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data-nosnippet></div> <div user-menu data-nosnippet></div> <div menu-search data-nosnippet></div> <div language-menu data-nosnippet></div> <main id="main" class="main" role="main" ui-view> <div class="site-content"> <div class="fab" fab> <div class="fab__trigger"> <a href="" class="action-flow btn btn-lg btn-highlight btn-circle" tooltip="Share"><i class="gb-icon-share"></i></a> </div> <ul class="fab__options"> <li> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gbif.org/%2Fdataset-classes" onclick="window.open('https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gbif.org/%2Fdataset-classes', 'newwindow', 'width=600, height=350'); return false;" class="action-flow btn btn-lg btn-highlight btn-circle" tooltip="facebook"> <i class="gb-icon-facebook"></i> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Dataset%20classes" onclick="window.open('https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Dataset%20classes', 'newwindow', 'width=600, height=350'); return false;" class="action-flow btn btn-lg btn-highlight btn-circle" tooltip="twitter"> <i class="gb-icon-twitter"></i> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.gbif.org/%2Fdataset-classes" onclick="window.open('https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gbif.org/%2Fdataset-classes', 'newwindow', 'width=600, height=350'); return false;" class="action-flow btn btn-lg btn-highlight btn-circle" tooltip="linkedin"> <i class="gb-icon-linkedin"></i> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="site-content__page"> <div> <div> <article class="wrapper-horizontal-stripes"> <div class="horizontal-stripe article-header white-background"> <header class="text-center"> <h1 dir="auto">Dataset classes </h1> <div class="article-header__intro" dir="auto"> <p>The four classes of datasets supported by GBIF start simply and become progressively richer, more structured and more complex</p> </div> </header> </div> <div class="horizontal-stripe--paddingless white-background"> <figure class="heading-image"> <div class="cover-image"> <img ng-src="//api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/1170x422/http:%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fuo17ejk9rkwj%2FVmH7xgOnKKsAMYKwCCwI4%2F131a0550fb8a57ec6294dea73a845f5d%2F2880612584_17e0f51080_o.jpg" alt="Biodiversity" gallery-image> </div> <figcaption class="container--narrow" dir="auto"> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vidyo/2880612584">Biodiversity</a> by RayMorris1 licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a>. </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="horizontal-stripe white-background"> <div class="container--narrow"> <div class="body-text--markdown" dir="auto"> <p>We encourage data holders to publish the richest data possible to ensure their use across a wider range of research approaches and questions, but not every dataset includes information at the same level of detail. Sharing what is available through GBIF.org is valuable, because even partial information answers some important questions.</p> <p>Below are descriptions of the four classes of datasets currently supported by GBIF.</p> <p><a name="metadata"></a></p> <h3 id="_resources-metadata">Resources metadata</h3> <p>At its simplest level, GBIF.org allows institutions to create datasets describing undigitized resources like those in natural history and other collections. All three other dataset classes include this basic information, but this ‘metadata-only’ class offers researchers a valuable tool for discovering and learning about evidence not yet available online. They can also help assess the relative importance and value of undigitized collections and set priorities for future digitization. As with all datasets, GBIF ensures that each metadata dataset is associated with a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to streamline data users’ citation of these resources.</p> <ul> <li><a href="/dataset/search?type=METADATA">Browse metadata-only datasets</a></li> </ul> <p><a name="checklists"></a></p> <h3 id="_checklist-data">Checklist data</h3> <p>Datasets can also provide a catalogue or list of named organisms, or taxa. While they may include additional details like local species names or specimen citations, these ‘checklists’ typically categorize information along taxonomic, geographic, and thematic lines, or some combination of the three. For example, a dataset that catalogues the Red Listed molluscs of Seychelles has distinct elements of taxonomy (the phylum Mollusca), geography (the island nation of Seychelles) and theme (species deemed imperiled by IUCN experts). Checklists function as a rapid summary or baseline inventory of taxa in a given context.</p> <ul> <li><a href="/dataset/search?type=CHECKLIST">Browse checklists</a></li> <li><a href="https://ipt.gbif.org/manual/en/ipt/2.5/checklist-data#templates">DwC-A template for checklists</a></li> <li><a href="/data-quality-requirements-checklists">Data quality requirements for checklists</a></li> </ul> <p><a name="occurrences"></a></p> <h3 id="_occurrence-data">Occurrence data</h3> <p>Other datasets published through GBIF.org have sufficiently consistent detail to contribute information about the location of individual organisms in time and space—that is, they offer evidence of the occurrence of a species (or other taxon) at a particular place on a specified date. Occurrence datasets make up the core of data published through GBIF.org, and examples can range from specimens and fossils in natural history collections, observations by field researchers and citizen scientists, and data gathered from camera traps or remote-sensing satellites.</p> <p>Occurrence records in these datasets sometimes provide only general locality information, sometimes simply identifying the country, but in many cases more precise locations and geographic coordinates support fine-scale analysis and mapping of species distributions.</p> <ul> <li><a href="/dataset/search?type=OCCURRENCE">Browse occurrence datasets</a></li> <li><a href="https://ipt.gbif.org/manual/en/ipt/2.5/occurrence-data#templates">DwC-A template for occurrence datasets</a></li> <li><a href="/data-quality-requirements-occurrences">Data quality requirements for occurrences</a></li> </ul> <p><a name="samplingevents"></a></p> <h3 id="_sampling-event-data">Sampling-event data</h3> <p>Datasets sometimes provide greater detail, not only offering evidence that a species occurred at a given location and date, but also making it possible to assess community composition for broader taxonomic groups or even the abundance of species at multiple times and places. These quantitative or sampling-event datasets typically derive from standard protocols for measuring and monitoring biodiversity like vegetation transects, bird censuses and freshwater or marine sampling.</p> <p>By indicating the methods, events and relative abundance of species recorded in a sample, these datasets improve comparisons with data collected using the same protocols at different times and places—in some cases, even leading researchers to infer the absence of particular species from particular sites.</p> <ul> <li><a href="/sampling-event-data">Introduction to sampling-event data</a></li> <li><a href="/dataset/search?type=SAMPLING_EVENT">Browse sampling-event datasets</a></li> <li><a href="https://ipt.gbif.org/manual/en/ipt/2.5/sampling-event-data#templates">DwC-A template for sampling-event datasets</a></li> <li><a href="/data-quality-requirements-sampling-events">Data quality requirements for sampling events</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="article-auxiliary prose-columns smaller"> <div> <section class="no-break ng-cloak"> <h3 translate="cms.auxiliary.subject"></h3> <ul class="list-chips"> <li class="list-chips__category uppercase-first"> {{'resourceSearch.filters.audiences' | translate}}: </li> <li> <a href="/resource/search?audiences=DATA_HOLDERS">Data holders</a> </li> <li class="list-chips__category uppercase-first"> {{'resourceSearch.filters.purposes' | translate}}: </li> <li> <a href="/resource/search?purposes=DATA_PUBLISHING">Data publishing</a> </li> </ul> </section> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <footer class="site-footer wrapper-horizontal-stripes" data-nosnippet> <div class="horizontal-stripe light-background site-footer__upper"> <div class="container--normal"> <nav class="site-footer__menu"> <div> <a href="/what-is-gbif">What is GBIF?</a> <a href="/developer/summary">API</a> <a href="/faq">FAQ</a> <a href="/newsletters">Newsletter</a> <a href="/terms/privacy-policy">Privacy</a> <a href="/terms">Terms and agreements</a> <a href="/citation-guidelines">Citation</a> <a href="/code-of-conduct">Code of Conduct</a> <a href="/acknowledgements">Acknowledgements</a> </div> <div> <a href="/contact-us">Contact</a> <span> <span href=""><span>GBIF Secretariat </span>Universitetsparken 15</span> <span href="">DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø</span> <span href="">Denmark</span> </span> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="horizontal-stripe site-footer__gbc p-t-1 p-b-1" style="background: #5b5b5b;"> <div class="container--normal"> <nav class="site-footer__menu"> <div style="margin: 0;"> <a href="/news/6PHdgoyIF6RmI7u4VOouuD"> <img src="/img/gbc.svg" style="max-height: 40px; padding: 0 24px;" /> <span style="font-weight: 500;">GBIF</span> <span> is a Global Core Biodata Resource</span> </a> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="horizontal-stripe site-footer__lower"> <div class="container--normal text-center"> <div class="site-footer__social"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gbifnews" class="btn btn-lg btn-circle"><i class="gb-icon-facebook"></i></a> <a href="https://ecoevo.social/@gbif" rel="me" class="btn btn-lg btn-circle"><i class="gb-icon-mastodon"></i></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GBIF" class="btn btn-lg btn-circle"><i class="gb-icon-twitter"></i></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/gbif" class="btn btn-lg btn-circle"><i class="gb-icon-linkedin"></i></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/GBIFvideo" class="btn btn-lg btn-circle"><i class="gb-icon-youtube"></i></a> <a href="https://vimeo.com/gbif" class="btn btn-lg btn-circle"><i class="gb-icon-vimeo"></i></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gbifs/" class="btn btn-lg btn-circle"><i class="gb-icon-instagram"></i></a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="horizontal-stripe site-footer__bottom"> <div class="container--normal text-center"> <img src="/img/full_logo_white.svg"> </div> </div> </footer> <div gdpr data-nosnippet></div> </div> <div gb-help-overlay data-nosnippet></div> <script type="text/ng-template" id="dropdown.html"> <a href="" dir="auto"> <span ng-bind-html="match.label | uibTypeaheadHighlight:query"></span> </a> </script> <script> window.gb = window.gb || {}; window.gb.locale = 'en'; window.gb.urlPrefix = ''; window.gb.buildVersion = '1732095196332'; </script> <script src="/js/environment.js?v=1732095196332"></script> <script src="/js/base/vendor.js?v=1732095196332"></script> <script src="/js/base/custom.js?v=1732095196332"></script> </body> </html>