Policies for institutional research data repositories. Session 2.3 of the RDMRose 2.3 materials.
The JISC funded RDMRose project (June 2012-May 2013) was a collaboration between the libraries of the University of Leeds, Sheffield and York, with the Information School at Sheffield to provide an Open Educational Resource for information professionals on Research Data Management. The materials were revised between November 2014 and February 2015 for the consortium of North West Academic Libraries (NoWAL).
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
2. Learning outcomes
By the end of this session you will be able to:
• Identify the broad areas that should be considered
when setting up an institutional research data
repository from the perspective of an LIS professional
• Articulate the various practical points for consideration
when setting up and running an institutional research
data repository, and their relation to sound data
management practices
• Reflect upon the necessary policies for successfully
running an institutional research data repository
• Write such a policy document
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
3. Session 2.3 overview
• Exploring institutional research data
repository requirements
• Writing an institutional research data
repository policy
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
4. Exploring data repository
requirements
• DISC-UK DataShare project (2007-2009)
• Collaboration between the Universities of Edinburgh,
Oxford and Southampton to establish institutional data
repositories and related services
• A guide to Policy-Making for Research Data in Repositories:
http://www.disc-uk.org/docs/guide.pdf
• Six areas of policy making;
1. content coverage
2. metadata
3. submission of data (ingest)
4. access and reuse of data
5. preservation of data,
6. withdrawal of data and succession plans
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
5. Activity 1: Data repository policies
• Take charge of one or more areas of policy-
making
• For the purpose of this activity it is best to
combine points 2, 5 and 6:
– 1. content coverage
– 2. metadata, 5. preservation of data, 6.
withdrawal of data and succession plans
– 3. submission of data (ingest)
– 4. access and reuse of data
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
6. Activity 1: Data repository policies
1. Read through the points for consideration for
the area(s) of policy making that you are
responsible for.
– What is the most important issue in your opinion?
2. Plan your policy document:
– Which points do you feel your policy document
needs to emphasize?
– How much detail do you think your policy
document needs to contain?
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
7. Activity 1: Data repository policies
– You could look at the following institutional
repository policy for inspiration:
• The University of Edinburgh’s DataShare is a repository
dedicated to research data:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-
departments/information-services/services/research-
support/data-library/data-repository/service-policies
• You can find other institutional repositories that accept
data sets at: http://www.opendoar.org
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
8. Activity 1: Data repository policies
3. Write your policy document
– You could look at the policies of existing repositories
for inspiration
4. If you are working in teams, present your policy
document:
– 3 to 5 minutes
– A digest of your part of the DISC-UK document with an
overview of the points of consideration for your area
of policy making
– The decisions you made and why you made them
– Your proposed policy
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
9. Activity 1 summary:
Data repository policies
1. Read through your section: What is the most
important issue in your opinion?
2. Plan your policy document: Which points do you feel
you need to emphasize? How much detail does you
policy need to contain?
3. Write your part of the policy document. You can find
examples at http://www.opendoar.org or simply
Google Edinburgh’s repository policy
4. Present your part of the policy document: 3-5
minutes, digest of DISC-UK document, the decisions
you made and why, your proposed policy
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
10. Activity 2: Data repository software
• Some awareness of the different data
repository technologies available is of value
• The Kaptur project evaluated a number of
repository systems in detail. You can read a
summary of their evaluation on pp.25-26 of
Garrett, Silva and Gramstadt (2012) available
at
http://www.vads.ac.uk/kaptur/outputs/Kaptu
r_technical_analysis.pdf.
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
11. Activity 2: Data repository software
• How important would you rate the following
ten criteria that Kaptur applied and why? (You
might need to do some research to
understand the criteria!):
– Open source - Integration with LDAP
– Metadata - Statistical reporting
– Preservation of data - Legal requirements
– Data disposal - API
– User friendly upload - SWORD 2 compliant
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
13. References
• A. Green, S. Macdonald, & R. Rise (2009). Policy-Making for
Research Data in Repositories: A Guide (Version 1.2). Edinburgh:
EDINA and University Data Library. Retrieved from http://www.disc-
uk.org/dics/guide.pdf
• Garrett, L. and Gramstadt, M.-T. (2011). Kaptur Technical Analysis
Report. London: University for the Creative Arts. Retrieved from
http://www.vads.ac.uk/kaptur/outputs/Kaptur_technical_analysis.p
df.
May-15
Learning material produced by RDMRose
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose
