International Journal of Digital Curation
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Sustaining Knowledge Infrastructures: Asking Questions and Listening for Answers
No full textSustaining knowledge infrastructures (KIs) remains a persistent issue that requires continued engagement from diverse stakeholders as new questions and values arise in relation to KI maintenance. We draw on existing academic literature, practical experience with KI projects, and our discussions at a 2024 workshop for researchers and practitioners exploring KI evaluation to pose five questions for KI project managers to consider when thinking about how to make their KIs evolve sustainably over time. These questions include reflecting on sustainability throughout the life cycle of KIs, communicating evolving visions and values, engaging communities, “right sizing” a KI, and developing an iterative process for decision-making. Reflecting on these themes, we suggest, can support KI stakeholders to evolve (not necessarily “grow”) to meet the needs and values of their communities. How these themes are discussed will necessarily vary by funding sources, discipline(s), governance, communities, and other contextual factors. However, adopting a deliberate and strategic approach to KI sustainability and aligning the invisible infrastructural work of KI maintenance with the outward-facing institutional work is, we argue, relevant to all KIs
Hope for the best, plan for the worst: Reducing risks associated with repository cessation
No full textDigital preservation entails the need to maintain the accessibility and usability of digital assets for the long term—potentially beyond the lifetime of the repository in which they were initially published. The reasons for repository cessation are manifold, including financial, technical, and organisational reasons. Sometimes, cessation is a planned event, for example, at the end of a funded project, or when the preserved data have fulfilled their purpose. Often though, funding cuts or similar causes for repository shutdown come as a surprise, and repositories may not have sufficient time and resources to find an organisation capable and willing to accept (parts of) the data collection and prepare the actual handover. Therefore, repositories need to prepare for such scenarios in advance as best as possible. Yet, little guidance on this matter exists. Therefore, a group of repositories from the German Network of Educational Research Data (VerbundFDB) considered which information is needed to start the process of succession planning. The result of this work is a template to be completed by both repositories preparing for cessation and potential target repositories considering accepting data. The template allows repositories to collate information about the data collection, organisational, technical, and legal aspects relevant to a potential data custody transfer. This can help spotting potential gaps in the workflows and documentation, at the same time as facilitating communication with target repositories
Data stewardship through the lens of Open Science Career Assessment Matrix
No full textData stewardship is a key expertise needed for the transformation towards more open and transparent science. This is particularly relevant in research institutions, where data stewards play a direct role in supporting research under open science requirements. However, the absence of established frameworks and merits for assessing this expertise has hindered recognition, professional development, and the integration of data stewardship into institutional practices. This work aims to examine how multidisciplinary data stewardship work transpires through the Open Science Career Assessment Matrix (OS-CAM); a tool designed to assess open science contributions across various dimensions. Using a case study approach, we report findings from a workshop where a multidisciplinary team of experts engaged in data stewardship described their work in relation to OS-CAM. This work presents a summary of the CV narratives and suggested merits for data stewardship developed in the workshop. Assessing data stewardship through OS-CAM provides a structured framework for evaluating, recognising, and rewarding these contributions, thereby increasing their visibility in academic and professional evaluations. However, our study also reveals notable gaps in OS-CAM’s coverage of data stewardship, particularly the underrepresentation of infrastructure-related activities such as the management of data repositories. It is important to note that while OS-CAM may offer value in academic research settings, it is less applicable for data stewardship roles that extend beyond research or open science. Therefore, we recommend further research to include diverse institutions and participants, combined with other complementary frameworks, for a more comprehensive understanding of data stewardship’s contribution to science and its recognition in or beyond academic communities
A Maturity Model for Urban Dataset Metadata
No full textThe rapid increase in published datasets has intensified challenges in sourcing and integrating relevant data for analysis. Persistent obstacles include poor metadata, ineffective presentation, and difficulties in locating and integrating datasets. This paper delves into the intricacies of dataset retrieval, emphasising the pivotal role of metadata in aligning datasets with user queries. Through an exploration of existing literature, it highlights prevailing issues, such as identifying valuable metadata and developing tools to maintain and annotate them effectively. The paper proposes a dataset metadata maturity model, inspired by software engineering frameworks, to guide dataset creators from basic to advanced documentation. The model encompasses seven pivotal dimensions, spanning content to quality information, each stratified across five maturity levels to guide the optimal documentation of datasets, ensuring ease of discovery, accurate relevance assessment, and comprehensive understanding of datasets. This paper also incorporates the maturity model into a data cataloguing tool called CKAN through a custom plugin, CKANext-udc. The plugin introduces custom fields based on different maturity levels, allows for user interface customisation, and integrates with a graph database, converting catalogue data into a knowledge graph based on the Maturity Model ontology
Global Open Research Commons: Enabling Curation for the Next 20 Years
No full textThis paper addresses the requirements for long-term preservation through a system lens. Rather than focussing on specific technical elements that are needed for curation, this paper considers all the system elements that need to be put in place, and intentionally maintained, to ensure curation for the long term.
This paper begins by making the argument that curation requires attention to preservation over time. The need for preservation, in turn, requires both sustainable data content and sustained infrastructure. These infrastructures consist of many elements, both social and technical, all of which need attention.
Then, this paper briefly introduces the concept of the open research commons as a way of conceptualising these elements, before examining in some detail the Global Open Research Commons (GORC) typology of essential elements. This work was developed through a Research Data Alliance Working Group, which started with a definition of a commons as ‘a global trusted ecosystem that provides seamless access to high-quality interoperable research outputs and services.’ The essential elements in the typology include Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, services and tools, research objects, human capacity, rules of participation and access, governance, engagement, and sustainability.
This general approach was then extended by the GORC International Model Working Group to ‘review and identify attributes or features currently implemented by a target set of GORC organisations.’ The GORC approach has already been used in designing the creation of new commons, characterising existing research infrastructures, and analysing interoperability between commons. Future work, to commence in 2025, will clarify how the International Model might be used and adopted, as well as improve how it is presented.
Our researchers require ongoing access to reliable and sustainable data aggregations. These will need to be curated for reuse and interoperability over the long term to support the integrity of the scholarly record. The GORC groups are working towards an interoperable set of platforms that together build on advances in internet technologies and the consensus and strengths of the research community
Traveling on the same road while navigating different terrain: Institutional data services and repositories across the US
No full textThis paper describes the Repository Readiness initiative and subsequent Summit for Academic Institutional Readiness in Data Sharing (STAIRS). These efforts examined the current state of institutional research data services and repositories at US academic institutions. Using federal memos and directives published in 2022 as a foundation, members of the Data Curation Network hosted a virtual learning series to identify areas of collaboration across institutions. The themes of this learning series led to STAIRS, which brought representatives from 32 institutions, to discuss the need for and potential benefits of deeper institution-wide engagement and increasing cross-institutional collaborations to support research data sharing efforts. Through discussions at the summit, three key themes emerged: difficulties in scaling services, need for shared resources and training materials, and importance of cross-institutional collaboration. The participant discussions, combined with data from pre- and post-summit surveys, suggest gaps in staffing, resources, and formal policies in data management in institutional settings. The authors conclude with recommendations for funding agencies to support institutional data services through incentives for collaboration, improved communication with program officers, and additional research into data sharing requirements across different institutional types
From Building a First-Generation Digital Library Infrastructure to Reimagining Discovery
No full textTwenty-five years ago, Harvard University was in the early stages of a project to build a first-generation digital library infrastructure. The project was carefully named the Library Digital Initiative (LDI), signifying that ‘digital’ would be an integral and integrated aspect of ‘library’ and not a separate entity. The initiative aimed to develop knowledge and expertise relating to digital objects, as well as technical infrastructure to create, curate, access and preserve them, and to integrate the new digital collections with Harvard’s extensive tangible collections.
Today, we still benefit from the foresight of this first-generation development and the subsequent ones it spawned, but we are also at a pivotal point of reflecting on lessons learned and opportunities to be seized as we rebuild and reimagine our digital infrastructure and services in a vastly expanded data ecosystem. Predicting what libraries will look like two decades ahead is always conjecture. What we do know, however, is that while the themes and challenges from the past two decades endure, the way we are tackling them is different. This paper examines what has changed since early library digital initiatives, and the imperatives we see for the future
FAIR Data Implementation at Large-Scale Data Facilities in the USA
No full textThis paper examines current FAIR data implementation at large-scale data facilities in the USA. A 15-question survey was distributed to facility personnel to explore the current status of FAIR implementation, including progress, barriers, non-barriers, and data management practices. As FAIR implementation considerably increases trust and transparency, this research facilitates understanding the current status and needs for robust FAIR implementation.
Supporting the Research Data Management Journey of a Postgraduate Student at the University of St Andrews
No full textMost research funders have requirements for data management plans and open data to foster good research data management practices. In order to embed these practices in the postgraduate research (PGR) student journey we have introduced the requirement for a data management plan as part of the first-year progress review and the encouragement to make data underpinning theses publicly available. To support students through these processes we provide a suite of training workshops and are available for one-to-one consultations. User feedback and frequently asked questions are used to review and improve our support offering.
This brief report discusses the planning and implementation processes for data management plan requirement and encouragement of underpinning data. It dives deeper into the workflows, especially for the data deposit, and describes training and support available to students. Statistics on training uptake, data management plan submissions and annual trends for data deposit are also presented. The report concludes with lessons learnt and the team’s plans for the near future
A Brief Overview of Open Educational Resources Accessible in Indian Digital Learning Repositories
No full textThis paper provides an overview of the major open educational resource (OER) repositories available in India. The researchers focused on the digital learning repositories maintained by the INFLIBNET Centre, a premier institution under the University Grants Commission of India. The repositories examined include Shodhganga (a repository of Indian theses and dissertations), Shodhgangotri (a repository of research synopses), the INFLIBNET Institutional Repository, INFOPORT (a subject gateway for Indian e-resources), e-PG Pathshala (an e-content project), Swayam Prabha (free educational DTH channels), and Vidya-mitra (an integrated e-content portal). The study highlights the objectives, features, and content of these repositories, which provide free and open access to a wealth of educational materials across diverse disciplines. These repositories play a crucial role in preserving and disseminating India\u27s intellectual output, benefiting both the academic community and the general public. The review of related studies indicates that factors such as perceived ease of use, usefulness, free access, and user attitudes positively influence the adoption of OERs. However, challenges remain, including limited time for resource discovery, lack of awareness about usage and copyright, technological limitations, inadequate organizational support, and quality assurance concerns. The paper underscores the need for further research and awareness-building efforts to maximize the potential of these open educational repositories in India