Research Data Curation in Academic Institutions Challenges & Expectations

Abstract

In the activity of Research Data Curation, the unpublished datasets generated during research are curated for possible reuse in future research by any researcher. Use of curated data, in several cases, may become helpful in avoiding repetition of efforts involved in generation of datasets. A large number of academic institutions in India are actively involved in research in various knowledge areas. Apart from the doctoral and post-doctoral research in academic institutions, academicians are involved in research projects sponsored by public or private bodies; thereby generating sizeable primary and secondary unpublished datasets worthy of curation in a data repository for possible reuse in some other research. For several reasons, curation efforts for research datasets in academic institutions in the country are negligible when compared to such efforts in research institutions. The present work makes an attempt to identify the cause of negligible research data curation efforts in academic institutions of India by uncovering the associated challenges and discusses the expectations from a Research Data Repository of academic institutions.