JISC Research Data Management Toolkit released

JISC has released their new Research Data Management Toolkit.

"This toolkit aims to support you by signposting resources from a wide range of websites and organisations, sorted by topic and audience. Follow your pathway below or browse the website using the research data lifecycle chart."

Book - Exploring Research Data Management

By Andrew Cox and Eddy Verbaan 

See: http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=302789#.WwpjbNVuaAw

 

Research Data Management (RDM) has become a professional topic of great importance internationally following changes in scholarship and government policies about the sharing of research data.

 

Exploring Research Data Management provides an accessible introduction and guide to RDM with engaging tasks for the reader to follow and develop their knowledge. 

 

Starting by exploring the world of research and the importance and complexity of data in the research process, the book considers how a multi-professional support service can be created then examines the decisions that need to be made in designing different types of research data service from local policy creation, training, through to creating a data repository. 

 

Coverage includes:

• A discussion of the drivers and barriers to RDM
• Institutional policy and making the case for Research Data Services
• Practical data management
• Data literacy and training researchers
• Ethics and research data services
• Case studies and practical advice from working in a Research Data Service.

Readership: This book will be useful reading for librarians and other support professionals who are interested in learning more about RDM and developing Research Data Services in their own institution. It will also be of value to students on librarianship, archives, and information management courses studying topics such as RDM, digital curation, data literacies and open science.

Research data management in academic institutions: A scoping review

Article in PLOS by Laure Perrier et al

• Published: May 23, 2017
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178261

 

 

Objective

The purpose of this study is to describe the volume, topics, and methodological nature of the existing research literature on research data management in academic institutions.

Materials and methods

We conducted a scoping review by searching forty literature databases encompassing a broad range of disciplines from inception to April 2016. We included all study types and data extracted on study design, discipline, data collection tools, and phase of the research data lifecycle.

Results

We included 301 articles plus 10 companion reports after screening 13,002 titles and abstracts and 654 full-text articles. Most articles (85%) were published from 2010 onwards and conducted within the sciences (86%). More than three-quarters of the articles (78%) reported methods that included interviews, cross-sectional, or case studies. Most articles (68%) included the Giving Access to Data phase of the UK Data Archive Research Data Lifecycle that examines activities such as sharing data. When studies were grouped into five dominant groupings (Stakeholder, Data, Library, Tool/Device, and Publication), data quality emerged as an integral element.

Conclusion

Most studies relied on self-reports (interviews, surveys) or accounts from an observer (case studies) and we found few studies that collected empirical evidence on activities amongst data producers, particularly those examining the impact of research data management interventions. As well, fewer studies examined research data management at the early phases of research projects. The quality of all research outputs needs attention, from the application of best practices in research data management studies, to data producers depositing data in repositories for long-term use.

The Data Librarian’s Handbook

Facet Publishing have announced the release of The Data Librarian’s Handbook by Robin Rice and John Southall.

This new book, written by two data librarians with over 30 years’ experience, unpicks the everyday role of the data librarian and offers practical guidance on how to collect, curate and crunch data for economic, social and scientific purposes.

Interest in data has been growing in recent years. Support for this peculiar class of digital information – its use, preservation and curation, and how to support researchers’ production and consumption of it in ever greater volumes to create new knowledge, is needed more than ever. Many librarians and information professionals are finding their working life is pulling them toward data support or research datamanagement but lack the skills required.

Covering everything from handling, managing and curating data; data literacy; research data management policies; data management plans; data repositories; confidential or sensitive data; open scholarship and open science, The DataLibrarian’s Handbook is a must-read for all new entrants to the field, LIS students and working professionals.

The authors said, “Our aim is to offer an insider’s view of data librarianship as it is today, with plenty of practical examples and advice. At times we link this to wider academic and research agendas and scholarly communication trends, while grounding these thoughts back in the everyday work of data librarians and other information professionals”.

Robin Rice is Data Librarian at EDINA and Data Library, an organisation providing data services for research and education based in Information Services at the University of Edinburgh.

John Southall is Data Librarian for the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford. He is based in the Social Science Library and is subject consultant for Economics, Sociology and Social Policy & Intervention.

The Data Librarian's Handbook | Jan 2017 | 192pp | paperback: 9781783300471 | £54.95 | hardback: 9781783300983 | £89.95 | eBook: 9781783301836| £54.95

The book is published by Facet Publishing and is available from Bookpoint Ltd | Tel: +44 (0)1235 827702 | Fax: +44 (0)1235 827703 | Email: facet@bookpoint.co.uk | Web:www.facetpublishing.co.uk. | Mailing Address: Mail Order Dept, 39 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4TD. It is available in North America from the American Library Association.

COAR Research Data Management survey results

In September 2016, COAR (Confederation of Open Access Repositories) launched a Research Data Management (RDM) Interest Group to help the community expand their operations to support RDM. This group will provide a forum for discussion about managing research data, identify best practices and strategies, and support capacity building for RDM in the repository community.

RDM is wide ranging and there are already many organizations active in this area. The aim of COAR’s work is to promote and articulate the role of research institutions in providing access to research data and to help address the challenges of RDM for the repository community.

See the results of research data management survey, undertaken in December 2016

The COAR Research Data Management Interest Group has identified the following activities for 2016-2018:

1. Webinars
2. Develop an assessment framework to help institutions evaluate data repository systems
3. Undertake a brief survey of RDM activities within the COAR membership
4. Identify and link to key training material and resources
5. Share collection policies for RDM in repositories
6. Recommend metadata standards for research data sets

https://www.coar-repositories.org/activities/repository-content/rda-interest-group-the-long-tail-of-research-data/

Does my data look good in this? Exploring research data management in the creative arts

On January 18th there was a Jisc-funded workshop on ‘Does my data look good in this? Exploring research data management in the creative arts.’

For everyone who may be interested in this area, there is a ‘virtual goody bag’ at the following link: https://vads.ac.uk/kultur2group/projects/datalookgood/bag.html

This includes: presentations, handouts/activities, video clips of arts researchers, and links to the Jisc projects mentioned.

http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/101389/

Developments in research data management in academic libraries: Towards an understanding of research data service maturity

Cox, A.M. , Kennan, M.A., Lyon, L. et al. (1 more author) (2017) Developments in research data management in academic libraries: Towards an understanding of research data service maturity. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. ISSN 2330-1635 (In Press)

Abstract

This paper reports an international study of research data management (RDM) activities, services and capabilities in higher education libraries. It presents the results of a survey covering higher education libraries in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK. The results indicate that libraries have provided leadership in RDM, particularly in advocacy and policy development. Service development is still limited, focused especially on advisory and consultancy services (such as data management planning support and data-related training), rather than technical services (such as provision of a data catalogue, and curation of active data). Data curation skills development is underway in libraries, but skills and capabilities are not consistently in place and remain a concern. Other major challenges include resourcing, working with other support services, and achieving ‘buy in’ from researchers and senior managers. Results are compared with previous studies in order to assess trends and relative maturity levels. The range of RDM activities explored in this study are positioned on a ‘landscape maturity model’, which reflects current and planned research data services and practice in academic libraries, representing a ‘snapshot’ of current developments and a baseline for future research.

http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/101389/

Data Tool Kit released - Special Libraries Association (US)

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) Data Caucus has gathered resources related to data management in a data-tool-kit.  We hope this is useful to you and your feedback is appreciated.  If you feel a resource is missing, please let me know.

http://data.sla.org/data-tool-kit

Digital Curation Centre's new checklist: 'Where to keep research data'.

The Digital Curation Centre is pleased to announce 'Where to keep research data'. This new checklist is concerned with external third-party repositories that offer a managed service to the research community. It aims to assist research support staff whose task is to help researchers make informed choices about where to deposit data. 

The guidance describes different types of service, suggesting some pros and cons of each, and lists sources of information on where to find candidates of the various types.  It then introduces three levels of service that can help match a repository to the depositor’s requirements for their data collection.

See more at: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides-checklists/where-keep-research-data

This checklist aims to assist research support staff in UK Higher Education Institutions whose task is to help researchers make informed choices about where to deposit data. - See more at: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides-checklists/where-keep-research-data#sthash.cqR0LrnH.dpuf

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.

Data sharing – build it and they will come

From the University of Cambridge Blog: – case study about development of RDM services in Cambridge

https://unlockingresearch.blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=221

If a tree falls in the forest and no one was there to hear it, did it happen? You could ask the same philosophical question of research – if no-one can see the research results, what was the point in the first place?

Moving science forward and increasing the knowledge of the world around implies exchange of findings. Society cannot benefit from research if there is no awareness of what has been done. Managing and sharing research data is a fundamentally important part of the research process. Yet researchers are often reluctant to share their data, and some are openly hostile to the idea.

This blog describes the research data services provided at Cambridge University which are attempting to encourage and assist researchers manage and share their data.

A tough start Read more:

New primer from NISO: Research Data Management

Research Data Management

Written by Carly Strasser, this primer is the first in a new series from the U.S. National Information Standards Organization. It provides a high-level overview of all aspects of data management; 23 p. packed full of helpful information, with plenty of useful resources.

CASRAI Glossary of terms: Research Data Management

The Glossary has been developed in consultation with vocabulary experts and practitioners from a wide cross-section of stakeholder groups. It is meant to be a practical reference for individuals and working groups concerned with the improvement of research data management, and as a meeting place for further discussion and development of terms. The aim is to create a stable and sustainably governed glossary of community accepted terms and definitions, and to keep it relevant by maintaining it as a ‘living document’ that is updated when necessary.

http://dictionary.casrai.org/Category:Research_Data_Domain

Griffith Research Hub: Connecting an entire University's research enterprise

Griffith Research Hub: Connecting an entire University's research enterprise

Natasha Simons, Arve Solland, Jan Hettenhausen

Book chapter in: Linked Data and User Interaction

IFLA publication, deGruyter 2015

Abstract: Universities are operating in a knowledge environment characterised by competition, collaboration, a diversification of research outputs and rapid technological change. Thus the use of linked data is rapidly gaining momentum, typically for educational resources with research as a subset of this content.  The Griffith Research Hub is focused specifically on exposing linked data for research. It provides a publicly accessible, single comprehensive view of Griffith University’s research output and activities, including research publications, projects, datasets, centres, researchers and their collaborators. The Hub serves an ambitiously wide audience including higher degree research students, researchers, industry and the media. Built in-house on open source semantic web technologies, the Hub draws data automatically from multiple enterprise systems and includes an edit interface for manual correction and enrichment of data. The Hub is the product of a partnership between Griffith University and the Australian National Data Service. Benefits of the Hub include powerful yet simple search and browse tools, generation of substantial web traffic, linked data that allows users to seamlessly discover related information in other services and databases including at the National Library of Australia, visualisation features, and the development of a shared ontology to describe research activities.

Occupational Sub-Cultures, Jurisdictional Struggle and Third Space: Theorising Professional Service Responses to Research Data Management

Abstract: Effective Research Data Management (RDM) is becoming an increasing concern in UK universities as a result of mandates from research funders. The study explored the usefulness of theories of occupational sub-culture, jurisdictional struggle and Third Space to understand how librarians, IT staff and research administrators view developing services to support RDM. Data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with staff in the Library, IT services and Research Office of a research intensive university in Northern England.

The notion of occupational sub-culture directs attention to the different ways professional services view RDM. Broadly speaking, IT Services focussed on short term data storage; Research Office on compliance and research quality; librarians on preservation and advocacy. In terms of Abbott's theories, the Library was the only department claiming a new jurisdiction in RDM. This could be seen as an extension of its existing jurisdiction in Open Access and Information Literacy. The other departments claimed to be short of resources to take on such a complex project. Some interviewees feared RDM might be risky and demand lots of resources. Third Space theory is a powerful way to think about roles that might emerge in a new intra-professional space as RDM services become a reality.

View full article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.02.008