Welcome to Macaw

Macaw is a Java-based desktop application which manages curation activities related for more than 10,000 NSHD variables that the LHA maintains. It is open source software which is licensed under Apache 2.0. Curation activities are supported in the following ways:

data curators can use data entry forms to create, add, update, delete or search for variables
data curators can tag variable records using terms from one or more ontologies
the Macaw database can be populated using legacy variable records taken from SWIFT.
the Macaw database can be populated using scripts which parse data for variable records from SPSS files.

Macaw is also designed to advertise its variable collection through an API that can be used other software clients. In future, SWIFT will let scientists build up research proposals using variables that are accessed via the Macaw API.

Author: Kevin Garwood