Precise Data Identification Services for Long Tail Research Data

While sophisticated research infrastructures assist scientists in managing massive volumes of data, the so-called long tail of research data frequently suffers from a lack of such services. This is mostly due to the complexity caused by the variety of data to be managed and a lack of easily standardiseable procedures in highly diverse research settings. Yet, as even domains in this long tail of research data are increasingly data-driven, scientists need efficient means to precisely communicate, which version and subset of data was used in a particular study to enable reproducibility and comparability of result and foster data re-use. This paper presents three implementations of systems supporting such data identification services for comma separated value (CSV) files, a dominant format for data exchange in these settings. The implementations are based on the recommendations of the Working Group on Dynamic Data Citation of the Research Data Alliance (RDA). They provide implicit change tracking of all data modifications, while precise subsets are identified via the respective subsetting process. These enhances reproducibility of experiments and allows efficient sharing of specific subsets of data even in highly dynamic data settings.