Category: Data Curation, Open Data, and Research Data Management

"Virtuous and Vicious Circles in the Data Life-Cycle"

Elizabeth Yakel, et al. have published "Virtuous and Vicious Circles in the Data Life-Cycle" in Information Research.

Here's an excerpt:

We present an in-depth case study that follows collaborative data sharing, curation and reuse practices among eleven zooarchaeologists and two curators during a large data reuse project. A data life-cycle model highlights how factors in one life-cycle phase impacted other phases forming virtuous (positive) and vicious (negative) circles.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Developing a Data Management Consultation Service for Faculty Researchers: A Case Study from a Large Midwestern Public University "

Virginia A Dressler et al. have published "Developing a Data Management Consultation Service for Faculty Researchers: A Case Study from a Large Midwestern Public University" in the International Journal of Digital Curation.

Here's an excerpt:

To inform the development of data management services, a library research team at Kent State University conducted a survey of all tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure track faculty about their data management practices and perceptions. The methodology and results will be presented in the article, as well as how this information was used to inform future work in the library's internal working group. Recommendations will be presented that other academic libraries could model in order to develop similar services at their institutions. Personal anecdotes are included that help ascertain current practices and sentiments around research data from the perspective of the researcher. The article addresses the particular needs of a large Midwestern U.S. academic campus, which are not currently reflected in literature on the topic.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Progress in Research Data Services: An International Survey of University Libraries"

Andrew M Cox et al. have published "Progress in Research Data Services: An International Survey of University Libraries" in the International Journal of Digital Curation.

Here's an excerpt:

University libraries have played an important role in constructing an infrastructure of support for Research Data Management at an institutional level. This paper presents a comparative analysis of two international surveys of libraries about their involvement in Research Data Services conducted in 2014 and 2018. The aim was to explore how services had developed over this time period, and to explore the drivers and barriers to change. In particular, there was an interest in how far the FAIR data principles had been adopted.

Services in nearly every area were more developed in 2018 than before, but technical services remained less developed than advisory. Progress on institutional policy was also evident. However, priorities did not seem to have shifted significantly. Open ended answers suggested that funder policy, rather than researcher demand, remained the main driver of service development and that resources and skills gaps remained issues. While widely understood as an important reference point and standard, because of their relatively recent publication date, FAIR principles had not been widely adopted explicitly in policy.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Updating the Data Curation Continuum: Not Just Data, Still Focussed on Curation, More Domain-Oriented"

Andrew Treloar and Jens Klump have published "Updating the Data Curation Continuum: Not Just Data, Still Focussed on Curation, More Domain-Oriented" in the International Journal of Digital Curation.

Here's an excerpt:

The Data Curation Continuum was developed as a way of thinking about data repository infrastructure. Since its original development over a decade ago, a number of things have changed in the data infrastructure domain. This paper revisits the thinking behind the original data curation continuum and updates it to respond to changes in research objects, storage models, and the repository landscape in general.

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"Research Data Management and the Evolutions of Scholarship: Policy, Infrastructure and Data Literacy at KU Leuven"

Tom Willaert et al. have published "Research Data Management and the Evolutions of Scholarship: Policy, Infrastructure and Data Literacy at KU Leuven" in LIBER Quarterly.

Here's an excerpt:

This case study critically examines ongoing developments in contemporary scholarship through the lens of research data management support at KU Leuven, and KU Leuven Libraries in particular. By means of case-based examples, current initiatives for fostering sound scientific work and scholarship are considered in three associated domains: support for policy-making, the development of research infrastructures, and digital literacy training for students, scientists and scholars. It is outlined how KU Leuven Libraries collaborates with partner services in order to contribute to KU Leuven's research data management support network. Particular attention is devoted to the innovations that facilitate such collaborations. These accounts of initial experiences form the basis for a reflection on best practices and pitfalls, and foreground a number of pertinent challenges facing the domain of research data management, including matters of scalability, technology acceptance and adoption, and methods for effectively gauging and communicating the manifold transformations of science and scholarship.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Lost or Found? Discovering Data Needed for Research"

have self-archived "Lost or Found? Discovering Data Needed for Research."

Here's an excerpt:

Finding or discovering data is a necessary precursor to being able to reuse data, although relatively little large-scale empirical evidence exists about how researchers discover, make sense of and (re)use data for research. This study presents evidence from the largest known survey investigating how researchers discover and use data that they do not create themselves. We examine the data needs and discovery strategies of respondents, propose a typology for data (re)use and probe the role of social interactions and other research practices in data discovery, with the aim of informing the design of community-centric solutions and policies.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"The Impact of Targeted Data Management Training for Field Research Projects—A Case Study"

Jonathan L. Petters et al. have published "The Impact of Targeted Data Management Training for Field Research Projects—A Case Study" in Data Science Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

We present a joint effort at Virginia Tech between a research group in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Data Services in the University Libraries to improve data management for long-term ecological field research projects in the Florida Panhandle. Consultative research data management support from Data Services in the University Libraries played an integral role in the development of the training curriculum. Emphasizing the importance of data quality to the field workers at the beginning of this training curriculum was a vital part of its success. Also critical for success was the research group’s investment of time and effort to work with field workers and improve data management systems. We compare this case study to three others in the literature to compare and contrast data management processes and procedures. This case study serves as one example of how targeted training and efforts in data and project management for a research project can lead to substantial improvements in research data quality.

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"Practical Application of a Data Stewardship Maturity Matrix for the NOAA OneStop Project"

Ge Peng et al. have published "Practical Application of a Data Stewardship Maturity Matrix for the NOAA OneStop Project" in the Data Science Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

Assessing the stewardship maturity of individual datasets is an essential part of ensuring and improving the way datasets are documented, preserved, and disseminated to users. It is a critical step towards meeting U.S. federal regulations, organizational requirements, and user needs. However, it is challenging to do so consistently and quantifiably. The Data Stewardship Maturity Matrix (DSMM), developed jointly by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites–North Carolina (CICS-NC), provides a uniform framework for consistently rating stewardship maturity of individual datasets in nine key components: preservability, accessibility, usability, production sustainability, data quality assurance, data quality control/monitoring, data quality assessment, transparency/traceability, and data integrity. So far, the DSMM has been applied to over 800 individual datasets that are archived and/or managed by NCEI, in support of the NOAA's OneStop Data Discovery and Access Framework Project. As a part of the OneStop-ready process, tools, implementation guidance, workflows, and best practices are developed to assist the application of the DSMM and described in this paper. The DSMM ratings are also consistently captured in the ISO standard-based dataset-level quality metadata and citable quality descriptive information documents, which serve as interoperable quality information to both machine and human end-users. These DSMM implementation and integration workflows and best practices could be adopted by other data management and stewardship projects or adapted for applications of other maturity assessment models.

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"Providing Research Data Management (RDM) Services in Libraries: Preparedness, Roles, Challenges, and Training for RDM Practice"

Data and Information Management has released "Providing Research Data Management (RDM) Services in Libraries: Preparedness, Roles, Challenges, and Training for RDM Practice" by Rong Tang Zhan Hu.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper reports the results of an international survey on research data management (RDM) services in libraries. More than 240 practicing librarians responded to the survey and outlined their roles and levels of preparedness in providing RDM services, challenges their libraries face, and knowledge and skills that they deemed essential to advance the RDM practice. Findings of the study revealed not only a number of location and organizational differences in RDM services and tools provided but also the impact of the level of preparedness and degree of development in RDM roles on the types of RDM services provided.

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"Skills, Standards, and Sapp Nelson’s Matrix: Evaluating Research Data Management Workshop Offerings"

Philip Espinola Coombs et al. have published "Skills, Standards, and Sapp Nelson's Matrix: Evaluating Research Data Management Workshop Offerings" in the Journal of eScience Librarianship.

Here's an excerpt:

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Objective: To evaluate library workshops on their coverage of data management topics.

Methods: We used a modified version of Sapp Nelson’s Competency Matrix for Data Management Skills, a matrix of learning goals organized by data management competency and complexity level, against which we compared our educational materials: slide decks and worksheets. We examined each of the educational materials against the 333 learning objectives in our modified version of the Matrix to determine which of the learning objectives applied.

Conclusions: We found it necessary to change certain elements of the Matrix’s structure to increase its clarity and functionality: reinterpreting the behaviors, shifting the organization from the three domains of Bloom’s taxonomy to increasing complexity solely within the cognitive domain, as well as creating a comprehensive identifier schema. We appreciated the Matrix for its specificity of learning objectives, its organizational structure, the comprehensive range of competencies included, and its ease of use. On the whole, the Matrix is a useful instrument for the assessment of data management programming.

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"Building A National Research Data Management Course for Health Information Professionals"

Jessica Van Der Volgen and Shirley Zhao have published "Building A National Research Data Management Course for Health Information Professionals" in the Journal of eScience Librarianship.

Here's an excerpt:

Background: In August 2017 the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Training Office (NTO) was awarded an administrative supplement from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to create training for librarians in biomedical and health research data management (RDM). The primary goal of the training was to enable information professionals to initiate or enhance RDM at their institutions.

Case Presentation: An eight-week online course was developed to address key concepts in RDM. Each module was organized around measurable learning objectives using existing subject resources, such as readings, tutorials, and videos. Within each module, an expert in the field co-facilitated relevant discussions, created and graded a practical assignment, and answered questions. Thirty-eight participants were selected for this initial cohort. Mentors were assigned to each participant for guidance in completing a required project action plan to further their RDM goals at their institution. The course was evaluated through pre- and post-tests and an online questionnaire.

Results: Thirty participants successfully completed the online course work and project, and gathered at the National Institutes of Health for a Capstone Summit. Students demonstrated improved knowledge of RDM concepts between the pre- and post-tests. Most students also self-reported increased skill and confidence. Practical assignments with individual feedback from experienced data librarians were the most valued aspect of the course. Time to complete each module was underestimated.

Conclusions: The initial offering of this training program improved the RDM skills and knowledge of participants and enabled students to add or enhance services at their institutions. Further investigations are necessary to determine the longer-term impact on the individuals and their libraries. While many of the participants will need additional training to become part of the data-ready workforce of health information professionals, completing this training is an important step in their professional development.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"’How Do I Do That?’ A Literature Review of Research Data Management Skill Gaps of Canadian Health Sciences Information Professionals"

Justin Fuhr has published "'How Do I Do That?' A Literature Review of Research Data Management Skill Gaps of Canadian Health Sciences Information Professionals" in the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association.

Here's an excerpt:

There is a recognized need to provide research data management (RDM) services in health sciences libraries. A review of the literature reveals numerous strategies to provide training for health sciences librarians as they provide RDM services to health sciences researchers, faculty, and students. However, no consensus emerges through this literature review with respect to RDM training initiatives. With training initiatives being developed and documented, more in-depth research will emerge that verifies which initiatives have the greatest success for upskilling information professionals in managing research data. This is an area where future library and information studies research can be conducted. It is the hope that with this literature review, I can conduct my own survey to gain more perspective on RDM in a Canadian health sciences library context.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Teaching Research Data Management for Students"

Cord Wiljes and Philipp Cimiano has published "Teaching Research Data Management for Students" in Data Science Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

Sound skills in managing research data are a fundamental requirement in any discipline of research. Therefore, research data management should be included in academic education of students as early as possible. We have been teaching an interdisciplinary full semester's course on research data management for six years. We report how we established the course. We describe our competency-based approach to teaching research data management and the curriculum of topics that we consider essential. We evaluate our approach by a survey done among the participants of the course and summarize the lessons we learned in teaching the course.

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"Roles and Jobs in the Open Research Scholarly Communications Environment: Analysing Job Descriptions to Predict Future Trends"

Nancy Pontika has published "Roles and Jobs in the Open Research Scholarly Communications Environment: Analysing Job Descriptions to Predict Future Trends" in LIBER Quarterly.

Here's an excerpt:

During the past two-decades academic libraries updated current staff job responsibilities or created brand new roles. This allowed them to adapt to scholarly communication developments and consequently enabled them to offer efficient services to their users. The global calls for openly accessible research results has shifted the institutional, national and international focus and their constant evolvement has required the creation of new research positions in academic libraries. This study reports on the findings of an analysis of job descriptions in the open research services as advertised by UK academic libraries.

METHOD: From March 2015 to March 2017, job advertisements relating to open access, repositories and research data management were collected.

RESULTS: The analysis of the data showed that the primary responsibilities of the open research support staff were: to ensure and facilitate compliance with funders’ open access policies, maintain the tools that enable compliance, create reports and collect statistics that measure compliance rates and commit to continuous liaising activities with research stakeholders.

DISCUSSION: It is clear that the open research services is a complex environment, requiring a variety of general and subject specific skill sets, while often a role may involve more than one area of expertise.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study could benefit prospective employees and universities that wish to embed open research skills in their curriculum.

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"Sharing and Re-Using Open Data: A Case Study of Motivations in Astrophysics"

Anneke Zuiderwijka and Helen Spiers have published "Sharing and Re-Using Open Data: A Case Study of Motivations in Astrophysics" in the International Journal of Information Management.

Here's an excerpt:

This study sought to provide in-depth insight about the complex interaction of factors influencing motivations for sharing and re-using open research data within a single discipline, namely astrophysics. . . . Eight factors were found to influence researchers' motivations for sharing data openly, including the researcher's background, personal drivers, experience, legislation, regulation and policy, data characteristics, performance expectancy, usability, and collaboration. We identified six factors that influence researchers' motivations to re-use open research data, including the researcher’s background, facilitating conditions, expected performance, social and affiliation factors, effort and experience. Finally, we discuss how data sharing and re-use can be encouraged within the context of astrophysics research, and we discuss how these insights may be transferred to disciplines with low rates of data sharing and re-use.

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"The MASi Repository Service—Comprehensive, Metadata-Driven and Multi-Community Research Data Management"

Richard Grunzke et al. have published "The MASi Repository Service—Comprehensive, Metadata-Driven and Multi-Community Research Data Management" in Future Generation Computer Systems.

Here's an excerpt:

Here, we present the architecture and developments of the Metadata Management for Applied Sciences (MASi) project that is currently building a comprehensive research data management service. MASi extends the existing KIT Data Manager framework by a generic metadata programming interface and a generic graphical web interface. Furthermore, MASi is OAI compliant and supports the OAI-PMH protocol while providing support for provenance information using ProvONE, a well-established and accepted provenance model. To illustrate the practical applicability of the MASi service, we present the adoption of initial use cases within geography, chemistry and digital humanities.

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