Bulk Upload of Cases in GLOBE

A key function of GLOBE is for researchers to test the representativeness of a collection of case studies (cases) for use in a meta-study. To upload a large batch of cases at once, rather than individually through the normal GLOBE case entry system, here are instructions and a downloadable Bulk Upload Template (Excel file) for researchers interested in uploading 20 cases or more at once. We are glad to help you format and upload large sets of case studies- please contact us at <globe@umbc.edu> with any questions or just to let us know you are preparing a bulk upload.

Instructions for how to upload a bulk collections of cases into GLOBE

1. Compile a set of case studies from reliable sources. This may be a set of cases for a metastudy you are working on, a set of cases from an already published metastudy, or any other set of cases you are interested in uploading to GLOBE for representativeness analysis.
2. Compile appropriate geometries for all case studies. This can be done in a GIS and saved as a .shp file, in Google Earth as a .kml file,  as lat/long coordinates, or a combination. A key element of GLOBE is connecting accurate geometries to case studies, so consider what the most appropriate form of case study representation is when creating your geometries (i.e. latitude/longitude coordinates would not be appropriate geometries to represent large regions or provinces >100 km²; polygon geometries would be the most appropriate). If prepared geometries are not available for cases in your collection, you may go back into GLOBE once the upload is complete and manually enter a geometry.
3. A) Enter your case study metadata into the appropriate fields in the Bulk Upload Template making sure that all your case metadata is in the appropriate column according to the ‘Instructions’ sheet within the template.
   OR
   B) Compile a .RIS file of your case study metadata (**to avoid bulk upload failure, please check your .RIS for accuracy and errors**) and then fill out any other remaining metadata in the Bulk Upload Template (sitename_short, sitename_long, etc.) and list the file extension of the .RIS file. The following fields in the Bulk Upload Template do not need to be manually entered into the template if the .RIS file includes the corresponding metadata for the following columns: SourceType, authorfull, authorfirst, authorlast, doi, paperabstract, keywords, pubtitle, pubissue, pubvolume, pubpages, pubyear. Any remaining fields must be entered manually. Please ensure that the abbreviations in the .RIS file for Source Type ascribe to the list described on the Case Study Source Page. For more information regarding the Entity Types, please see our documentation on GLOBE Geographic Entity Types.
4. Attach case study geometries to the Bulk Upload Template. This can be done one of three ways, or as a combination of methods:
   1. Enter lat/long coordinates (in decimal degrees) into the appropriate fields following the Bulk Upload instructions within the Bulk Upload Template;
   2. Enter .shp file name into the “Geomfilename” column, followed by the Study_id (column 3) which must be a unique integer identifier specific to each individual case study (see Bulk Upload instructions in the Bulk Upload Template for more detailed instructions).
   3. Enter .kml file name into the “Geomfilename” column, followed by the Study_id (column 3) which must be a unique integer identifier specific to each individual case study (see Bulk Upload instructions in the Bulk Upload Template for more detailed instructions)
5. All required fields in the Bulk Upload Template must be populated. In the event that a cell is left blank, please code the cell according to the scheme below:
   1. If data is unknown for a required cell, please code as “unknown”
   2. If there is no appropriate data for a required cell, please code as “none”
   3. In the event you plan to manually enter case geometries for case studies using the GLOBE mapping tools after the bulk upload, please code as “TBD” in the “Geomfilename” column. Please note this code is ONLY appropriate for case geometries and must be listed specifically in the “Geomfilename” column.
6. Check to ensure that all fields in all rows and columns for each case study are accurately entered and then send your completed Bulk Upload Template to GLOBE (globe@umbc.edu) for checking.  At this point the GLOBE case study team (user = caseteam) will bulk upload your bulk of case studies and each case will receive case quality scores.  The GLOBE caseteam will alert you when your cases are online and ready for your approval.
7. Once your case studies are approved and uploaded as cases in GLOBE, the GLOBE caseteam will transfer ownership of all the cases to your username.  At this point you must verify the accuracy of each case using the GLOBE auditing interface and officially commit it to the GLOBE system. If you used the “TBD” code for case geometries, you will also need to draw geometries for case studies in GLOBE prior to committing the cases.  Once your cases are committed, they are ready to be shared with the GLOBE community (if you so wish) and  to be used in GLOBE’s similarity and representativeness analyses. The GLOBE caseteam recommends that you create a collection for your bulk uploaded cases and that you add each of your cases to that collection before attempting any analyses.  Then publish your collection with a DOI!