Explaining Usage Patterns in Open Government Data: The Case of Data.Gov.UK

Jonathan Bright 

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Helen Zerlina Margetts 

Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford

Ning Wang 

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Scott A. Hale 

Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
June 3, 2015

Abstract:      

Open data is one of the most significant current trends in public administration, with over 100 current open government projects around the world investing considerable time and effort in opening up public sector information for free re-use. The movement, whilst attracting widespread support, has also proved highly controversial, with critics highlighting both the high financial burden it appears to place on government departments and its uncertain political consequences; with some going so far to claim that the rhetoric of government transparency and open innovation has been co-opted into the service of neoliberal deregulation.

Despite the significance of the movement and the importance of the critiques, "little systematic OD research has been performed to date" (Peled 2013, 187), with both supportive and critical authors largely relying on anecdotes and one-off case studies. The major reason for this lies in the openness of open data itself: with no requirement to create an account before accessing data, there are no records of who is using it or for what purpose. Hence it is hard to systematically answer many of the major questions being raised about open data.

The aim of this article is to take a step towards remedying this deficit. Based on a unique dataset created through data downloaded and scraped from the UK’s open data portal website, we develop and test analytical models which seek to explain the amount of times individual datasets have been downloaded. We explore factors relating to both the economic sustainability of open data (asking whether extra departmental effort in curating datasets results in extra download levels) and its political implications (asking whether datasets relating to financial transparency or datasets with profit making potential are downloaded more). Our results challenge some of the key critiques currently live in the open data debate, and also suggest a way forward for the area in terms of financial sustainability and its contribution to democratic accountability.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2613853

Job Vacancy: Data Documentalist - Malawi

Looking for a change?

 

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is  looking for an experienced Data Documentalist to work with an established team of data managers on a unique data resource in Malawi. The Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit (formerly known as Karonga Prevention Study, a London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine research programme) has a large, complex database, encompassing millions of records of linked contacts on over 400,000 individuals, dating back to 1979, and including ongoing large population based studies.

We are currently developing a data warehouse, to ensure accessibility of the data in perpetuity and incorporating latest data documentation standards, and providing open access to the data and metadata to the greatest possible extent. We are looking for an individual to lead on acquisition of data and its pre-ingestion into documentation and cataloguing software, to have primary responsibility for all the ingestion of data into metadata management programs (eg. DDI, Nesstar, Colectica etc.), to develop appropriate administration and enforcement of access conditions, and to provide training and user support of the established new data warehouse. In addition the individual would manage the metadata entry officers.

The post will be based in our offices in Lilongwe, Malawi, with frequent visits to our rural Karonga site and visits to London as required. The position is available to start as soon as possible and is funded by the Wellcome Trust until 31 August 2017.

https://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=KPS04

 

Australian Government Public Data Policy Statement

Australian Government Public Data Policy Statement
The Australian Government released its Public Data Policy Statement (attached) yesterday. Please note research data and high-value data. More information ... https://blog.data.gov.au/news-media/blog/australian-government-public-data-policy-statement.

Geocoded National Address File
Also of interest, the Australian Government has entered into an agreement with PSMA Australia Limited (PSMA) to release the Geo-coded National Address File (G-NAF) and their Administrative Boundaries datasets under an open data licence in February 2016. More information ... https://blog.data.gov.au/news-media/blog/geocoded-national-address-data-be-made-openly-available.

​Other useful links​

​More information about Public Data has now been published on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet​ website at https://www.dpmc.gov.au/pmc/about-pmc/core-priorities/public-data-branch-within-dpmc. Updates are posted to the data.gov.au blog at https://blog.data.gov.au/.

PLoS article: Research Data in Core Journals in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics

Research Data in Core Journals in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics
Womack, Ryan P.
PLoS ONE, Vol. 10 Issue 12 – 2015: e0143460
Published Dec 4, 2015

This study takes a stratified random sample of articles published in 2014 from the top 10 journals in the disciplines of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics, as ranked by impact factor. Sampled articles were examined for their reporting of original data or reuse of prior data, and were coded for whether the data was publicly shared or otherwise made available to readers. Other characteristics such as the sharing of software code used for analysis and use of data citation and DOIs for data were examined. The study finds that data sharing practices are still relatively rare in these disciplines’ top journals, but that the disciplines have markedly different practices. Biology top journals share original data at the highest rate, and physics top journals share at the lowest rate. Overall, the study finds that within the top journals, only 13% of articles with original data published in 2014 make the data available to others.

Read for the full article at: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0143460

How Desert Island Discs became a researcher's treasure trove of research data

http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/nov/23/how-desert-island-discs-became-my-treasure-trove-of-research-data

Researchers get smart: do more with less.

Chinese researchers plead to share data in order to save lives!

http://www.nature.com/news/materials-science-share-corrosion-data-1.18845 

Researchers' favorite social network?  The winner is ....

http://www.nature.com/news/online-collaboration-scientists-and-the-social-network-1.15711 

Australian National Insect Collection at CSIRO in Canberra to be digitised

Researchers at the CSIRO in Canberra are preparing to digitise images and data for almost 12.5 million insects.  Simon Checksfield, the digital collections manager for CSIRO's national research collection, said the ambitious project would be welcomed by scientists, bug catchers and school groups around the world

The CSIRO's digital collection will be made publicly available online at the Atlas Of Living Australia

More at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-01/csiro-collection-of-12.5-million-insects-to-do-digital/6989606

Data Start - Using Australian Government data in startups

http://datastart.com.au/

Growing Startups Using Open Government Data

Creating new opportunities for tech startups

DataStart creates opportunities for Australian tech startups to develop sustainable businesses through access to open government data. We are seeking applications from founders and teams across Australia for our pilot program. One team will receive a nine month incubation program with Pollenizer and government assistance with customer discovery, technical support and access to government data. The successful team will also have opportunities to access private investment, networks, platforms and coaching as they create their dream company.

Open to all great ideas

Founders follow their passion, so the program will support any concept idea rather than prescribing areas of opportunities. Founders are free to learn through fast failures to build momentum.

Leveraging government data

Over 7,500 open data sets are available through data.gov.au and other government platforms. We are looking for entrepreneurs who can apply innovation and creativity to uncover new value and solve global problems.

Application Period

Applications Close 
11th Dec, 2015

We’re calling for strong founders with great ideas to apply to the first DataStart program. Founders can attend information nights in major cities, learn about the support offered, and apply to be shortlisted for the coaching week in Sydney. 

Hubble Telescope celebrates 25 years with eBook; 1990 - 2015

NASA celebrates 25 years of Hubble Telescope in 2015, since its launch in 1990. I just came across an ebook that was part of the celebration which showcases images and videos from Hubble.
All data generated from Hubble is released without copyright, but subject to some conditions (see link to Guidelines below).



Download the ebook as (1) epub (225Mb) or (2) pdf (189Mb) here. Videos included in the epub version, including Saturn, Jupiter and flying through a nebular are spectacular.

See NASA copyright guidelines here; "NASA still images... generally are not copyrighted".

Tools and Services over Data: Coordinating an Australian Approach

- Notes from the BOF session at eResearch Australasia 2015

Andrew Treloar (ANDS Director of Technology) and Nigel Ward (formerly Deputy Director at NeCTAR, now eResearch Services Manager at QCIF) ran a BOF session on “Tools and Services over Data” at  eResearch Australasia 2015. The aim of this BOF was to provide a venue for an ongoing discussion  between  data  providers,  data  service  providers,  and  data  service  users  about:

• how  to  more  efficiently  and  effectively  connect  data  to  tools  and  services  over  data
• how to better coordinate activities over  the  next  funding  period.

There were about 30 people in the session. The session started by asking attendees why they were interested in this session. Andrew and Nigel then gave a presentation  on why ANDS and NeCTAR care about Service and Tools over Data. This was followed by a discussion on what areas the participants felt we should work on; in particular what elements were missing in the Australian services and tools landscape.

The following areas were identified in the discussion:  

• Standard vocabularies
• Managing information about groups of people (for use by other services)
• Service interoperability (specifically making it far easier to achieve)
• Working with data derived from people (that is, confidential or private data)
• Data literacy for tool builders
• Data literacy for tool users

ANDS and NeCTAR will discuss further how to tackle the above issues, and then engage with the community. Stay tuned!

Using Scenarios in Introductory Research Data Management Workshops for Library Staff

Using Scenarios in Introductory Research Data Management Workshops for Library Staff

By Samantha Searle, Griffith University

Published in D-Lib Magazine, November 2015:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1045/november2015-searle

This case study describes the inclusion of a scenario-based group learning activity in introductory research data management workshops for librarians at two Australian universities in 2012-2013. The positive response from attendees at these workshops, and the successful re-use of the scenarios at several other Australian universities in 2014-2015, prompted further investigation into scenario-based learning (SBL) and reflection on how this approach could be better applied in future as part of in-house professional development programs for librarians.

Citizen Science @ UNSW : the Feather Map

Australia’s wetlands operate on a boom and bust cycle, when they flood they can attract thousands of waterbirds, when they dry, the birds disappear, only to return with the next flood. The Feather Map of Australia project aims to work out where the birds come from and where they go after the flood.

The Feather Map of Australia aims to collect waterbird feathers from wetlands around Australia. These feathers will be analysed for stable isotopes and mineral elements that are incorporated into feathers through food.

These analyses will identify the differences in feathers from different parts of Australia, creating a Feather Map.

The Feather Map will be used to track the movement of waterbirds around Australia from wetland to wetland based on the stable isotope and mineral elements in the feathers. This project is an Australian first and provides a new method of tracking waterbirds without the need for capturing birds.

https://www.ecosystem.unsw.edu.au/content/rivers-and-wetlands/wetland-ecology-and-stable-isotopes/feather-map-of-australia

Grant proposals rejected on poor DMP?

I've been following an interesting thread from the US that I thought worth sharing. It could be the shape of things to come in Australia?

The thread started with this post:

Out of curiosity, does your institution collect information on grant proposals that were rejected based primarily on a poor DMP?
Do you know if any institution or funder would collect or share this information?

Have you encountered PIs who had their grant proposal rejected based on an unacceptable DMP and if yes, did they have the opportunity to revise and resubmit?

Since we stress the importance of DMPs to PIs, it would be useful to have some examples or stats that back-up their importance/impact on a proposals success  


Snippets from some of the more interesting responses are copied below:

A while back, I spoke with Andrew Stephenson, the Associate Dean for Research in the Eberly College of Science, Penn State, about data curation and such. DMPs came up as a topic that he wants all his incoming grad students to know about. He worked on a selection committee for grants from NSF and said there were so many good proposals with such limited funds that any proposal without a good DMP was placed in the "no further consideration" pile immediately. He did not mention returning them.



Our institution doesn’t collect this information, so I’m not sure if we really
know why proposals are rejected. In my experience, the Office of Research
doesn’t receive the reviewers comments, so unless the PI decides to share the
reason for rejection, no one else knows.  However, in the last 6 months, I’ve
had three ‘Requests for Information’ about the DMP – the grant review panel
has asked the PI to improve the DMP before the proposal would be considered
further.

 See also this interesting blog post which also mentions request for revision of a DMP
https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/stories/supporting-ncsu-researchers-managing-their-data

American Chemical Society (ACS) Publications partner with FigShare

Source: http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2015/november/acs-publications-partners-with-digital-sciences-figshare-to-promote-open-data-discovery-and-use.html

The Publications Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) announced today a strategic partnership with Figshare, an open repository that promotes broad discoverability of scientific research data.

The ACS-Figshare partnership will not only provide for improved archiving and access to open data sets and other supporting information that often accompany articles published in the Society’s preeminent portfolio of peer-reviewed research journals, but will also better enable reader interaction with, and citation of, such ancillary information of importance to the scientific record.

An interactive widget powered by Figshare enables readers to view myriad data and other supporting information. Authors can submit information in more than 100 file formats, including video and multimedia files, tabular data and crystallographic data, to accompany their peer-reviewed articles. Open access to such supporting data within any ACS journal will be freely available to all users via the Society’s publications website (http://pubs.acs.org). 

Researchers publishing with ACS also will now have a mechanism for recognition and citation of their primary research data, which is an important consideration in the context of emerging funder requirements for managing and preserving such underlying information. To aid authors in the fulfilment of these requirements, ACS is facilitating automated deposition of Supporting Information (SI) files to a secure hosting environment, free from any restrictions on size and format.

In addition, ACS as publisher will assign Digital Object Identifier (known as DOI) tags to author-submitted SI files, thus enabling a mechanism for systematic citation of such research outputs. An additional benefit of the ACS-Figshare collaboration will be contributing to broader data discoverability, as the SI material will be searchable via Google and other major search engines and Web referral pathways.

Is your repository "trusted"?

From the Research Data Alliance: DSA-WDS Partnership for Certification WG Recommendations

The DSA and WDS group on certification of repositories has produced a two-part recommendation.

• common procedures for certification.
• common requirements for certification.

The group is seeking comment on these documents.

Of particular interest is the Catalogue of Common Requirements which could be used to undertake a self-assessment of your repository's "trustworthiness".

The Economic Impact of Open Data: What Do We Already Know?

Jeni Tennison

Director of Open Addresses UK and Technical Director of the Open Data Institute

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/jeni-tennison/economic-impact-of-open-data_b_8434234.html

Open data fuels economic growth. Many believe in the theory and ask for the proof. A new report by Nesta and the ODI adds to the evidence of the impact of open data. The report's analysis, undertaken by PwC, examines the effects of the Open Data Challenge Series (ODCS) and predicts the programme will result in a potential 10x return (£10 for every £1 invested over three years), generating up to £10.8m for the UK economy.

Economists use terms such as information asymmetry, allocative efficiency andnetwork effects to explain why open data creates this return. Others might say that open reduces friction in transactions and markets operate better in low friction environments.

To put it more simply, by publishing data openly we may be able to make better use of existing resources and create new products and services. These can be of huge benefit to an economy - they may help people choose what type of transport to use, decide where to build a new house or look up the weather on their smartphone.

A growing body of evidence quantifies the utility of open data and demonstrates its impact in many countries and sectors, based on a number of studies with varying approaches.

ORCID in the news again

PUBLIC RELEASE: 2-NOV-2015

Springer Nature implements ORCID unique digital identifiers for books and chapters

ORCID used in book workflow to help solve author name ambiguity problems in research and scholarly communications

Laurel L. Haak, Executive Director at ORCID, said, "Researchers want their contributions to be discoverable. We are excited that Springer Nature is using ORCID iDs in their book publishing workflow. Not only does this expand the types of creative works that researchers can easily connect to their ORCID iD, it also makes these works more clearly attributable, which helps increase their visibility in scholarly communications."

Science is best when the data is an open book

This article from the Conversation talks about why ..."In a better system of science, data sharing would be de rigueur."

Article by Alex O. Holcombe

Associate Professor, School of Psychology, University of Sydney

https://theconversation.com/science-is-best-when-the-data-is-an-open-book-49147

Openness Boosts Research

Well worth a look! 

Open research initiative in a difficult environment - pharmaceuticals.

Matthew Todd, Associate Professor at The University of Sydney and team lead of the Open Source Malaria (OSM) project gave a talk entitled "Openness Boosts Research" at the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist's (Mary O'Kane) Breakfast Seminar in Sydney on 28 October, 2015.

http://www.slideshare.net/MatthewTodd5/nsw-chief-scientist-breakfast-seminar

"The Open Source Malaria project is trying a different approach to curing malaria. Guided by open source principles, everything is open and anyone can contribute." 

Further information on the Open Source Malaria project can be found here.

USA: 3rd Open Govt National Action Plan

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/final_us_open_government_national_action_plan_3_0.pdf

See in particular, from p.10 re: open science

The Office of Science and Technology Policy will work to ensure that all Federal agencies that spend more than $100 million per year on research and development finalize plans and implement policies and programs to make scientific publications and digital data resulting from Federally funded research accessible to and usable by scientists, entrepreneurs, educators, students, and the general public.


Develop National Open Data Guidelines. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Chief Technology Officer will work with Data.gov, the Federal Open Data working group, representatives from Federal, state, and local governments, and civil society stakeholders to create Open Data National Guidelines on key issues for Federal open data.

● Promote Public Feedback Tools to Facilitate the Release of Open Data. The U.S. Open Data Policy directs agencies to engage with data users to prioritize release of open government data, and agencies approach this requirement in a variety of ways. The Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration will work with Federal agencies to promote consistent, customer-friendly feedback mechanisms on opening new datasets and improving existing datasets.

ORCID auto-update launch a 'game changer'

Research Information - News

INDUSTRY TRENDS - 26 October 2015

Now, ORCID registrants who use their unique ORCID identifier (iD) when submitting a manuscript or dataset can opt to have their ORCID record automatically updated when their work is made public.

http://www.researchinformation.info/news/news_story.php?news_id=2013

 

Know Your Rights: Understanding CC Licences

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