Abstract
The Archaeology Data Service (ADS) is a digital archive that has been promoting good practice in the use of digital archaeological data and supporting research, learning and teaching with high quality and dependable digital resources for twenty years. The ADS does this by preserving digital data in the long-term and by promoting and disseminating, open and free datasets, gathered from all sectors of archaeology. An integral component of the ADS remit has been the life-cycle principle of preservation, curation and dissemination of data in order to enable re-use. The ADS practices a combination of normalization, version migration, format migration and refreshment for the active management and ongoing preservation of all archived data types. This paper highlights the importance of the ongoing management of research data for long-term preservation. In particular this paper focuses on the challenges of migrating spatial data, specifically Computer Aided Design (CAD) files. Successful data migration of these files ensures that data is accessible and usable, and provides many opportunities through data re-use to combine and re-interrogate datasets, allowing new archaeological interpretations to be developed.
Highlights
An essential component of effective Research Data Management is the preservation and curation of digital data
This paper discusses the importance of digital preservation and active Research Data Management, through a case study of preservation by migration of Computer Aided Design (CAD) data in the archaeological discipline
This paper introduces the digital preservation and migration strategies at the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) before addressing the challenges of a recent large scale migration of CAD files undertaken by the ADS
Summary
An essential component of effective Research Data Management is the preservation and curation of digital data. This paper discusses the importance of digital preservation and active Research Data Management, through a case study of preservation by migration of Computer Aided Design (CAD) data in the archaeological discipline. This is the first time a migration of this scale has been attempted in the 20 years of the ADS’s existence. This case study will provide valuable lessons for the digital preservation community and those attempting migration as part of their own Research Data Management strategies. The authors argue that a time consuming, and somewhat laborious process, data migration is a vital step for maintaining a viable and publically accessible digital archive and is an integral Research Data Management strategy
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
