find. But that makes your product better, so why not do it?

My own goal for data management in USGS is to make the research results of my organization worth the money they cost the nation and the time it takes for users to find, get and use them, thus building the common wealth of our nation. There's little room here for a "not my job" attitude.

Current popular theories of business on the internet stress the conversational nature of markets. As a data producer or a data user, part of your responsibility (and your privilege) is to sustain a conversation with each user. Everyone learns more than they would otherwise have learned.


Understanding Metadata
Peter Schweitzer, U.S. Geological Survey