the database of the transnew project

The database of the TransNEW project

Support for Realising New Member and Associated States' Potentials in Transport Research

Monica AnghelNational Institute for Research and Development

in Informatics – ICI Bucharest

TransNEW database, FP7 Information Day on Research

PPPs', July 2011, Brussels

The goal is to design, develop and populate the TransNew database.

The database is structured around 3 major database entities: Organisation Project Researcher

The goal



We set up a system to store and to use the information gathered by the TransNEW partners.

We developed web forms for inserting the data directly from these forms. The intention was to avoid “unnecessary steps” – this means that the information goes directly in the database, it is verified and becomes available instantly, without the need to read and parse the data from external spreadsheets.

TransNEW database introduction



Our team developed a MySQL database, for storing the information;

The data gathered by the TransNEW partners in the Excel Spreadsheets is transferred in the MySQL database;

This information can be modified or updated by the TransNEW administrators solely by the means of the web system, or by the owner of the information that has an account in the system (either organisation or researcher account).

…database introduction



The construction of the database began after the analysis of the TransNEW questionnaires. The questionnaire is formulated using the following criteria:

determining the overall parameters of data collection, creating the questionnaire, to be used to assess the current situation in transport research,

in each country and for each transport mode, analyse data responses, including SMEs in each country to assess their level of participation in transport projects.

From the point of view of the database planning, the questionnaires have been analyzed as follows:

the main categories that are stored within; identification of the fields that belong to each category; the types of fields that are being comprised in the Excel Spreadsheet; the dimension of each field in the Spreadsheet; the limitations (if any) that are set on some specific fields in the Spreadsheet.

After all these were performed, we established the 3 main categories that must represent the core of the database: Researcher, Organisation and Project.

The SME module enabling users in New Member States to browse and contact appropriate SMEs was part of the Database itself.

Analysis of the questionnaires



We were looking to improve the database, to have the option to store more valuable information about the people involved in TransNEW;

So, in the Researcher form, we added Photo and Personal description;

The researcher uploads an image of himself/herself, image that will be displayed on his/her page on the TransNEW system;

In addition, there is also the option to insert a brief description about himself/herself, stating the things that he/she believes to be valuable for his/her activity and personality.

1. Researcher forms



Diagram presenting the relations between the Organisation table and other corresponding tables in the database



The figure shows the form for adding new information about a researcher.Most of the information required is about professional activity; there are also fields for photo and personal description.



The figure presents the messages that a new researcher sees after inserting his/her personal details. We placed an info text about the data verification and validation, before making the info accessible to the public.



In the Organisation forms, we added Contact fields, as follows:- address;- city;- phone;- e-mail;- website address.

Also, we created a field for uploading the organisation’s logo; this will be displayed in the organisation page on the TransNEW system.

2. Organisation forms



The organisation will select the main transport modes, transport areas, themes and subjects of research interest or in which the organisation operates.All these fields are of type checkbox, which offers multiple selection options.

2. Organisation form



The information inserted through the web forms is reflected in the web pages that display the details of the Researcher.

The researcher’s photo is placed in the first part of the page, for better visual impact.

We displayed several fields from the database to improve the page aspect.

In the same page, we placed a list of the projects in which the researcher has been involved. By clicking on these links, the user can access the project page and find more details about it.

3. Researcher details



Displayed in the snapshot are the details of a researcher, as appearing on the web page.In the lower part of the page are links to the projects in which the researcher was involved.



In the organisation page we displayed the information contained in the Excel Spreadsheets, as well as the information regarding the address and contact details.

In the lower part of the page, we displayed a list with the researchers that belong to the respective organisation.

In the list we have only displayed a few details; if any of them is pressed, it will lead to the respective researcher webpage, to find more details about him/her and about the researcher’s activity and interests.

4. Organisation details



The snapshot presents the page of an organisation, containing general and technical information. At the bottom we placed the list with the researchers from the organisation.



In the project page, we displayed the information contained in the spreadsheets for the projects.

In the lower part of the page there is a list with the researchers that have been involved in the project.

Same as for the organisation page, any of the researcher data can be accessed with a simple click.

5. Project details



The image presents a regular project web page.



Researchers list



Organisations list



Projects list



There are 2 major search options, called Simple Search and Advanced Search.

We have split the Advanced Search into 4 sections – Researchers, Organisations, Projects, SMEs.

7. Search options



Search results for researchers



We set 3 authentication levels: MASTER, ORGANISATION and RESEARCHER.

MASTER : can modify anything in the database. Most probably, the master accounts will be assigned to the TransNEW partners.

ORGANISATION : this account can be set up by the representative of an organisation. This administrator will have the privileges to:- insert data about the organisation;- insert the details about the researchers employeed at the organisation;- insert data about the projects in which the organisation was involved.

RESEARCHER: this account can be set up by any researcher involved in transport research. This administrator will have rights to:- insert data about himself/herself;- insert data about projects in which he/she has been involved.

The information inserted by the Organisation and Researcher accounts will be verified (eventually modified/corrected) by a TransNEW MASTER account holder. This account takes the decision of validating, postponing the decision or rejecting the data submitted by the Researcher or Organisation account holders.

8. Authentication



In the image you can see the webform for creating a RESEARCHER account on the TransNEW database. The form for the ORGANISATION is similar to this one.



No matter if the user is of Researcher or Organisation account type, it will have a section called My account.

In this section the user can instantly see the information owned, the status of the data, the pages he can access and the data that can be modified by him.

From this section, the user can bring modifications to his own account, to his own personal details (as a Researcher) or to his company details (as an Organisation).

9. My account section



The ORGANISATION account, with the options available for this account type: • manage data about the organisation; • add/edit data about the researchers employed at the organisation; • add/edit data about the projects in which the organisation was involved.



The MASTER account, with the options available for this account type: • Validate info about researchers; • Validate info about organisations; • Verify, correct and update any other information from the database.



A researcher who wants to be part of TransNEW must access the page for creating an account. After the account is created, the user can authenticate with the username and the password he chose.

After this step, the user will be able to access his personal data, from the Insert Researcher Details form.

Next, the user can insert data about the transport research projects in which he was involved.

All the information inserted has a waiting status. This means that the information will not appear on the site until one of the TransNEW administrators validates it.

10. Adding data



An organisation which desires to have its details in the TransNEW database must access the page for creating an account. Within this page the user will follow the link for creating an organisation account. After the account is created, the organisation representative can authenticate with the username and the password he chose.

After this step, the user will be able to access his personal data, from the Insert Organisation Details form.

Next, the user can insert data about the researchers that are part of the company.

In the next phase, the user can insert data about the transport research projects in which the organisation has been involved.

…adding data



The image presents the form for modifying the researcher details. At this moment, the information exists in the database, but it is not publicly accessible. It is waiting for validation by a MASTER account.



We implemented a translation facility, using an API from Google, that accesses the Google translation program for the entire content of a webpage.

The translation is not 100% accurate, but it is continuously improved, so it is helpful for people who do not know the English language.

11. Translation



The image presents the page of an organisation, with an English to Romanian translation.



For reporting issues with the database, or for presenting idea of improvement, please contact us at: [email protected] [email protected] more details concerning the TransNEWproject, please contact us at:[email protected];[email protected].

Thank you for your attention!



mailto:[email protected]

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the database of the transnew project

Government & Nonprofit

mysql database

database planning

transnew system

fp7 information day

transnew partners

transnew questionnaires

valuable information

transnew administrators