Public and Publishing

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Overview

NAN distinguishes between "public" and "published" datasets to balance accessibility with data integrity and provenance.

Public Datasets

A dataset marked as public is viewable through the data browser by anyone, including users without a NAN account. Authorized users may continue to edit public datasets.

• Users with proper permissions may manually mark datasets as public at any time.
• By policy, datasets are automatically made public three years after archival.
• Within six months of the scheduled public release date, users may opt to extend the release by one additional year.
• The public release date is displayed in the data browser and can be used for sorting and filtering.

Published Datasets

Publishing a dataset performs the following:

• Makes the dataset public
• Creates an immutable, versioned snapshot of the dataset
• Assigns an ARK persistent identifier

The published version includes:

• All dataset files
• Metadata and database records
• Associated samples
• Any supplemental data

The original (parent) dataset remains fully editable. A reference is maintained between the parent and all published versions. If a user requests to publish a dataset that has not changed since the last publication, a new version is not created.

Publishing Dataset Collections

Dataset collections may also be published. When a collection is published:

• Each dataset within the collection is individually published following the same process
• The collection itself receives a dedicated ARK identifier
• The ARK resolves to the published collection view in the data browser

Versioning and Provenance

• When re-publishing a dataset a new version number is created (e.g. V1, V2, V3)
  • If no changes to the dataset have been made since it was last published a new version is not created.
• All changes to datasets are tracked in a provenance record.
• All published versions and the original dataset are linked together so that users can see all versions of a given dataset