RDM basics

1. RDMRose: Research Data Management for LIS Session 1 Introductions, RDM, and the role of LIS Session 1.2 RDM basics RDM basics Session 1.2 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

2. Learning outcomes • At the end of this session you will be able to: • Discuss the definition of “Research Data Management” and “Digital curation” • Describe the strategic context within which RDM has appeared on the agenda and the key drivers and issues for researchers Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

3. Session overview • RDM definition • Digital curation definition • Context • Incentives • Issues for researchers Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

4. What words to you associate with RDM? Activity 1.2.1 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

5. Activity 1.2.1 What words do you associate with RDM? Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

6. Some words that have been suggested • Storage • Preservation • Reuse • Accessibility • Data Management Plans • Unknown • Forbidding • Exciting • Boring • Technical Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

7. RDM definition • “Research data management concerns the organisation of data, from its entry to the research cycle through to the dissemination and archiving of valuable results.” (Whyte & Tedds, 2011) Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

8. Digital curation definition • “Digital curation, broadly interpreted, is about maintaining and adding value to a trusted body of digital information for current and future use.” (DCC, n.d. b, p. 6) • Linking content • Managing digital material from the point it is created • Destruction • Beyond archiving and preservation • “Digital curation is concerned with actively managing data for as long as it continues to be of scholarly, scientific, research and/or administrative interest, with the aim of supporting reproducibility of results, reuse of and adding value to that data, managing it from its point of creation until it is determined not to be useful, and ensuring its long-term accessibility and preservation, authenticity and integrity.” (DCC, n.d.b, p. 6) Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

9. Context • “Data deluge” • eScience, cyberscholarship, e-research • Collaborations • Multiple forms of complex data • Huge cost of research • National policy • Data Protection Act, Freedom Of Information Act compliance • Funders’ mandates Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

10. Position of the funders • Funders’ mandates • A key landmark for the UK was EPSRC’s requirement that every institution seeking funding needed a roadmap to compliance by 1st May 2012 and actual compliance by 1st May 2015. • NSF requirements key in USA Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

11. Institutional policy Whyte & Tedds (2011) identify that institutional policy is likely to • “Identify areas of responsibility for the institution and for researchers • Commit the university to develop appropriate guidelines, training and support, including mechanisms and services for storage and backup • Support deployment of data repositories and/ or mechanisms for registering metadata about research data • Recognise that management and curation of research data requires cooperation and coordination with research funders, and with existing national and international providers of data services and subject-based repositories” Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

12. Incentive 1: Direct benefits to scientist • Improve the quality of research data • Provide access to reliable working data • Allow conclusions to be validated externally • Apply good record-keeping standards to data capture including in lab and field electronic notebooks, which enables scientists to draw conclusions from reliable and trustworthy working research data • Enable large amounts of data to be analysed and developed across different locations by maintaining consistency in working practices and interpretations • Manage relationships between different versions of dynamic or evolving datasets, and facilitates linkage with other related research and between primary, secondary and tertiary data • Ensure valuable knowledge and data originating from short-term research projects does not become obsolete or inaccessible when funding expires • Allow data sets to be combined in new and innovative ways Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

13. Incentive 2: ‘Public good’ obligations • Demonstrate Return on Investment • Open Access Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

14. Incentive 3: Compliance reasons • Compliance with funding body requirements • Legal requirements • Publishers’ requirements Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

15. The RDM agenda • There may also be a data security incentive. • Beagrie and Pink (2012) analyse the benefits of RDM to different stakeholders • It is not clear how far these different incentives are temporarily or permanently aligned. Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

16. Issues for researchers • The nature of data • How important is it relative to doing the research; projects only get short term funding • Authority structures in universities; the social organisation of research • Is infrastructure available? • Lack of RDM knowledge and skills • No checking of compliance • Legal, ethical and commercial motives • Desire to keep control over data • Informal sharing practices already exist • Lack of reuse culture Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

17. The researcher’s viewpoint Activity 1.2.2 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

18. Activity 1.2.2 The researcher’s viewpoint • Which issues with RDM are the most critical barriers in your opinion? • Which of the arguments in favour of RDM would play best with researchers? Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

19. Sources and References Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

20. Sources • Slides incentives 1-3 are based on DCC (n.d. a). Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

21. References • Beagrie, N. and Pink, C. (2012). Benefits from Research Data Management in Universities for Industry and Not-for-Profit Research Partners. Charles Beagrie Ltd and University of Bath. Retrieved from http://opus.bath.ac.uk/32509/ . • DCC (n.d. a). DC101: Incentives for digital curation. Edinburgh: Digital Curation Centre. Retrieved from http://www.dcc.ac.uk/webfm_send/433. • DCC (n.d. b). DC 101: What is digital curation?Edinburgh: Digital Curation Centre. Retrieved from http://www.dcc.ac.uk/webfm_send/437. • Whyte, A., & Tedds, J. (2011). Making the case for Research Data Management. Edinburgh: Digital Curation Centre. Retrieved from http://www.dcc.ac.uk/webfm_send/487. Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose