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Contributing Data

Become a Data Provider​

The Helmholtz Knowledge Graph (HKG) aggregates metadata from diverse Helmholtz data repositories, libraries, publication systems, and research information systems into a coherent, linked, and queryable representation.

To further increase coverage across Helmholtz, we continuously seek to integrate metadata from additional data providers. Our focus is on publicly available metadata from Helmholtz hosted data and information structures describing:

  • data and datasets
  • scientific instruments and facilities
  • software and source code
  • scientific publications and documents
  • other entities supporting research and infrastructure operations

Integrating your metadata will increase the visibility of your infrastrcuture as well as the interoperabiltiy of your metadata with that of others. This imporoves the coherene and interoperabiliy of the Helmholtz digital ecosystem and the digital assets within it.

How to Provide Data​

The Helmholtz KG supports multiple ingestion methods based on widely used standards and interfaces. Depending on your infrastructure, metadata can be integrated via:

We aim to rely on established and reusable patterns rather than custom integrations wherever possible. See the detailed documentation on our ingestion methods and the semantics used within the Helmholtz KG infrastructure.

Check Existing Data Providers​

Before initiating a new integration, we recommend reviewing the list of current data providers too the HelmholtzKG. This gives you and overview of currently harvested and represented sources as well as their integration patterns.

👉 [List of current Data Sources](docs/DataProv/Data Sources.mdx)

Getting in Touch​

If you are interested in integrating your data, please contact the Helmholtz KG team. The following options are available:

To help us assess and plan the integration, please provide:

  • a short description of your data source
  • the types of entities covered (e.g. datasets, software, instruments)
  • information about how the metadata can be accessed (API, OAI-PMH endpoint, website, etc.)
  • the metadata schema or structure used

If your metadata already follows Schema.org, it can typically be integrated with minimal effort. If not, you may propose a mapping from your schema to the Helmholtz KG data model. The HKG team will support the formalization of this mapping using SSSOM (Simple Standard for Sharing Ontological Mappings) within our infrastructure upon which a designated harvesting pipline can be established.

Collaborative integration process​

Throughout the integration process, data providers can remain closely involved, if they want. We offer regular exchange points, feedback loops, and review opportunities to ensure that the mapping and representation of your data meet your expectations. The process is collaborative by design, allowing for alignment and adjustments as the integration evolves.

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