supporting the research data management process- a guide for librarians
DESCRIPTION
A presentation by John Southall, LSE Data Librarian given at the ALISS 2013 summer conferenceTRANSCRIPT
Supporting Evolving Research Needs
ALISS One Day Summer Conference
30th July 2013
What is it?
• A concern with all the material produced during digital research
• Not just the publications!• Extension of digital literacy and good
research practice• Stronger input / expectations from research
stakeholders
Roots of RDM
• Digital realm• Expansion in research and research collaboration
in academia• Digital media drawbacks
• Inflexible formats• Easily lost• Lack organisation• Short-termism
Growth of RDM
• Digital media strengths• Easily stored• Produces perfect copies• Great potential for sharing, re-use
• Evolution of digital literacy• More data being made available
Practical examples
• Documents, spreadsheets• Research notebooks/Codebooks• Questionnaires, transcripts, • Audio, images & videotapes• Resource: UK Data Archive / UK
Data Service
Research Data Objects
• Acquired or generated during the research process
• Databases • Standard operating procedures,
guidelines or protocols• Metadata - context
Language of Research Data Management• Type - Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed• Terms - created or converted• Formats - alternatives
• Proprietary• Non-proprietary• Obsolete
• Greater involvement in research process• Resource: University of Leicester RDM
A Wider Area for Support
• Data underlies publications and merits as much attention
• It will be archived and accessible• Preservation and multiple use depends
on curation of data• Avoid some of the pitfalls of working
with digital data
Understanding the research process• Where do we contribute?
• Discuss their research activity• Assess needs• Identify opportunities to assist• Overcome reluctance about RDM• Wider institutional support mechanisms
Common Themes
• Storage and preservation issues• Metadata• Research Ethics
• of data creation • and sharing
• Data Management Plan and Planning
‘The Plan’
• Describes the research data being created or collected
• Key responsibilities• How the data will be organised • Documentation during the collection
and analysis phase
Other aspects of ‘The Plan’
• Policy on data storage and security• Facilities and equipment?• Ownership and access rights • Long term availability• Plan v. Planning• Resource: Digital Curation Centre
More Common Areas for Support• Building on advice during initial
research• Developing funding proposals• Advising/ being aware of digital, data
or RDM issues• Advising/ being aware of ethical and
legal issues
Ethical and Legal issues
• Research Ethics• Access Restrictions• Participatory / Confidentiality agreements • Ethics Committees and Informed Consent• Responsible Conduct
• Legal Issues• Usage conditions• Data Protection FOI Legislation• Researcher aware and confident
Other Resources
• Edinburgh Data Library – Mantra• University of Bristol – Data.bris• University of Oxford – Damaro
• Support Agencies: JISC
Key Elements
• What is your data? • What data will you collect and wish to keep? • Will it be kept for the short or long term • How will you describe this data to enable future
access? (metadata)• Where will it will be stored? • Who will and will not have access to it? • How will that access be managed?
Supporting Research Through RDM
• Answer this question"What would you do if you lost your
research data tomorrow?”
• Not just compliance • Help researchers complete their work• Share data and results• Get credit for what they have done