2.1 Galaxy – OpenRefine Integration

Galaxy is an open-source data analysis platform with more than 130000 users to date. Its flexible setup allows combining various programs (tools) as workflows to leverage FAIR and reproducible research and data analysis for everyone.
OpenRefine is a free, open-source “data wrangler” built for messy, heterogeneous, evolving datasets. Both technologies are very powerful and popular, but they have remained mostly separate from each other so far.

To create more synergies between OpenRefine and Galaxy and foster the strengths of both tools, this project integrated OpenRefine as an Interactive tool into Galaxy.

Deliverables:

  • Single Sign On for 4Culture users
    We integrated IAM4NFDI, which users from 4Culture can use to sign on with their regular 4Culture user account via https://usegalaxy.eu/login/start
    So, no extra account on Galaxy is necessary, and access becomes even easier.
  • Integration of OpenRefine in Galaxy as an interactive tool
    We integrated OpenRefine in Galaxy. For this, we created an OCI-compliant container for OR and made it accessible online:
    https://usegalaxy.eu/root?tool_id=interactive_tool_openrefine
    That way, OpenRefine operates completely online and does not require installation on a local machine. This makes the program more accessible to users who lack administrator rights. Additionally, the tool can now be connected with other tools in Galaxy to create complex, reproducible workflows. All within the browser.
  • Creating Open Educational Resources to Introduce OpenRefine in Galaxy
    The Galaxy Training Network contains over 400 tutorials. In this Project, we added a new training introducing the functionalities of OpenRefine in Galaxy and their interconnection for cultural data.
    The training consists of two parts: an introduction to OpenRefine – adapted for running on Galaxy – and a data analysis in Galaxy – including extracting particularly interesting data points and visualising it.
    Based on a dataset from the Powerhouse Museum, we aim to first clean the unstructured tabular file in OpenRefine and determine from which year the museum had the most objects and what they were with Galaxy. All tools used in the training are accessible via Galaxy Europe. The tutorial introduces the basic functionalities of OpenRefine and Galaxy, enabling new users to take their first steps and explore each tool independently while learning how to combine them effectively for their own analyses.

Daniela Schneider