Runtime view

This section describes the concrete behaviour, interactions, and pathways that data take within the Seedcase framework. “Runtime” in this case refers to how the software works “in action”.

Data input

For a detailed description of the expected types of input data and the different ways users can upload data to the Seedcase framework, see the Data Input section.

Requesting data

There are two main ways to request for data from a Data Resource managed by Seedcase:

  1. Submitting an application to request data, which will create a new data project.
  2. Re-using parts of an existing data project.
Figure 1: Logged in user who is requesting data from a Data Resource.
The “alt” box shows the alternative workflows depending on whether the user requests a new data projects or re-uses an existing data project for the request.

Applying for a new data project

Users who want to request data can browse the metadata, which includes a list of variables and datasets available as well as a data dictionary and changelog, in the Seedcase-managed Data Resource. Similar to an online shopping cart, users who want specific variables in the Data Resource will be able to select them from the list of variables. These selected variables will go into the request application as a new data project, which would be used to automate the data extraction process. In order to add the variables to a new data project application, the user would have to be registered and logged in.

Aside from the selected list of requested variables, the user would need to write some information about the rationale for and intended use of the data as well as other project-specific metadata.

Admin users would approve any new data project applications. When an application is approved, it would trigger automated processes to run the data extraction and subsetting process. It would also bundle it and prepare it for transfer to the applicant user’s secure server or other location where the data will be stored. Admin users can also modify the application form to comply with local regulations and legal requirements, such as removing or adding variables (apart from the variable list), that may be required.

The user can update the data project at any point in the data project’s life-cycle. This includes requesting more variables or modifying the data project description and aim. The admin users would then need to approve these updates.

Re-using an existing data project

Because data projects are stored (and optionally displayed on the Web Portal) as JSON or other machine-readable format, users who want to copy and modify an existing data project can extract and use the details from that project as part of a new data project. The data projects listing on the Web Portal will include a button to either download the JSON metadata or to copy the project into a new data project application.

Browsing projects and results

There are at least three routes, we anticipate the External User might take when browsing the Data Resource:

  1. Reading about the Data Resource, its history, organizational structure and ownership, and any other details in a typical “About” section.
  2. Browsing the completed and ongoing projects that are using or have used the Data Resource, including viewing some of the basic results of the completed projects.
  3. Viewing some basic aggregate statistics of some key variables in the Data Resource. The aggregate statistics would be generated programmatically.