Research Data Management : a report on Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities

Roadmap

Dr Amy Staniforth, Institutional Repository & Metadata, AU

Dr Beth Hall, Academic Support Librarian, BU

Dr Michelle Walker, Repository and Research Data Manager, BUChris Drew, Deputy Head of the Strategic Alliance Office

Strategic Alliance:

Research and Enterprise Support

Externally Facing (examples):• Joint responses to consultations, branding of materials under the Services to

Business brand & joint approach to project development with third party institutions and businesses

Internally Facing (examples):• Joint Strategy for Innovation and Engagement, joint engagement with funders for

internal benefit (funder visits etc.), joint facilitation of Research development collaboration across disciplines & institution &

• Research Data Management……

- Established 2011 - Research and Enterprise Partnership- Research Centres & Research and Enterprise Support

Research Data Management - initial drivers: • Initially structured around EPSRC* requirements: Data register & system in place by May

2015

• Harmonised policy: Need for new RDM policy to sit alongside existing policies (FOI, DP etc.)

• Efficiency dealing with the Digital Curation Centre: Shared use of DCC time and advice

• Potential for cost sharing: Possible training costs shared, storage solution costs reduced

• Identifying potential solutions – range of input: Sharing of research into current status of RDM, training needs, funders requirements, metadata schemas, workflows and technical solutions.

* Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

RDM & the Strategic Alliance 1:How do we work? • Joint Working Party: senior managers from Research support, Library Services,

Policy teams, Information Services and Finance.

• Meet 3 times a year (ish) & subgroups on:

• Technical Solution, • Metadata and Lifecycle Management, • Training and Information Provision• Compliance and governance • Finance• Policy

• Institutions make own decisions and recommendations come from joint efforts

of the working groups

RDM & the Strategic Alliance 2:Examples of our work so far:

• Shared development of EPSRC Roadmap – for May 2015 • Email questionnaire and Data Asset Framework project – in depth interviews into

RDM practices based on training with DCC

• Institutional policies on RDM approved by senior management

• Sharing of research e.g. into funders requirements and metadata schemas

• Exploration of long term storage solutions such as Arkivum & Amazon

• Shared training development and planned DCC Train the Trainer event at Gregynog

Proposed RDM Workflow at Aberystwyth…(short term)

PURE Current Research Information System (CRIS)

• Staff complete a metadata record in PURE describing the data (Datacite schema)• Mint DOI if needed via DataCite API (BL)• Record gets sent through to Cadair like our research article records • Record can be updated within PURE and DOIs or handles added later.

Cadair DSpace Repository

• PURE metadata records grouped together in Cadair to form a Data Register• Research data is deposited in subject specialist repository or in Cadair to form a Data Store• PURE record is updated with any new links to the above data

Proposed RDM Workflow at Bangor…(short term)

Repository:• New EPrints repository, recently installed to replace DSpace, in June this year• New Repository and Research Data Manager in post from June this year• Investigating Recollect plug-in for managing research data metadata in EPrints• Research data is deposited in a subject specialist repository wherever possible, with

ability to store in EPrints data sets that can’t be sent elsewhere • Initially as a pilot, the Repository and Research Data Manager will upload metadata and

data into EPrints working alongside the researcher

CRIS:• Current in-house CRIS does not have a portal• Currently tendering for a new solution – aim to allow researchers to deposit their

research data directly into the Repository via a CRIS portal

Further Developments – BU and AU

Some Issues:

• Still very difficult to know how much data will need depositing & describing

• Metadata standards and interoperability capabilities still in development and funders haven’t identified required information

• How will we connect our CRIS portals to our repositories? (AU will need to update our PURE-DSpace connector) (BU currently tendering for a new CRIS)

• Digital preservation area needs further investigation

Possible solutions:

• Waiting to see how many projects want/are required to describe and deposit data

• AU working with PURE User group & other PURE/DSpace users to develop better fields and connector

• Waiting to see specific wider funder requirements before leaping…

• Both BU and AU have recently upgraded storage so in the short-term we have some space for in & post-project data

• Exploring idea of using Arkivum or Amazon for longer term deep storage

AU & BU Training plans

• BU short RDM events in June 2014 suggests staff are interested but would like further targeted sessions (email management, file types for digital preservation) . BU also running a session in September for PG students. Slides available bilingually.

• Aim 1: to roll out a basic level of training (Winter 2014?) on data management (best practice: not all on your memory stick, for example)

• Aim 2: to develop more bespoke support for disciplines and one-on-one contact for project PIs, following development of internal technical solutions and procedures

• Upcoming: DCC ‘Train the Trainer’ September 2014, for librarians, research office staff and institute research support staff [many central services departments involved…]

Hands on/hand-holding:

- Research data and access requirements to it are much more varied than research publications so we anticipate a lot of direct support in RDM

- This will hopefully enable both better RDM and us to gain a picture of what is out there, and what risks it faces

Thank you

Contacts:

Dr Amy Staniforth – mws@aber.ac.uk / openaccess@aber.ac.uk

Dr Beth Hall - b.hall@bangor.ac.uk

Dr Michelle Walker - m.walker@bangor.ac.uk

Chris Drew - chd22@aber.ac.uk

business@aberbangorstrategicalliance.ac.uk