Feedback from our users is welcome. If you come across a possible error or incomplete information or want to contribute to the OBPS repository, please use our Feedback or Help Desk link 1. Introduction 2. Citation of OBPS Repository 3. Disclaimer 4. Content Scope 4.1 Subject Criteria 4.2 Method Criteria 5. Language 6. Depositors 6.1 Document Types 7. Full text 7.1 Full text file formats 8. Copyright 9. Metadata standards 10. Metadata policy 11. Preservation ____________________________________
1. Introduction The Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS) is hosted by the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) of the UNESCO-IOC as an IOC coordinated activity (IODE and the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) . The repository is a Methodological Management System provided for the ocean community to share their practices, standards, protocols, methods, standard operating procedures etc. The OBPS Repository is not an archive for general publications on marine and aquatic sciences - for those, please deposit into the complementary AquaDocs.
2. Citation of OBPS Repository To cite the OBPS repository, the citation is as follows: Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS). [Website]. Available: https://www.oceanbestpractices.org/ (Accessed date.) For citing individual records in the OBPS Repository, please use the citation for the document as provided in the OBPS record display.
3. Disclaimer By consulting, depositing and/or downloading data from the OBPS Repository, the user understands the following: Inclusion of a methodology in the OBPS does not indicate that the methodology is recommended by OBPS. OBPS annotates records as an Endorsed Practice https://doi.org/10.25607/OBP-1983 The information, data, statements, geographical boundaries, maps and declarations expressed in documents and objects in the OBPS repository do not imply the official endorsement or acceptance by UNESCO/IOC. UNESCO/IOC does not warrant that the information, documents and materials contained in the OBPS repository and OBPS website is complete and correct and shall not be liable whatsoever for any damages incurred as a result of its use. Contributors to this repository are solely responsible for the contents of their uploaded documents. Mention of a commercial company or product within this repository content does not constitute an endorsement by UNESCO/IOC Use of information from this repository for publicity or advertising purposes concerning proprietary products or the tests of such products is not authorized.
4. Content Scope The Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS) Repository is a global open access resource, serving the needs of a broad range of ocean stakeholders. It accepts ocean sciences and services methodological documents (provided they comply with OBPS subject and method criteria) at various levels of development, adoption and maturity; not all are ‘best’ practices’, This permits new practices to be published, tested, and used. It also enables practices tailored for a regional application to be accessible to interested users. The OBPS also, working within the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and externally, reviews practices and methods and identifies those that expert groups may ‘endorse’ as common and accepted operating practices and methods. Sections 4.1 and 4.2 define the attributes of subject and method that are appropriate for a document to be deposited into the OBPS Repository. The OBPS Repository Team, in consultation with experts in the respective fields, has the responsibility to accept, or reject, any submission not deemed to be within the subject or method scope of the repository.
4.1 Subject Criteria The global scope for the Ocean Best Practices System Repository extends from the deep waters to the surface of the open ocean, the air-sea interface and atmospheric processes relevant to air-sea interactions, to coastal, estuarine, brackish, and freshwater environments. The OBPS Repository subject content covers all ocean science related disciplines; in topics and practices which impact knowledge of the oceans and that the ocean may impact; and other topics applicable to marine, coastal, or other related science, technology, and services. The repository includes topics relevant to and consistent with the scope and goals of the international community as represented and implemented by the IOC Mission, and IOC High Level Objectives, and consistent with United Nations principles and guidelines.
IOC Mission The purpose of the IOC is to promote international cooperation and to coordinate programmes in research, services and capacity-building, in order to learn more about the nature and resources of the ocean and coastal areas and to apply that knowledge for the improvement of management, sustainable development, the protection of the marine environment, and decision-making processes of its Member States (IOC Statutes, Article 2.1).
IOC High Level Objectives The IOC is working to achieve its Vision through the following High-Level Objectives: - Healthy ocean and sustained ocean ecosystem services; - Effective warning systems and preparedness for tsunamis and other ocean-related hazards; - Resilience to climate change and contribution to its mitigation; - Scientifically-founded services for the sustainable ocean economy; - Foresight on emerging ocean science issues
4.2 Method Criteria Deposits should be made on the understanding that the content is a contribution to the methodological base of the ocean community and complies with global conventions and international agreements (specifically, the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). The focus of the content should be methodologies applied in ocean-related sciences and applications (see Subject Criteria) Methodologies should support global and regional interoperability across the ocean information value chain from requirement setting, through observations to data management and ultimately to the end user applications and societal impacts. To be acceptable as a deposit to be included in the OBPS Repository, the proposed document content must comply with the OBPS subject criteria above and meet at least five of the eight elements shown below across the three categories, and include at least one element from each category for the practice or method it covers.
1. Purpose and Objective:
2. Structured Steps or Instructions
3. Tools and Techniques
The OBPS recognizes that repository users looking for practices and methods to adopt in their own settings, are interested in the maturity and quality of a method (maturity of a method is the measure of the level of development). The OBPS does not recommend methods but does record a method as ENDORSED https://doi.org/10.25607/OBP-1983
The OBPS offers document templates for supporting the creation of ocean practices, and the process itself is well described in Fig. 2 in Przesławski, et al, 2023. Importantly, the practice title and abstract and methods body text should describe its methods focus.
5. Language Methods published in multiple languages that are compliant with the above scopings, are accepted into the repository provided that in the metadata submitted they have an English title and abstract (and preferably in the document itself)
6. Depositors
6.1. Document types Methodologies can be published digitally as the following: document types: Book/Monograph: A book or a conference volume or complete serial issue. Book Section: A chapter or section in a book, monograph or conference volume. Journal Contribution: A contribution to a journal Report: This may be a technical report, project report, documentation, manual or guideline, working paper, discussion paper. Report Section: A chapter or section in a report. Software: Computer programs and applications. Video/Image : A static image or recording of moving visual images made digitally. Web Based Content: Usually a website/webpage. If a document is hosted on a website, use the appropriate document type for the item and include the website URL in the Resource URL metadata field. Other: Something within the scope of the repository, but not covered by the other categories. At metadata input, selecting one of the above document types will present the depositor with the metadata fields to complete only for that document type; for example, journal contribution metadata is not displayed to input for a report deposit. COMPLETION OF ALL METADATA FIELDS is highly recommended to facilitate discovery of the method.
7. Full text The purpose of the OBPS Repository is to make full-text methodological documents and other objects discoverable, accessible, and usable by any user with access to the Internet. Thus, the OBPS Repository adheres to the FAIR Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-Usable) in its design. When inputting a record, the metadata must be accompanied with a full text file upload, otherwise it will not be accepted on submission. Searching and downloading full text documents in the OBPS repository is free for any individual user. Re-use of OBPS content is controlled by the display of Rights Permissions (eg Creative Commons License) including any other copyright restrictions. The downloaded content must not be changed in any way unless allowed by the Permission to Use license attached to the metadata. In compliance with Copyright Conventions, single copies of full text items may be downloaded for educational, scientific or research purposes or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge ie Fair Use, provided the following are displayed:
7.1 Full Text file formats It is mandatory to upload a full text file when submitting a repository record. The following file formats will be supported and preserved using either format migration or emulation techniques:
Non-Text: Image (jpeg, mpeg) and audio files (wav) can be uploaded but may not be supported for preservation purposes.
Deposit of other file formats should be discussed with the OBPS Repository Manager.
8. Copyright
9. Metadata standards The repository uses the well-established metadata standard Qualified Dublin Core and makes use of widely adopted controlled thesauri and other terminological resources.
10. Metadata policy Third parties may collect metadata from the OBPS Repository via automated mechanisms and facilitate end-user services to support the dissemination and retrieval of the repository’s content. It is the policy of the OBPS to allow the harvesting of metadata, but to explicitly prohibit the automated harvesting of the full text content of the intellectual works in the OBPS repository.
11. Preservation The Preservation policy for OBPS Repository documents:
