Data Request Procedure

Overview

This page is intended to document the procedure for requesting data from the Western Air Quality Data Warehouse.

The basic procedure is defined as follows:

Register for a user account
Access the Data Request Form
Provide Basic Parameters
Provide Details regarding intended use
Select Data
Submit Request. Request submission does not need to happen right away. Progress is saved and a user may return to their request at any time.
Await request approval and contact from the warehouse team.

Data Request Form

The Data Request form can be accessed at the following URL: http://views.cira.colostate.edu/DEMO1/DataRequest/DataRequest.aspx

The Request form consists of:

A status overview showing the current status of the request.
A number of actions available based on the current status of the request and the role of the user currently viewing the request. Actions affect the status of the request. Hovering your mouse over an action button will provide a definition of that action.
A number of collapsible sections containing various input fields and information. Each section is described in detail within this document.
Data Request Form

Basic Parameters

The Basic Parameters input section consists of the following fields

Project: Projects are detailed in another section of this page. This field shows any projects that the current user has been assigned to. There is also an option of "Unspecified" to allow any registered user to initiate a data request.
Requestor: Displays the Name and Organization of the data requestor.
Data Use Agreement: Describes the terms of use for the requested data.
"I Agree" Checkbox: Checking this box is required to signify acceptance of the Data Use Agreement. This box must be checked prior to submission.

Request Details

Data Selection

The Data Selection section is divided into three regions. On the left is a tree showing a hierarchical view of data available to be requested. On the right is a table showing the data elements currently attached to the request. At the bottom is an Information section which displays additional info about nodes in the tree.

Data can be added to or removed from the request by checking or un-checking tree nodes. Data can also be removed by clicking the "Remove" links in the table on the right. The header at the top of the section indicates the volume in bytes and number of files for data currently attached to the request.

The divider between the Tree and Table can be moved by clicking and dragging on the light grey sections of the divider bar. The sections can be toggled by clicking the dark grey section in the center of the divider bar.

Data Browser Tree

The data housed in the warehouse is arranged in a categorical hierarchy like a computer file system.

Clicking the + or - icon on a tree node will expand that node to show sub categories.

Clicking on the icon for a tree node will display additional information about that node in the Information section below the tree, including the data volume for that category.

Clicking the check box on a node will add or remove that category and its subcategories from the request.

Clicking on underlined text of a node will open another web page with more details about the data within that node.

Data Availability

Some nodes within the Data Browser Tree or rows in the Data Selection table may display red text which says UNAVAILABLE. There are many reasons this may occur. Unavailable data may still be requested but it cannot be delivered until it is made available.

Data Selection Table

The table at the right side of the data selection section shows an overview of data attached to the current request. The table is divided into sections by Category. Categories are nodes in the tree and contain files and directories on the warehouse file system.

The Data selection table allows removing data from the request.

Clicking the Remove link next to a category (A grey section header) will remove all files within that category from the request.
Clicking the Remove link next to a file or directory will remove only that file or directory from the request.
Clicking the Remove All link in the upper left will remove all data from the request.

The data selection table only shows an overview of the data attached to the request; it does not show every individual file. To get a detailed, file level listing of selected data click the Download Detailed Manifest button.

Download Detailed Manifest

The Data Selection Table only displays an overview of the data attached to a given request. Clicking the Download Detailed Manifest button will download a csv file listing every individual file attached to the request.

Download Transfer Script

This option is only available to Administrators. Clicking this button will download a shell script consisting of copy statements to allow warehouse administrators to transfer the requested data to a disk local to the warehouse.

Download WGET Script

This option is only available to Administrators. Clicking this button will download a shell script consisting of wget statements to allow a remote user to download the requested data via FTP. If the requester wishes to receive data via FTP warehouse administrators will use this button to generate the script and deliver the script to the requester. Note to administrators: anonymous FTP is currently disabled on the warehouse server.

Request History

The request history section shows the status history include when a status was set, who set the status and a note relating to the status. Statuses are set using the Action buttons near the top of the form. For more information about Statuses and Actions see the Data Request Lifecycle section of this document.

Data Request Lifecycle

From the time a data request is started through to its completion it will transition through a number of relevant statuses. Also the responsibility for handling the request step will change hands. The current status of a Data Request is shown near the top of the Data Request form. The following diagram shows all of the statuses which a request may assume as well as who is responsible for setting that status. For example a Data Requestor is responsible for Staring a request (Status Started) as well as submitting it (Status Submitted).

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Statuses and Actions

Near the top of the Data Request Form is a section titled Actions. This section contains action buttons which modify the request status and transition the responsibility for the request. The actions that are visible depend upon the role of the person viewing the page, as well as the current status of the request. Some actions will prompt the user to supply a note. For example if a Project Manager marks a request as incomplete they will be expected to provide an explanation so that the requestor can complete the request. The following table defines the various request statuses and the actions which trigger them.

Status	Action	Description	Note Required
Started	Change Order	Data Request is pending requestor input, data selection, and submission	No
Submitted	Submit	Requestor has provided input and submitted the request for approval by warehouse team	No
Approved	Approve	Request has been reviewed and meets criteria for fulfillment. Warehouse team will begin fulfillment.	No
Disapproved	Disapprove	Request has been reviewd and denied. Request will not be fulfilled.	Yes
Request Incomplete	Mark Request Incomplete	Request has been reviewed and found to be incomplete. More information is required from requestor.	Yes
Filling	Begin Filling	Warehouse team is working to fulfill the request.	No
Filled	Mark as Filled	Warehouse team has prepared data for delivery.	No
Data Delivered	Mark as Delivered	Warehouse team has delivered data to the requestor. Requestor should confirm that data has been received.	No
Data Received	Confirm Receipt	Data has been received by requestor but has not been reviewed.	No
Data Incomplete	Requested data missing	Delivered data is incomplete per request. Some requested data is missing	Yes
Data Accepted	Data Accepted	Delivered data is complete and sufficient. Requestor is satisfied.	No
Completed	Complete	Request is complete and considered archived.	No
Canceled	Cancel	Request has been abandoned by user.	No

Finding Your Data Requests

To find a Data Request that you have navigated away from log in to the warehouse and click the "Your Account" link in the upper right. Your profile page will display a listing of your requests.

Projects

Projects serve as containers to group multiple requests and users for a related purpose. Projects can only be created by designated Project Managers. Warehouse administrators are responsible for applying Project Manager status as needed. A Project is NOT required to initiate a data request. Direct requests can be issued by any registered user. Direct requests are contained within a project titled "Unspecified"

Roles

Registered User / Data Requestor

Any user registered for the site

View (Read-only) all projects
View (Read-only) all Data Requests
Issue data requests.

Edit Data Requests they have created

Submit Data requests they have created

Sign-off Data requests they have created

Project Collaborator / Team Member

A Registered User who has been added to a project by the Project Manager

View (read-only) all projects
Issue data requests within a Project they have been assigned to.
Edit Data Requests they have created
Submit Data requests they have created
Sign-off Data requests they have created

Project Manager

A Registered user who is also a member of a 3SDW cooperating agency (BLM, EPA, NPS, etc). Project Managers regulate access to warehouse data and monitor the data transfer progress. Project Managers may also submit Data Requests

Create new projects
Edit projects they manage
View (read-only) all projects
Issue data requests within a project they manage
Assign registered users to a project they manage

Administrator

Administrators are warehouse staff who are responsible for monitoring and fulfilling data requests.

Create new projects
Edit any project
Edit any data request