Um estudo sobre a adoção de licenças de conteúdo em herbários virtuais

Abstract

The use of online datasets plays a fundamental role in scientific research, facilitating analysis and promoting knowledge generation. Recently, image-based datasets have gained prominence due to their application in artificial intelligence. Such datasets must be properly referenced according to the legal rights holder. However, an examination of online data providers reveals that information on how to use and cite these datasets often lacks objectivity and standardization. This presents a significant challenge, as data utilization becomes uncertain without clear confirmation from the data owner. The speciesLink network is a key repository for virtual herbarium data, containing various datasets of species from the plant and fungal kingdoms. In this context, this work addresses this issue by analyzing data providers that make images of herbarium specimens (exsiccatae) from Brazilian virtual herbaria available, such as speciesLink. Furthermore, this study proposes promoting the adoption of content licenses, such as Creative Commons, by virtual herbaria to make data more accessible and standardize licensing policies. This research is situated within the broader context of the importance of datasets in science and is justified by the need to mitigate uncertainties regarding their use. It is expected that this study will significantly contribute to the academic community by facilitating the responsible and efficient use of scientific datasets, while promoting the standardization of licensing policies to enhance data accessibility for the scientific community.