fix(Data): For oyster measurements data downloaded as a csv, make it more machine readable- currently multiple data points appear in one cell.

[haflanagan]

On the Data>Download page, when you download the data as a csv and view it in a spreadsheet application like Excel, for certain parameters like "oyster measurements," some cells will contain multiple data points. Take a look at the "oyster measurements" download:

Most cells contain one data point- for example, the total number of live oysters on Substrate Shell 1. But the "Measurements (mm)" row includes the length of all the oysters on one substrate shell, separated by commas within the cell.

To fix this, I'm inclined to think that there should be two separate oyster measurements downloads. One csv should contain information for each of the 10 substrate shells, including:

• Total number of live oysters at baseline
• Total mass of live oysters at baseline (g)
• Total number of live oysters on shell
• Total mass of scrubbed substrate shell + oysters + tag (g)
• Minimum size of live oysters (mm)
• Maximum size of live oysters (mm)
• Average size of live oysters (mm)

So this spreadsheet would look something like this:

The second download should contain the length of each oyster measured, with each measurement appearing in a separate cell. So it would look something like this (this view is with the rows and columns transposed as per #572 )

[irag]

Since I began measuring the oysters, I wondered what was done with the measurements. How the data is presented has great bearing on how its used. Often I've seen that it is desirous to download data into Excel because the data is not presented well online or there is no report that formats the data as it is needed and the feeling is that Excel is a more flexible environment.

[haflanagan]

@irag Personally, I'd like to do a lot more with how we present and visualize BOP data, especially to create more accessible forms of scientific communications for lay people (for example, heat maps). Internally, we use the data in several ways, but one more interesting aspect is that the platform allows us to see which people/communities are the most engaged, which is a good sign that we'd have community support if we got the funding for a larger reef installation in that area. (Community support can really make or break a restoration project.)

But to your other point, our staff scientists do find it frustrating that for some data points, multiple values appear in one cell. One of our scientists just started at the organization this past summer (when the platform was already built), so some of the issues I've listed in Github represent their feedback.