Beginner Tutorial: Research Object Crates (RO-Crate) and Describo
Get know Describo and how it creates RO-Crates in 5 minutes!
Introduction
The RO-Crate specification describes "a method of aggregating and describing research data with associated metadata". https://www.researchobject.org/ro-crate/1.1/introduction.html
In this 5 minute tutorial, you will get started describing your data as RO-Crates!
Audience: about you
You've heard about these nifty RO-Crate things and want to start describing your data in an open and spec conformant way. Maybe you can explain what JSON-LD is and maybe you've looked at the spec but your core interest here is that you want to describe your research data.
Useful links where you can learn more
(this is just for reference, you won't be tested on this)
Start Describo Desktop or the Describo web application
This tutorial can be completed with either Describo Desktop or Describo Web. For ease, Web is easiest to get started with:
https://describo.github.io/web(Remember, it only works in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge for now.)
TIP
Describo web is good for getting started quickly and easily. You can inspect an RO-Crate and load profiles to work with the data. It does not have the capabilities of Describo Desktop but for basic usage, that's not needed.
In the application, select a folder to describe.
Apply the RO-Crate profile
The main description view. A default RO-Crate describo profile has been created for you.
Apply the profile.
Profile Selector
The profile selector. Locate the RO-Crate profile and select it.
Describe your data
When the RO-Crate profile has been applied, you will be presented with a view that contains the absolute bare minimum required to describe your data as an RO-Crate.
Useful information
Go further: describe more
Click the add button in the toolbar and inject properties into the data.
The properties you can inject come from schema.org and the describo profile if one is applied. They are defined on the type of data you are working with. In this case a Dataset. When you add the property Describo will tell you what type of data it expects.
Where did that property go?
With a profile that defines a grouped interface, for example the RO-Crate profile, extra properties that you add will be visible in the '...' tab. Don't worry, just remove the profile and you get a list view with all of your properties, sorted alphabetically. Or go back to the tabbed view. Work the way that suits you best.
And that's an RO-Crate!
Well done, you created an RO-Crate by describing your data in a standard, spec compliant way!
