What is BEASTs
The BEASTs software is a computerized system for organizing, storing and undertaking some preliminary analyses of the dataset available after the Benthic Fauna surveys. BEASTs make you able to filter and retrieve and visualize your data in few seconds avoiding wasting time.
Why BEASTs?
- All data collected in your projects are stored in one repository (no more data distributed in several Excel files);
- To improve Data Consistency (e.g. use of one species list for all your data with any change in species name immediately reflected in any table);
- Data are standardized (all data collected will be organized in the same way independently from the user that insert them);
- Facilitate data sharing (data can be easily exported or transferred from one installation to another);
- Just one updated version of your data (no more several copies of data with different updating values);
- All users works with the same repository (the database can be installed on a server and then used simultaneously from different clients).
The software Graphic User Interface was conceived and designed to be an ‘intuitive’ but also powerful tool to store and perform basic processing of the data collected.
Data are automatically stored in an external database (Access–no needs for license! MySQL or PostgreSQL for server databases);
BEASts can be easily connected to the data repository using its specific tools without any specific knowledge about database software.
Specific Data Entry functions are developed to improve data quality. Data validation is developed based on data specifications that include several types of listings (e.g. species list) as well as queries. They cover, though are not limited to, the verification of out-of-range values and inconsistencies between data and protocol compliance checks.
Specific analysis and calculation procedures are available. Possibility to implement new analyses according to different needs, due to the flexible application structure.
Export procedures make the data to be exported in a format appropriate to statistical software but also facilitate data exchange between researcher groups.
The Application is built using a modular structure. New functions could be added accroding to specific needs of the users.
Help Us to Improve BEASTs
BEASTs is designed as a modular software and new functions and procedures can be easily developed and distributed. The purpose is to improve and maintain the management and analysis tools of BEASTs with the active contribution of the users that are encouraged to support changes in already present tool and to suggest new ones.