Chapter 9 Introducing Data Collections

The CWD Data Warehouse provides data storage and management functionality for CWD sample and test data, as well as other related datasets for CWD surveillance, management, and response. Data stored in the Warehouse can be used in analyses (models), visualizations, and summaries.

In the Warehouse, data are stored in “Collections” (which are conceptually analogous to tables in relational databases). Currently, there are six Collections in the Warehouse.

Collection	Description
Sample	cervid tissue samples collected for CWD testing
Cervid facility	captive cervid facilities including cervid farms, hunting enclosures, and other types of sites used to contain, manage, and/or propagate cervids
Processor	businesses and private individuals that process hunter-harvested deer; includes meat processors and taxidermists
Demography	cervid population demographic metrics commonly used for population and epidemiological modeling summarized per sub-administrative area
Agency expense	CWD surveillance program expenses, such as testing, shipping, transportation, and staffing costs per sub-administrative area
Annual surveillance	surveillance quotas and sampling weights per sub-administrative area per season-year

9.1 Data Access

Access to data, including the abilities to create, read, update, and delete data, is controlled by the user management system. It is strongly recommended that Provider Administrators familiarize themselves with user roles and permissions before allowing users access to the CWD Data Warehouse.

All Provider Users (except those with the Disabled role) have permission to “read” or view all Collection data with the exception of Sample records marked as Confidential. Provider Users may be given additional privileges to create, update, and delete records through the assignment of additional Roles.

9.2 Data Entry

All Collections can be accessed and managed using either the CWD Data Warehouse User Interface (UI) or through the Application Programming Interface (API). The UI provides interactive forms for creating, editing, and deleting individual records. The API is intended for advanced applications, such as automated data transfer from other servers. See the API chapter for more information.

Note that while all Collections can be accessed and managed using the UI and API, the Sample Collection has a third option for data management: bulk data import. While the UI and the API are the recommended and preferred options, the bulk data import option has been created for Providers that choose to manage Sample data externally and are not able to make use of the API.

If a Provider chooses to use the bulk import mode, it is assumed that all data management is handled externally. In order to maintain a logical data workflow, the ability to edit and manage data through the UI is disabled.

The bulk import option for Sample data includes a data normalization process, which allows the Provider to import Sample data that does not match the Sample Collection schema. Instead, the data are normalized to match the Sample Collection schema on import. Non-standardized data, for instance, may include field names that do not match the Sample Collection properties, field values that do not match allowed values, or data structures that do not align with the Sample Collection. The bulk import and sample data normalization processes can be set up through the Provider Administration interface. For more information about these features, see the Sample Collection section.