International Journal of Digital Curation
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Mapping Methods Metadata for Research Data
Get PDFUnderstanding the methods and processes implemented by data producers to generate research data is essential for fostering data reuse. Yet, producing the metadata that describes these methods remains a time-intensive activity that data producers do not readily undertake. In particular, researchers in the long tail of science often lack the financial support or tools for metadata generation, thereby limiting future access and reuse of data produced. The present study investigates research journal publications as a potential source for identifying descriptive metadata about methods for research data. Initial results indicate that journal articles provide rich descriptive content that can be sufficiently mapped to existing metadata standards with methods-related elements, resulting in a mapping of the data production process for a study. This research has implications for enhancing the generation of robust metadata to support the curation of research data for new inquiry and innovation
RDM: An Approach from a Modern University with a Growing Research Portfolio
Get PDFThis article describes the background work undertaken by Oxford Brookes University in assessing how best to position institutional support for Research Data Management. It further discusses the development of our University’s research data management policy and its collaborative approach to data management support. Finally, it reflects on the challenges of overseeing policy implementation and providing the required enactment infrastructure. The approach that we take is one that will hopefully be of interest to those institutions who are developing their research base and seeking to offer better data management support to researchers in a time of reduced or declining resource. Overall, we feel that the strategic and institution-wide approach that we have taken has worked well, and may be suited to institutions like ours that are less research-intensive. Finally, we feel that our approach is one that can readily be copied
Editorial
Get PDFAlexander Ball, Production Editor, introduces Volume 10, Issue 1 (2015) of the International Journal of Digital Curation
What Factors Influence Where Researchers Deposit their Data? A Survey of Researchers Submitting to Data Repositories
Get PDFIn order to better understand the factors that most influence where researchers deposit their data when they have a choice, we collected survey data from researchers who deposited phylogenetic data in either the TreeBASE or Dryad data repositories. Respondents were asked to rank the relative importance of eight possible factors. We found that factors differed in importance for both TreeBASE and Dryad, and that the rankings differed subtly but significantly between TreeBASE and Dryad users. On average, TreeBASE users ranked the domain specialization of the repository highest, while Dryad users ranked as equal highest their trust in the persistence of the repository and the ease of its data submission process. Interestingly, respondents (particularly Dryad users) were strongly divided as to whether being directed to choose a particular repository by a journal policy or funding agency was among the most or least important factors. Some users reported depositing their data in multiple repositories and archiving their data voluntarily
Digital Curation and Doctoral Research
Get PDFThis article considers digital curation in doctoral study and the role of the doctoral supervisor and institution in facilitating students’ acquisition of digital curation skills, including some of the potentially problematic expectations of the supervisory relationship with regards to digital curation. Research took the form of an analysis of the current digital curation training landscape, focussing on doctoral study and supervision. This was followed by a survey (n=116) investigating attitudes towards importance, expertise, and responsibilities regarding digital curation. This research confirms that digital curation is considered to be very important within doctoral study but that doctoral supervisors and particularly students consider themselves to be largely unskilled at curation tasks. It provides a detailed picture of curation activity within doctoral study and identifies the areas of most concern. A detailed analysis demonstrates that most of the responsibility for curation is thought to lie with students and that institutions are perceived to have very low responsibility and that individuals tend to over-assign responsibility to themselves. Finally, the research identifies which types of support system for curation are most used and makes suggestions for ways in which students, supervisors, institutions, and others can effectively and efficiently address problematic areas and improve digital curation within doctoral study
Integration of Audio Resources into a Digital Library: The BEIC Case Study
Get PDFThe focus of this paper is on the integration of audio resources with other content types in digital libraries. As a case study, we will present the most recent initiative of the Biblioteca Europea di Informazione e Cultura (BEIC), an Italian institution that pursues educational and instructional goals through the realization and management of a multimedia, free access, open shelf library. A new audio section will be added to the already-existing digital archive, allowing users to listen to about 1000 classical recordings in a multi-platform and cross-browser manner. This experience involves a number of heterogeneous fields, ranging from musicology to computer programming, from cataloging to digitization and archiving. In this paper, we will apply a bottom-up technique in order to provide a generalization of the specific case study, thus suggesting a methodological approach for similar initiatives
Ten Years Back, Five Years Forward: The Data Seal of Approval
Get PDFIf we want to share data, the long-term storage of those data in a trustworthy digital archive is an essential condition. Trust is the basis of storing and sharing data. That trust must be present in the various stakeholders involved. Certification of digital archives can make an important contribution to the confidence of these stakeholders in the digital archives.Ten years ago DANS was assigned the task of developing a Seal of Approval for digital data to ensure that archived data can still be found, understood and used in the future. In 2009 this Data Seal of Approval (DSA) was transferred to an international body, the DSA Board, which has managed and further developed the guidelines and the peer review process ever since.The objectives of the DSA are to safeguard data, ensure high quality and guide reliable management of data for the future without requiring implementation of new standards, regulations or heavy investments. The DSA contains 16 guidelines for applying and verifying quality aspects concerning the creation, storage, use and reuse of digital data.Based on feedback from data archives that applied for a DSA and different case studies we have gained some insight into the benefits of DSA. Still, the impact of having the Seal is not easy to measure. Seal holders usually refer to qualitative benefits in the form of increased awareness of the value of their repositories to their communities, funders and publishers.Ten years down the line we can safely state that the Data Seal of Approval has proven its added value. If we try to look five years into the future, what can we expect? There are different developments: a growing interest in DSA among European research infrastructures, the collaboration between DSA and the ISCU World Data System under the umbrella of the RDA (Research Data Alliance) and the European Commission is showing a growing interest in certification services.The success of DSA also provides the challenge to further professionalize the DSA organization in the coming years, this to enable its community to continue to grow. All in all there are promising developments for a bright future for the Data Seal of Approval
Planting the Seeds for Data Literacy: Lessons Learned from a Student-Centered Education Program
Get PDFThere is an increasing need for graduate students to acquire competencies in managing and curating their data sets as a part of their education. Librarians and other information professionals are beginning to respond to this need by developing programming, but as of yet there are few models to follow and the impact on the practices of students is under-explored. This case study presents a student-centered pilot program on data literacy offered at Purdue University. The program was offered through the College of Agriculture and was structured to be flexible enough to incorporate each student’s particular field of study. Exercises and assignments were designed to incorporate the student’s own research data to create meaningful, authentic learning experiences. Formative and summative assessment was a critical component of the program, which included interviews with students six months after completion of the program to determine the extent to which the data competencies covered had taken root in students’ research practices. The structure of the pilot program, its strengths and weakness, its impact on students, and lessons learned by the instructors are discussed
Research Data Management Practices: A Snapshot in Time
Get PDFThere is increasing pressure from funders, publishers, the public, universities and other research organisations for researchers to improve their data management and sharing practices. However, little is known about researchers’ data management and sharing practices and concerns. The research reported in this paper seeks to address this by providing insight into the research data management and sharing practices of academics at ten universities in New South Wales, Australia. Empirical data was taken from a survey to which 760 academics responded, with 634 completing at least one section. Results showed that at the time of the survey there were a wide variety of research data in use, including analogue data, and that the challenges researchers faced in managing their data included finding safe and secure storage, particularly after project completion, but also during projects when data are used (and thus stored) on a wide variety of less-than-optimal temporary devices. Data sharing was not widely practiced and only a relatively small proportion of researchers had a research data management plan. Since the survey was completed much has changed: capacities and communities are being built around data management and sharing and policies, and guidelines are being constructed. Data storage and curation services are now more freely available. It will be interesting to observe how the findings of future studies compare with those reported here
Bridging the Data Talent Gap: Positioning the iSchool as an Agent for Change
Get PDFThis paper examines the role, functions and value of the “iSchool” as an agent of change in the data informatics and data curation arena. A brief background to the iSchool movement is given followed by a brief review of the data decade, which highlights key data trends from the iSchool perspective: open data and open science, big data and disciplinary data diversity. The growing emphasis on the shortage of data talent is noted and a family of data science roles identified. The paper moves on to describe three primary functions of iSchools: education, research intelligence and professional practice, which form the foundations of a new Capability Ramp Model. The model is illustrated by mini-case studies from the School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh: the immersive (laboratory-based) component of two new Research Data Management and Research Data Infrastructures graduate courses, a new practice partnership with the University Library System centred on RDM, and the mapping of disciplinary data practice using the Community Capability Model Profile Tool. The paper closes with a look to the future and, based on the assertion that data is mission-critical for iSchools, some steps are proposed for the next data decade: moving data education programs into the mainstream core curriculum, adopting a translational data science perspective and strengthening engagement with the Research Data Alliance