A Plea for Publishing without Loss of Data
G. Kaupp*, M. Haak,
Universität Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg
kaupp@kaupp.chemie.uni-oldenburg.de
H.-J. Schneider
Universität des Saarlandes, 66041 Saarbrücken
ch12hs@rz.uni-sb.de
H. Schmelz
'ThS-tech', 72076 Tübingen
Schmelz@thstech.com
Abstract
Present habits of publication (print and electronic) are
unsuitable in experimental sciences if they restrict
themselves to fulltext with links and pixel graphics,
because all primary data are lost. Primary high-tech data
are highly interactive at the site of data production. The
tools for their full communication for critical analyses,
use and data mining are available and so are the data
storage capacities, but these features are not yet used in
publications, even though the feasibility is amply shown
in databases and in the internet. It is tried to change this
disastrous situation in a comprehensive way by pointing
to the available data-interactive publishing devices. This
covers fully interactive hypermolecules, hyperspectra,
chemometric data sets, and complex 3D-objects. The data
formats are XML/CML and the widespread
PDB/VRML/JCAMP-DX standards rather than
TIFF/GIF/JPEG projections. The present hesitancy of
authors and publishers to accept the superior techniques
has to be overcome by teaching, advertizing and various
helps.
Keywords: data-interactive electronic publishing; primary
data; molecular modelling; spectra; chemometrics; future
data mining; 3D-objects; teaching; acceptance; guidance
pages
Common (electronic) publication techniques lead to
severe losses of primary scientific data. Such uneconomic
losses are no longer tolerable in view of modern
possibilities of publishing and of the public sponsoring of
science with the money of tax-paying people. However,
many publishers and in particular authors shrink from
G. Gauglitz
Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen
guenter.gauglitz@ipc.uni-tuebingen
R. Moll
CASAF Computerchemie GmbH, 04425 Taucha
Dr.Rainer.Moll@t-online.de
T. Fröhlich
Lab Control GmbH, 50858 Köln
tf@labcontrol.com
applying new and appropriate technologies. The
availability of mass storage devices and innumerable
communication tools in the internet and tools for
interaction at the sites of the data producing instruments
or in huge databases makes it timely to start with
publication of full scientific data for interactive use and
future data mining rather than continuing with disclosure
of only one tiny snapshot of them. We thus present an
outline of a new culture of academic publishing. This
paper addresses the interactive handling of molecular
structures that is the basis of molecular modelling, the
interactive treatment of 2D-data such as spectra, the needs
of chemometrics, the full disclosure of 3D-data for
interaction, and the motivation of authors for disclosure of
their complete data that must be supported by the help of
the journal editors who have to supply technical tools.
Feasibility will be demonstrated by live online demos.
The delay of interactive electronic publishing is incredible
in view of the widespread capabilities at the sites of data
production or at private homepages in the internet or in
non-public data collections. It is surprising that authors
experience difficulties if they wish to publish their
primary interactive data in electronic or in internet
journals. Usually, neither PDB, nor VRML, nor JCAMP
formats are offered or supported by the editors. Thus, the
natural sciences must now show the feasibility of
interactive publishing by a number of pioneering demos
and point to their added value prior to the full
establishment of emerging standards like CML, MatML,
TechML, and prior to the articulation of particular
publication needs in social sciences, humanities, medicine
with numerous interactive diagnostic as well as teaching
tools, and informatics. We suggest to start with presently
used and accepted standards in order to finally getting
started and to support the actions of W3C or MPEG-7.