Comparing the diffusion and adoption of linked data and research data management services among libraries

Author : Jinfang Niu

Introduction

Libraries face innovations periodically. It is important to identify consistent patterns in the diffusion and adoption of innovations so that libraries and relevant stakeholders will be informed and well-prepared for future innovations.

Method

This paper compares findings from two previous projects, each of which was conducted to investigate the diffusion and adoption of two recent innovations, research data management service and linked data, respectively.

The two projects were conducted using similar methods: collecting and analysing literature about the adoption of these innovations in libraries in the United States. Literature was collected through Google Scholar search, citation chasing, and target search for people or libraries that are involved in their adoption.

Analysis

The gathered articles were then coded and analysed based on diffusion of innovation theories.

Results

Similarities and disparities between the diffusion and adoption of the two innovations were identified.

Conclusions

Findings from this study are informative for the decision-making of libraries, librarians, funders, and professional associations facing future innovations. They also contribute to diffusion of innovation theories through revealing new communication channels and alternative adoption processes, as well as redefining existing concepts.

URL : http://www.informationr.net/ir/25-2/paper855.html

Measuring and Mapping Data Reuse: Findings From an Interactive Workshop on Data Citation and Metrics for Data Reuse

Author : Lisa Federer

Widely adopted standards for data citation are foundational to efforts to track and quantify data reuse. Without the means to track data reuse and metrics to measure its impact, it is difficult to reward researchers who share high-value data with meaningful credit for their contribution.

Despite initial work on developing guidelines for data citation and metrics, standards have not yet been universally adopted. This article reports on the recommendations collected from a workshop held at the Future of Research Communications and e-Scholarship (FORCE11) 2018 meeting titled Measuring and Mapping Data Reuse: An Interactive Workshop on Metrics for Data.

A range of stakeholders were represented among the participants, including publishers, researchers, funders, repository administrators, librarians, and others.

Collectively, they generated a set of 68 recommendations for specific actions that could be taken by standards and metrics creators; publishers; repositories; funders and institutions; creators of reference management software and citation styles; and researchers, students, and librarians.

These specific, concrete, and actionable recommendations would help facilitate broader adoption of standard citation mechanisms and easier measurement of data reuse.

URL : Measuring and Mapping Data Reuse: Findings From an Interactive Workshop on Data Citation and Metrics for Data Reuse

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1162/99608f92.ccd17b00

Data Sharing in the Context of Health-Related Citizen Science

Authors : Mary A. Majumder, Amy L. McGuire

As citizen science expands, questions arise regarding the applicability of norms and policies created in the context of conventional science. This article focuses on data sharing in the conduct of health-related citizen science, asking whether citizen scientists have obligations to share data and publish findings on par with the obligations of professional scientists.

We conclude that there are good reasons for supporting citizen scientists in sharing data and publishing findings, and we applaud recent efforts to facilitate data sharing.

At the same time, we believe it is problematic to treat data sharing and publication as ethical requirements for citizen scientists, especially where there is the potential for burden and harm without compensating benefit.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110520917044

Pratiques de gestion des données de la recherche : une nécessaire acculturation des chercheurs aux enjeux de la science ouverte ? Résultats d’une enquête exploratoire dans le bassin montpelliérain (juin 2018)

Auteur/Authors : Philippe Amiel, Francesca Frontini, Pierre-Yves Lacour, Agnès Robin

L’article présente les résultats d’une enquête exploratoire, menée en juin 2018 par le programme de recherche CommonData, dans le bassin montpelliérain à propos des pratiques de gestion des données de la recherche scientifique par les chercheurs.

Les principaux objectifs étaient de voir si cette gestion est ou non le fruit d’une organisation pensée et raisonnée, de vérifier la capacité ou l’incapacité dans laquelle se trouvent les chercheurs pour qualifier juridiquement les données explorées, collectées ou produites – qualification rendue nécessaire par la mise en œuvre de la politique actuelle d’ouverture de la science – et enfin, d’observer la réalité du sentiment de propriété développé par les chercheurs à l’égard des données qu’ils produisent, posant la question plus générale de la dimension personnelle et/ou institutionnelle du travail de recherche et de ses conséquences sur l’attribution de la propriété.

URL : https://journals.openedition.org/cdst/2061

Research Data Management Services and Strategic Planning in Libraries Today: A Longitudinal Study

Authors : Elise Gowen, John J. Meier

INTRODUCTION

Research data services have been adopted by many academic libraries. This study tracked the changes in research data management services and staffing among Association of American Universities (AAU) libraries over the past 5 years and compared them to the libraries’ goals for research data management (RDM) in their strategic plan.

METHODS

This quantitative study examined libraries at the 60 U.S. AAU institutions. In order to examine longitudinal changes, portions of Briney et.al. (2015a) were used as a basis for measuring data librarian staffing and services.

These trends were compared to the contemporary strategic priorities of libraries interviewed by Meier (2016), as well as against strategic plans of 2014 and 2019 available online.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

While there have been modest increases in libraries in the sample population offering data services, most of those gains have been among the libraries that did not consider RDM a priority in 2014. Interestingly, some of the libraries that mentioned RDM as a priority in 2014 have lost data librarian positions.

Over half of the libraries in this study now provide or support a data repository. Many library strategic plans that mentioned RDM as an explicit goal 5 years ago now no longer mention it.

CONCLUSION

Data librarian positions, data services, and data repositories have now become common features of large research university libraries. However, research data services are no longer as prominent in many library strategic plans at institutions where such services are more established, and libraries instead seem to be moving on to the work of rethinking the nature of the services or expanding them.

URL : Research Data Management Services and Strategic Planning in Libraries Today: A Longitudinal Study

DOI : https://doi.org/10.7710/2162-3309.2336

FAIR Digital Objects for Science: From Data Pieces to Actionable Knowledge Units

Authors : Koenraad De Smedt, Dimitris Koureas, Peter Wittenburg

Data science is facing the following major challenges: (1) developing scalable cross-disciplinary capabilities, (2) dealing with the increasing data volumes and their inherent complexity, (3) building tools that help to build trust, (4) creating mechanisms to efficiently operate in the domain of scientific assertions, (5) turning data into actionable knowledge units and (6) promoting data interoperability.

As a way to overcome these challenges, we further develop the proposals by early Internet pioneers for Digital Objects as encapsulations of data and metadata made accessible by persistent identifiers.

In the past decade, this concept was revisited by various groups within the Research Data Alliance and put in the context of the FAIR Guiding Principles for findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable data.

The basic components of a FAIR Digital Object (FDO) as a self-contained, typed, machine-actionable data package are explained. A survey of use cases has indicated the growing interest of research communities in FDO solutions.

We conclude that the FDO concept has the potential to act as the interoperable federative core of a hyperinfrastructure initiative such as the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

URL : FAIR Digital Objects for Science: From Data Pieces to Actionable Knowledge Units

Alternative location : https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6775/8/2/21