The ESIP Biological Data Standards Cluster formed in 2020 to maximize data relevance and utility for understanding changes in biodiversity over time. To accomplish this the cluster facilitates guidance, best practice documentation, training, and community building for the US biological data community. The first product to result from this cluster is the Biological Data Standards Primer - a quick, easy resource for navigating a selection of the standards that exist.
While many standards exist for biological data, they are infrequently used, and the documentation for them tends to be detailed and lengthy. The primer is meant to be a quick introduction for data managers that are new to biological data standards.
If you notice something is incorrect in the primer or would like to suggest changes or additions to the primer to make it more useful for data managers, please submit a GitHub issue describing the problem, change, or addition you would like to see implemented.
The license for the primer is CC-0. If you would like to cite the primer in your work please use: Benson, Abigail; LaScala-Gruenewald, Diana; McGuinn, Robert; Satterthwaite, Erin; Beaulieu, Stace; Biddle, Mathew; et al. (2021): Biological Observation Data Standardization - A Primer for Data Managers. ESIP. Online resource. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16806712.v2