In this video segment, we will create a dataset on the Ag Data Commons. To begin, click the Submit Dataset button in the upper right of the screen. This opens a window with the Create Dataset form that you can fill out. Primary Information is at the top, and several other expandable content sections are further down the form. Click on any of these sections to open the section and fill out as needed. We will review each of these sections in separate videos. Begin by filling in Primary Information. In order to save the dataset, the Title, Description, and Author fields must be filled out. Saving without filling out these fields results in an error and the dataset will not be saved. The TITLE should be descriptive, but not too long – you are limited to about 120 characters total here. If the data is from an article or manuscript, format your title DATA FROM: and then the title of the article. Your DESCRIPTION should include information about the data, including how and why it was generated and how it should or should not be used. The more detail, the better. We have some tips for filling out the Submission Form in our Submission Manual, we will review that in another video, and most fields have some sort of help text in or below the field to explain how to fill them out. If your dataset already has a Digital Object Identifier from somewhere else, you can add that DOI in here. If not, we will mint one for you so you can leave this field blank. If you add a DOI, do not include the full web address, but only include the number that begins with 10-point-something... I do not have a DOI yet, so I will leave that blank so the Ag Data Commons can get one for the dataset once it is approved. Next, you should add your dataset AUTHOR or authors. You can enter an organization if no individuals can be credited with the authorship of this data by checking the AUTHOR IS ORGANIZATION box. In the NAME field, format names as Last name, comma, First name and middle initial, with a period after any initials.

For each Author, I will add an Author ID if one exists. There are several types to choose from in the dropdown menu under AUTHOR ID KIND, including ORCID, Scopus, and Google Scholar. We prefer ORCIDs, but will accept any from this list. In the Author ID field, I will add the appropriate ID number. I can add multiple Authors by clicking the ADD ANOTHER ITEM box. These authors do not need to be listed in the same order as they are in the related paper. ISO Topics are keywords used by data.gov. Choose at least one from the list in the dropdown menu. Multiple are allowed. Product Type can be left blank if you are sharing a dataset, but for anything else like a Database or Software Tool, make sure that is filled in accordingly. This first section of the submission form is the minimum information you need in order to save the dataset. At this point, you can scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the SAVE button to save your dataset. Even though you have to fill out the rest of the form, I recommend saving at this point and periodically as you work to guard against losing progress. You can always revisit and edit your dataset at a later time once it is saved. The EDIT button at the top of the page will allow you to make additions or changes at any point moving forward. Every time you edit and make a change to your dataset, save your work. https://data.nal.usda.gov.