Training up and reaching out : library strategies to coordinate research data management on campus; Data management plans as a research tool

Abstract

Training up and reaching out : library strategies to coordinate research data management on campus. -- As scholarly products beyond traditional publications are increasingly curated and shared, academic libraries are playing a growing role in supporting research data management (RDM) needs at their institutions. We are helping build collaborations and infrastructure across campus that faculty and students require for modern, increasingly open scholarship. But even with these efforts underway, the question remains: how can we efficiently and effectively integrate RDM into research activities on campus? In this session, a panel of current and recent CLIR postdoctoral fellows working in RDM at five different institutions will share how they are working in a variety of ways to embed RDM practices and support in research workflows. Researchers by training and members of library service groups, CLIR fellows are particularly well situated to understand the scholarly operations of these institutions and the challenges of implementing research support services. Daniels will speak about Vanderbilt's efforts to build connections within the library in order to alert faculty and students to RDM tools and services through workshops and tool-specific trainings. Pickle from Penn State will address her library's Research Working Group, comprising diverse library faculty and staff and aiming to become a community of practice where participants learn from each other and produce formal RDM guidance. Van Gulick will discuss the Carnegie Mellon's Libraries'-coordinated Management Steering Committee, which brings together stakeholders from offices across campus to prioritize RDM at the university and develop optimal resources for their researchers. Calvert will present research on the current level of staff expertise and skill in RDM services at UCLA. Lastly, Simms will present on the California Digital Library's (University of California Curation Center) approach to offering system-wide RDM tools and services to many diverse campuses, which has involved pairing these resources with library-based coordination efforts specific to local needs. Presenters: Morgan Daniels (Vanderbilt University), Ana Van Gulick (Carnegie Mellon University), Sarah Pickle (The Claremont Colleges), Scout Calvert (University of California, Los Angeles), Stephanie Simms (California Digital Library). management plans as a research tool -- As funding agencies increasingly require evidence of sharing and archiving research data, many academic libraries are developing or modifying research data management (RDM) services. These services include outreach regarding funder requirements, assistance with planning for data management, and digital curation services to help researchers manage, share and archive data. These service developments are driving an increasing demand for mechanisms to better understand researcher needs and practices. An analysis of data management plans (DMPs) can uncover important insights into local RDM practices. As a document produced by researchers themselves, DMPs provide a window into researchers' data knowledge, practices, and needs—a formal analysis of DMPs can provide a means to develop data services responsive to the needs of local data producers. To assist librarians in a review of DMPs, the IMLS- funded Data management plans as A Research Tool (DART) Project has developed an analytic rubric to standardize the review of NSF data management plans. Our rubric allows librarians to utilize DMPs as a research tool that can shape decisions about the provision of research data services. It enables librarians who may have no direct experience in applied research or RDM to become better informed about researchers' data. The rubric can be used to identify strengths, gaps and weaknesses in researchers' understanding of data management concepts and practices, as well as existing opportunities and barriers in applying best practices. This panel will consist of data specialists from the project's five research partners. We will describe our methodology for developing the analytic rubric, share the results of DMP analyses at our respective academic institutions, discuss broader trends and observations across institutions, and describe how the results are informing the evolution of services at our respective libraries. Presenters: Susan Wells Parham (Georgia Institute of Technology), Patricia Hswe (Penn State University), Brian Westra (University of Oregon), Amanda Whitmire (Oregon State University)