Research Data Management

To develop robust research support services throughout the entire research life cycle, individuals and units from across the university, including the library, must collaborate beyond internal silos. To ensure user adoption and project success, libraries must address the “social ‘stuff’” by building trusted relationships, securing buy-in, and managing resistance. A recent OCLC Research report called this specific type of soft skill “social interoperability,” and defined it as the ability to create and maintain working relationships between individuals and organizational units that promote collaboration, communication, and mutual understanding.

The need to work effectively across campus is particularly true for the new generation of research support services like data management, RIM systems, and research analytics where services are distributed across many stakeholder units, including research administration, campus IT, colleges, departments . . . and, of course, the library. In this presentation, we will share an overview of the challenges, opportunities, and imperative for cross-campus collaboration, offering strategies and tactics that anyone can apply to increase their own “social interoperability.”

Panelists from Syracuse University and the University of Waterloo will provide real-world case studies of successful cross-campus social interoperability. At Syracuse, the library has reorganized internally and developed relationships externally with the Office of Research in order to build a suite of services around research information management, open scholarship, and research impact. Waterloo is also working successfully with the Office of Research, central IT, and other campus stakeholders to develop an institutional research data management strategy that fosters research excellence and imagines how lasting collaboration can deliver effective services.

Topics: Research Support, Research Information Management, Research Data Management

Abstract

The digital environment makes workflow support more important, as activities, content, and communications are tied together on the network in various combinations. Think of the interesting mix of social and functional capacities in an application like Strava, used by athletes to track activity and connect with others. In a library or research environment this trend is also clear. Research practices, and the support provided by libraries, publishers and others, provide an intriguing example, as workflows produce, manage and consume content, enable collaboration, and tie devices together to get things done.

We are familiar with the historic role of the Institutional Repository, and libraries are now potentially working with colleagues to provide research information management systems and research data management capacity. This presentation will consider some of these issues, in the context of changing research behaviors, metrics, the move to open, and other factors.

Comments

Lorcan coordinates strategic planning and oversees the Membership and Research Division at OCLC. He has worked for library and educational organizations in Ireland, the UK, and the US. His influence on national policy and library directions is widely recognized. In 2010 he received the National Federation of Advanced Information Services' (NFAIS) highest award, The Miles Conrad Award. He is an honorary Doctor of the Open University in the UK and has twice received an ALCTS Presidential Citation for his work with OCLC colleagues. Lorcan began his career in public libraries in his native Dublin, Ireland. Before moving to OCLC, he managed the UK higher education national investment in information services for Jisc. He is a member of the Cambridge University Library Visiting Committee. Lorcan has a BA and MLIS from University College Dublin

Topics: Research Support, Research Information Management, Research Data Management

Understanding how data reusers seek and evaluate potential data for reuse will aid data curators, data managers, and developers in the open repository field. We will review past studies of data reusers, specifically a qualitative study of 105 researchers from three disciplinary communities: quantitative social science, archaeology, and zoology. The study identified 12 types of context information that data reusers mention needing when deciding whether to reuse data. Next, we will use the context types to create a feature set and assess how data repositories provide the needed context information to users. Finally, using findings from our assessment, we will showcase desirable features in use to prototype the design of a reuser-oriented data repository that developers can use to improve their data repository interface.

Topics: Open Access, Research Data Management