Using large public datasets in the undergraduate ecology classroom

摘要

Ecology and environmental sciences are in the midst of an "ecoinformatics" revolution, including real-time data streams from sensor networks, remote-sensing program data, and dataset archives (Michener and Jones 2012). These data are creating unprecedented opportunities to investigate environmental questions at regional, continental, and global scales (Peters 2010). However, many instructors and students are ill-prepared to engage in data-intensive, large-scale research (Hernandez et al. 2012; Strasser and Hampton 2012). The skills needed to engage in such research include how to (1) formulate and test hypotheses involving multiple factors and at large spatial or temporal scales; (2) use efficient methods for locating and retrieving data; (3) synthesize diverse data sources; (4) critically evaluate data quality; (5) manage and manipulate large datasets; and (6) use ethical practices in acquiring data and crediting data authors (Michener and Jones 2012).