Vaatlusandmed

Vaatlusandmed, estonian for “observation data,” are data collected through systematic observation of phenomena, objects, or processes. They form the basis for describing states and changes over time.

Sources include field notes by researchers, instrument readings from sensors, satellite or aircraft remote sensing, videos or images, and structured survey responses. Data are often timestamped and linked to a contextual identifier such as location or subject.

Typical formats include structured tabular data with variables, units, and metadata; free-text notes; and multimedia records. Metadata covers collection method, instrument calibration, sampling design, geographic coordinates, and data quality notes.

Collection and management involve designing sampling strategies, ensuring data quality through validation and cleaning, calibrating instruments, and documenting provenance. Integration from multiple sources may require harmonization of variables and units.

Applications span environmental monitoring, epidemiology, ecology, astronomy, social sciences, and public administration. Vaatlusandmed support trend analysis, forecasting, monitoring of compliance, and evidence-based decision making.

Ethical and legal considerations include privacy when observations involve people, informed consent, data anonymization, and compliance with applicable data protection laws. Reproducibility is aided by detailed metadata and transparent data processing.

Access and sharing are facilitated by data repositories and open-data initiatives. Adherence to standards and licensing (for example, FAIR data principles) improves discoverability and reuse.