Lost or Found? Discovering Data Needed for Research

Kathleen Gregory,Andrea Scharnhorst,Paul Groth,Sally Wyatt

doi:10.1162/99608f92.e38165eb

Abstract

Finding data is a necessary precursor to being able to reuse data, although relatively little large-scale empirical evidence exists about how researchers discover, make sense of and (re)use data for research. This study presents evidence from the largest known survey investigating how researchers discover and use data that they do not create themselves. We examine the data needs and discovery strategies of respondents, propose a typology for data reuse and probe the role of social interactions and literature search in data discovery. We consider how data communities can be conceptualized according to data uses and propose practical applications of our findings for designers of data discovery systems and repositories. Specifically, we consider how to design for a diversity of practices, how communities of use can serve as an entry point for design and the role of metadata in supporting both sensemaking and social interactions.

Highlights

Stakeholders from funders to researchers are increasingly concerned with the sharing and reuse of research data (e.g., Digital Curation Centre, n.d.; Tenopir et al, 2015)
We examine the data needs and discovery strategies of respondents, propose a typology for data reuse, and probe the role of social interactions and literature search in data discovery
We consider how data communities can be conceptualized according to data uses and propose practical applications of our findings for designers of data discovery systems and repositories

Summary

Introduction

Stakeholders from funders to researchers are increasingly concerned with the sharing and reuse of research data (e.g., Digital Curation Centre, n.d.; Tenopir et al, 2015). Past work has explored data search practices via in-depth interviews (Borgman, Scharnhorst, & Golshan, 2019; Gregory et al, 2019a; Koesten et al, 2017). Zimmerman (2003, 2007, 2008) investigates data search practices directly, looking at the needs, discovery strategies, and criteria for evaluating data for reuse for a small group of environmental scientists. Recent work characterizes data search and evaluation practices across disciplinary domains (Gregory et al, 2019a, 2019b) and by data professionals within and outside of academia (Koesten et al, 2017), relying primarily on in-depth interviews with data seekers or log analyses (Kacprzak et al, 2017). Information about data search strategies, criteria important for reuse, and the role of social communications is found within surveys designed to develop data metrics (Kratz & Strasser, 2015) and to determine factors affecting data reuse (Kim & Yoon, 2017; Yoon, 2017)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion