Re: [vre_ig] RE: [vre_ig] Re: [vre_ig] Looking for authoritative definitio...

Dear Katherine
Glad that you found it useful. This group came into existence to provide a focal point for this type of discussion.
Kind regards
Helen
From: kathla=***@***.***-groups.org [mailto:***@***.***-groups.org] On Behalf Of kathla
Sent: 22 February 2018 15:42
To: Virtual Research Environment IG (VRE-IG) <***@***.***-groups.org>
Cc: leonardo.candela <***@***.***>
Subject: [vre_ig] Re: [vre_ig] RE: [vre_ig] Re: [vre_ig] Looking for authoritative definitio...
Dear all,
I very much appreciate this conversation, as we (at the Science Gateways Community Institute) just spent about 9 months convincing Wikipedia to allow us a unique entry for Science Gateways (now at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_gateway--hooray!). The initial, curmudgeonly answer we got was that science gateways should be on the "Portals" page. We argued that VRE (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_research_environment) was already an entry (notably describing VREs and VLs as synonymous), and SGs were just as legit, but a term that is more US-based. We thought it would be valuable to direct visitors on SGCI's website (sciencegateways.org) to a definition that could be further developed, embellished, and sustained by the community.
We note in our Wikipedia entry that SGs are labeled with all sorts of other terms, including VRE and VL. The main emphasis that I believe is ever so slightly different is that VRE definitions describe a purpose of collaboration whereas SGs are not so deliberately about enabling collaboration, though they may often include tools for collaboration. Definitions of SGs usually focus on the sharing of resources (often high-end or specialized ones) common to a science or engineering discipline.
I don't claim to be an authority on this at all, so I'd love any input to improve our Wikipedia entry, and if there are ways that our entry on SGs can better connect with or distinguish from VREs, that would be a bonus.
Many thanks for this interesting thread!
Katherine
Katherine Lawrence, PhD
Associate Director, Community Engagement & Exchange
Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI)
sciencegateways.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
University of Michigan School of Information
734.994.7904
***@***.***
------ Original Message ------
From: "Sandra Gesing" <***@***.***>
To: "hardisty" <***@***.***>; "Virtual Research Environment IG (VRE-IG)" <***@***.***-groups.org>
Cc: "Lesley Wyborn" <***@***.***>; "***@***.***" <***@***.***>; "leonardo.candela" <***@***.***>
Sent: 2/22/2018 8:04:09 AM
Subject: Re: [vre_ig] RE: [vre_ig] Re: [vre_ig] Looking for authoritative definitio...
Dear Alex,
that is what I meant that the terms are used differently in communities and people feel different about the terms VREs/SGs/VLs[;-)]
We probably can agree that the goal is almost always the same of such systems: to provide the digital working environment needed for research/teaching in a way that it makes research and the use of computing and data infrastructures easier and more self explanatory under consideration of sustainability, reproducibility and usability.
I certainly agree that different communities connect with each term diverse concepts. The question is more whether we would like to work towards emphasizing the similarities between the systems. This does not hamper to use the different terms and feeds the preferences of communities and funding bodies. As Lesley said: funding bodies are important factors in the communication and they like to see their naming. But discussions at RDA and eResearch Australia between diverse communities elucidated that the goal of the systems is almost always the same.
So my question is more whether it is then important to have different definitions or whether it would be beneficial to find a definition all communities feel their terms rightly addressed.
Thanks,
Sandra
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandra Gesing
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Computational Scientist, Center for Research Computing
University of Notre Dame
http://www3.nd.edu/~sgesing
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On Thu, Feb 22, 2018 at 11:57 AM, hardisty <***@***.***> wrote:
Dear all,
I have a simple view to offer and I’m afraid it doesn’t agree with Sandra’s assertion that the terms are all the same!
I prefer to think in terms of the analogous real-world situation where the physical research environment is the place I go to work everyday i.e., my university department with its multiplicity of offices, lecture theatres, laboratories, meeting rooms, etc. Depending upon what I’m doing at any particular time of the day I move around, spending time in one or more of those places – for example, a laboratory where I carry out my experiments, collect my data, etc.
I think the same relation holds between VRE and VLs – the latter is a specialised component of the former. Thus, my perception of a VRE is close to the JISC definition Keith mentions.
My (and my co-authors) definition of VL is close to the Australian one, and you can find it in doi: 10.1186/s12898-016-0103-y is: “… a web-enabled software application that brings the digital, Internet-based data resources (which may include data collections, databases, sensors and/or other instruments) together with processing and analytical tools needed to carry out “in silico” or “e-science” work. As in a real laboratory, the essence of a virtual laboratory is providing the capability to carry out experimental work as a sequence of interconnected work processes i.e., a workflow. Data and tools are combined harmoniously to present a consistent joined-up computer-based work environment to the scientist user. The laboratory keeps track of the details of experiments designed and executed, as well as creating relevant provenance information about the data and tools used; to assist repeatability and replication of results. A virtual laboratory often also incorporates elements to provide assistance and to support collaborations between persons and across teams. These can include sharing and publishing mechanisms for data, experiments and results, as well as supplemental communications capabilities (either built-in or external) for Web-based audio/video conferencing, email and instant messaging, technical training and support. ”
At the beginning of that published definition I said that VL’s are sometimes known as VREs. It was said in recognition that there is this debate about these terms, in case the reader was already familiar with the VRE term, but having thought about it for a couple more years I now believe the terms are distinctly different concepts. I should add also, that just as with physical laboratories, there are multiple classes of VL from very general to highly specialised, and that it’s possible to classify them on multiple dimensions.
I think the ICSG definition of Science Gateway is sufficiently broad that it can be interpreted as both VRE and VL, although I would and have erred towards it being synonymous with the latter.
Just to put the cat among the pigeons: According to the JISC definition, many (European) research infrastructures could be said to be combination physical / virtual i.e., hybrid research environments. They are environments in which scientists work to observe/collect, curate, publish and process data.
I hope this is useful input.
Kind regards
--
Alex
Alex Hardisty Alex Hardisty
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School of Computer Science and Informatics Yr Ysgol Cyfrifiadureg a Gwybodeg
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From: lesley.wyborn=***@***.***-groups.org [mailto:lesley.wyborn=***@***.***-groups.org] On Behalf Of Lesley Wyborn
Sent: 22 February 2018 10:16
To: Sandra Gesing <***@***.***>; ***@***.***; Virtual Research Environment IG (VRE-IG) <***@***.***-groups.org>
Cc: leonardo.candela <***@***.***>
Subject: Re: [vre_ig] Re: [vre_ig] Looking for authoritative definitions for VRE,...
Dear all
Leo asked for a definition of a VL, so I gave him one from Australia where the term Virtual Laboratory is more widely used.
The term ‘VRE’ is much more common in European, whilst the term ‘Science Gateways’ is more common in the USA.
However, I agree with Sandra.
The last 2 RDA plenaries (Barcelona, Montreal) we have had teams from the US, Australia, and Europe answering questions about how each approach different topics within their respective SG/VL/VREs, and for the most part as Sandra says, we seemed to be describing almost the same thing.
In the end, the consensus was to retain the separate names, because these are in essence the terms by which each are known by the funders/funding schemes in their respective continents of origin. And as we all know, one does not want to cause too much grief for oneself with the funders!
Take care
Lesley
From: <***@***.***-groups.org> on behalf of Sandra Gesing <***@***.***>
Date: Thursday, 22 February 2018 at 8:47 pm
To: Keith Jeffrey <***@***.***>, "Virtual Research Environment IG (VRE-IG)" <***@***.***-groups.org>
Cc: "leonardo.candela" <***@***.***>
Subject: [vre_ig] Re: [vre_ig] Looking for authoritative definitions for VRE, VLab, Science...
Dear Leo, dear Keith,
this is a discussion we haven't solved yet because I think there is a different understanding of VREs/SGs/VLs between the communities. My understanding is that they describe exactly the same systems and not that there are the differences. At least I hope that we get to this understanding instead of searching for distinguishing them from each other.
I hope that helps.
Thanks,
Sandra
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandra Gesing
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Computational Scientist, Center for Research Computing
University of Notre Dame
http://www3.nd.edu/~sgesing
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Thu, Feb 22, 2018 at 10:27 AM, ***@***.*** <***@***.***> wrote:
Leo –
For VRE I rely on the JISC definition at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/implementing-a-virtual-research-environmen... and specifically:
“Virtual Research Environments (VREs) start from a similar premise, providing an integrated suite of teaching and learning, and management and administration tools - whilst also including specialist analytical and research tools. As with all new technologies, much of the nature and direction of VREs is continuing to evolve.”
For SG I rely on ICSG: http://www.icsciencegateways.org/what-is-a-science-gateway/ specifically:
“A Science Gateway (or Virtual Research Environment/Virtual Laboratory) is a community-developed set of tools, applications, and data collections that are integrated through a tailored web-based environment. Often Science Gateways leverage larger scale facilities to increase access and enable collaboration. Gateways can be used to tackle common scientific goals as well as offering resources for educating students and informing non-experts.”
For VL it is more difficult. The original concept is defned in Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Laboratory but refers to a domain-specific environment, nonetheless it includes a wide range of offerings (including e.g. publications, equipment etc). The Australian VL concept is less broad n some dimensions and equally broad in others.
So for me a VRE is a superset of VL is a superset of SG
Does that help?
Best
Keith
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- Show quoted text -From: leonardo.candela=***@***.***-groups.org [mailto:leonardo.candela=***@***.***-groups.org] On Behalf Of leonardo.candela
Sent: 22 February 2018 09:03
To: Virtual Research Environment IG (VRE-IG) <***@***.***-groups.org>
Subject: [vre_ig] Looking for authoritative definitions for VRE, VLab, Science Gateway, ...
Dear VRE-IG members,
we all know VRE, VLab, Science Gateway are terms often used as synonyms ... this was discussed in the group many times.
I'm wondering whether there is any document / report / paper worth suggesting for definitions on terms including VREs, VLabs, Science Gateways et simila.
Besides definition it will be great if you can provide me with documents aiming at highlighting the differences (if any) among these terms.
Thanks for your support.
Regards,
Leo
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A great discussion!

I wonder if this might be a good opportunity to submit some draft definitions to the CASRAI/IRIDIUM dictionary (http://dictionary.casrai.org/Main_Page and https://forum.casrai.org/c/standards/iridium)? I like Alex’s definition of a VL, and the suggestion that it is a type of VRE. This would match with my use of the term. When developing VREs at UPEI they could be in any domain, so VL would be a narrowing of the term to reflect a science use case. When I look at this thread it suggests something along these lines (sorry for the wanton editing!). I thought it made sense to create a “linked” set of definitions, so “borrowed” some of Alex’s VL text for the VRE, as well as text from everyone’s contributions in this thread.

VRE
Virtual Research Environments (VREs) is a type of research infrastructure that provides an integrated suite of tools and services that support research, teaching and learning, and management and administration functions to a group of researchers. VREs are typically web-based and can be developed to support the workflows of a specific discipline, or to support a generic suite of research activities. VREs can also be described as a software platform, a single software framework that presents a community of practice with access to an appropriate set of tools and services. VREs also incorporate elements to provide assistance and to support collaborations between persons and across teams. These can include sharing and publishing mechanisms for data, experiments and results, as well as supplemental communications capabilities (either built-in or external), email and instant messaging, technical training and support. VREs are intended to provide an environment that facilitates the use of computing and data infrastructures for all researchers, regardless of technical expertise, and to increase the sustainability, reproducibility and usability of research outputs.

VL

Virtual Laboratories (VLs) are a type of VRE that is focused on scientific research. VLs provide bring the digital, Internet-based data resources (which may include data collections, databases, models, sensors and/or other instruments) together with processing and analytical tools needed to carry out “in silico” or “e-science” work. A VL is designed with the capability to carry out experimental work as a sequence of interconnected work processes i.e., a workflow. Data and tools are combined harmoniously in a single software platform to present a consistent joined-up computer-based work environment to the scientist user. A VL may record the details of experiments designed and executed, as well as creating relevant provenance information about the data and tools used; to assist repeatability and replication of results. VLs are also increasingly being used to support collaborative research across institutional and discipline boundaries.

SG

Science Gateways (SGs) are a type of VL that provides scientists with a community-developed set of tools, applications, and data collections that are integrated through a tailored web-based environment. Science Gateways can be considered VLs that leverage larger scale facilities to increase access and enable collaboration. A key characteristic of a SG is the provision of access to external computing and analysis workflows that are provided by, and work with, data and resources from these large facilities. SGs can be used to tackle common scientific goals as well as offering resources for educating students and informing non-experts.

I realize that the exercise of defining terms like this can be a challenging one, since we all have a different context, but one nice thing about the new IRIDIUM Glossary approach is the “peer” process for editing and discussing proposed definitions. If something along these lines resonates with the group I can facilitate the process of submission to IRIDIUM – maybe with a tighter editing step of all via a Google Doc?

I may also have butchered everyone’s sense of what these terms mean, 
so apologies in advance if I did ??

Mark Leggott

Hi Mark,
I would echo your suggestion and would find it quite useful if we did that
(especially as a newbie in this space).
Monique Crichlow
Director, Strategy and Policy Development
Compute Ontario

I agree, this is a great discussion. In the US, we do think of the term gateway in a wider context. Though our program grew out of the supercomputing space and access to large computational resources and instruments, we realized early on that there was a much broader space of developers who would benefit from sharing experiences. Here’s a shot at a definition based on clients we’ve worked with in the Science Gateways Community Institute. It’s maybe a bit too example-based, but is a reflection of what we’re seeing.
Science Gateways (SGs) are community-designed web-based environments that provide researchers and scholars with tools, applications, data collections and collaborative spaces that are integrated through community-designed web-based environments. They exist in all fields, from the sciences to digital humanities. Science Gateways can serve many purposes. With some, researchers run optimized software on the fastest supercomputers. With others, researchers mine large databases for the characteristics of known and predicted materials. Still others support significant community interaction, for example improved learning for students through access to educational materials, interactive tools, rating systems and user forums. Still others help communities design effective interfaces to harness the power of citizen science. In all cases, gateways democratize access to resources – data collections, computational power, instruments, community-contributed tools, collaboration spaces. Gateways put the most effective tools in the hands of anyone, regardless of affiliation or location.
Thanks for your willingness to start this off, Mark.
From: <***@***.***-groups.org> on behalf of mleggott <***@***.***-drc.ca>
Date: Friday, February 23, 2018 at 12:25 AM
To: "Virtual Research Environment IG (VRE-IG)" <***@***.***-groups.org>
Subject: Re: [vre_ig] Re: [vre_ig] RE: [vre_ig] Re: [vre_ig] Looking for authoritative definitio...
A great discussion!
I wonder if this might be a good opportunity to submit some draft definitions to the CASRAI/IRIDIUM dictionary (http://dictionary.casrai.org/Main_Page and https://forum.casrai.org/c/standards/iridium)? I like Alex’s definition of a VL, and the suggestion that it is a type of VRE. This would match with my use of the term. When developing VREs at UPEI they could be in any domain, so VL would be a narrowing of the term to reflect a science use case. When I look at this thread it suggests something along these lines (sorry for the wanton editing!). I thought it made sense to create a “linked” set of definitions, so “borrowed” some of Alex’s VL text for the VRE, as well as text from everyone’s contributions in this thread.
VRE
Virtual Research Environments (VREs) is a type of research infrastructure that provides an integrated suite of tools and services that support research, teaching and learning, and management and administration functions to a group of researchers. VREs are typically web-based and can be developed to support the workflows of a specific discipline, or to support a generic suite of research activities. VREs can also be described as a software platform, a single software framework that presents a community of practice with access to an appropriate set of tools and services. VREs also incorporate elements to provide assistance and to support collaborations between persons and across teams. These can include sharing and publishing mechanisms for data, experiments and results, as well as supplemental communications capabilities (either built-in or external), email and instant messaging, technical training and support. VREs are intended to provide an environment that facilitates the use of computing and data infrastructures for all researchers, regardless of technical expertise, and to increase the sustainability, reproducibility and usability of research outputs.
VL
Virtual Laboratories (VLs) are a type of VRE that is focused on scientific research. VLs provide bring the digital, Internet-based data resources (which may include data collections, databases, models, sensors and/or other instruments) together with processing and analytical tools needed to carry out “in silico” or “e-science” work. A VL is designed with the capability to carry out experimental work as a sequence of interconnected work processes i.e., a workflow. Data and tools are combined harmoniously in a single software platform to present a consistent joined-up computer-based work environment to the scientist user. A VL may record the details of experiments designed and executed, as well as creating relevant provenance information about the data and tools used; to assist repeatability and replication of results. VLs are also increasingly being used to support collaborative research across institutional and discipline boundaries.
SG
Science Gateways (SGs) are a type of VL that provides scientists with a community-developed set of tools, applications, and data collections that are integrated through a tailored web-based environment. Science Gateways can be considered VLs that leverage larger scale facilities to increase access and enable collaboration. A key characteristic of a SG is the provision of access to external computing and analysis workflows that are provided by, and work with, data and resources from these large facilities. SGs can be used to tackle common scientific goals as well as offering resources for educating students and informing non-experts.
I realize that the exercise of defining terms like this can be a challenging one, since we all have a different context, but one nice thing about the new IRIDIUM Glossary approach is the “peer” process for editing and discussing proposed definitions. If something along these lines resonates with the group I can facilitate the process of submission to IRIDIUM – maybe with a tighter editing step of all via a Google Doc?
I may also have butchered everyone’s sense of what these terms mean,
so apologies in advance if I did ??
Mark Leggott
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