The Diffusion of Scholarship Across Disciplinary Boundaries through Data Sharing

An original data collection effort is often conducted by a scientist or group of scientists representing a single discipline. While secondary analysis of that data may occur within the same field, researchers from additional disciplines may also become interested in the data as well, creating a diffusion of the data across disciplinary boundaries. This paper investigates this idea using datasets archived in the Civic Learning, Engagement, and Action Data Sharing project at ICPSR. We compare the disciplines of the original researcher(s) involved in a data collection to the disciplines of researchers who have published findings based on analyses of these same datasets. Our analysis shows how some data become utilized by diverse disciplines over time. The paper also describes the extent to which researchers collaborate across disciplines in producing and analyzing data. Finally, we examine whether characteristics of the data (such as the breadth of the data) lead to greater diffusion across disciplinary boundaries. We conclude by discussing the value of sharing and using archival data across disciplinary boundaries.Spencer Foundation (Grant # 201500037)http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167197/1/The Diffusion of Scholarship Across Disciplinary Boundaries through Data Sharing.pdfDescription of The Diffusion of Scholarship Across Disciplinary Boundaries through Data Sharing.pdf : Slide deckSEL

How and Why do Researchers Reference Data? A Study of Rhetorical Features and Functions of Data References in Academic Articles

Data reuse is a common practice in the social sciences. While published data play an essential role in the production of social science research, they are not consistently cited, which makes it difficult to assess their full scholarly impact and give credit to the original data producers. Furthermore, it can be challenging to understand researchers' motivations for referencing data. Like references to academic literature, data references perform various rhetorical functions, such as paying homage, signaling disagreement, or drawing comparisons. This paper studies how and why researchers reference social science data in their academic writing. We develop a typology to model relationships between the entities that anchor data references, along with their features (access, actions, locations, styles, types) and functions (critique, describe, illustrate, interact, legitimize). We illustrate the use of the typology by coding multidisciplinary research articles (n=30) referencing social science data archived at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). We show how our typology captures researchers' interactions with data and purposes for referencing data. Our typology provides a systematic way to document and analyze researchers' narratives about data use, extending our ability to give credit to data that support research.Comment: 35 pages, 2 appendices, 1 tabl

Crumple: A Method for Complete Enumeration of All Possible Pseudoknot-Free RNA Secondary Structures

The computing for this project was performed at the OU Supercomputing Center for Education & Research (OSCER) at the University of Oklahoma (OU). OSCER director Henry Neeman and OSCER staff provided valuable technical expertise. The authors acknowledge and appreciate the discussions about this work with Dr. Changwook Kim, Adam Heck, Sean Lavelle, and Jui-wen Liu.Conceived and designed the experiments: SB SJS. Performed the experiments: SB JWS. Analyzed the data: SB JWS SJS. Wrote the paper: SB JWS SJS.The diverse landscape of RNA conformational space includes many canyons and crevices that are distant from the lowest minimum free energy valley and remain unexplored by traditional RNA structure prediction methods. A complete description of the entire RNA folding landscape can facilitate identification of biologically important conformations. The Crumple algorithm rapidly enumerates all possible non-pseudoknotted structures for an RNA sequence without consideration of thermodynamics while filtering the output with experimental data. The Crumple algorithm provides an alternative approach to traditional free energy minimization programs for RNA secondary structure prediction. A complete computation of all non-pseudoknotted secondary structures can reveal structures that would not be predicted by methods that sample the RNA folding landscape based on thermodynamic predictions. The free energy minimization approach is often successful but is limited by not considering RNA tertiary and protein interactions and the possibility that kinetics rather than thermodynamics determines the functional RNA fold. Efficient parallel computing and filters based on experimental data make practical the complete enumeration of all non-pseudoknotted structures. Efficient parallel computing for Crumple is implemented in a ring graph approach. Filters for experimental data include constraints from chemical probing of solvent accessibility, enzymatic cleavage of paired or unpaired nucleotides, phylogenetic covariation, and the minimum number and lengths of helices determined from crystallography or cryo-electron microscopy. The minimum number and length of helices has a significant effect on reducing conformational space. Pairing constraints reduce conformational space more than single nucleotide constraints. Examples with Alfalfa Mosaic Virus RNA and Trypanosome brucei guide RNA demonstrate the importance of evaluating all possible structures when pseduoknots, RNA-protein interactions, and metastable structures are important for biological function. Crumple software is freely available at http://adenosine.chem.ou.edu/software.html.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee

How do properties of data, their curation, and their funding relate to reuse?

Despite large public investments in facilitating the secondary use of data, there is little information about the specific factors that predict data’s reuse. Using data download logs from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), this study examines how data properties, curation decisions, and repository funding models relate to data reuse. We find that datasets deposited by institutions, subject to many curatorial tasks, and whose access and preservation is funded externally are used more often. Our findings confirm that investments in data collection, curation, and preservation are associated with more data reuse.National Science Foundation grant 1930645 (LH, AP, DA) Institute of Museum and Library Services grant LG-37-19-0134-19 (LH, DA) National Institute of Drug Abuse contract number N01DA-14-5576 (AP)http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168212/5/Hemphill et al Data downloads.pdf4ae71d2a-01c0-4084-84c3-c32ce960e81c5836d8a9-776f-4cd5-ba6e-a0cfd10d555dSEL

How and Why Do Researchers Reference Data ? A Study of Rhetorical Features and Functions of Data References in Academic Articles

La réutilisation des données est une pratique courante dans les sciences sociales. Il peut être difficile de comprendre les motivations pour référencer les données. Cet article étudie comment et pourquoi les chercheurs font référence aux données scientifiques dans leurs écrits universitaires. Nous illustrons l’utilisation de la typologie en codant la recherche multidisciplinaire d’ articles. La typologie offre un moyen systématique de documenter et d’analyser les récits des chercheurs

Supporting the Identification, Monitoring and Preservation of Government Data Resources: Findings from DataLumos Outreach Efforts

This report documents the findings of “Identification, Monitoring, and Preservation of Government Data Resources”, an 18-month project involving outreach to government data producers, users, and intermediaries. Through this project, the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) sought to identify stakeholders’ most-used government datasets that they perceive to be potentially less accessible in the future, among other goals. Interviews and less formal interactions with data advocates and intermediaries, government data producers, and a variety of data users provided insights into the use of government data and perceptions of these data’s future accessibility. The most important source of data to these stakeholders is the Census Bureau, and several of its products were identified as being critical to stakeholders’ work. Data from other major statistical agencies, non-statistical federal agencies, and state and local data sources were also cited. The federal government data most used by stakeholders—and specifically the data of greatest importance to AECF-funded work—are perceived as accessible for future use. All of the federal datasets that stakeholders perceived to be potentially at risk were assessed and added to the DataLumos archive. A noteworthy finding from these interactions is that data created or collected by KIDS COUNT grantees, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) participants, and other data intermediaries may not have a long-term data archiving or sharing plan. The analysts at these organizations spend significant effort gathering, aggregating, and analyzing data for their products, but they generally have no mechanism to archive or share these data. Given the investment in this work and the potential value of these data to community organizations, researchers, and even local and regional government agencies, there is a real opportunity for data intermediaries to store and share these data in a secure manner for the long term. Recommendations based on the project’s findings can be grouped into two major categories: advocacy and data sharing. Data users, intermediaries, and funders should continue to advocate that the Census Bureau and other principal statistical agencies provide access to the data products needed to successfully complete their work. Advocacy is also needed at the state and local levels, with the goals of targeting the creation of transparency laws and sunshine clauses, budget line items for data sharing, and infrastructural investments like open data portals and data application programming interfaces (APIs). Beyond traditional advocacy work, sustained and increased collaboration between government data producers and data users, intermediaries, and advocates is needed. As for data sharing, we recommend that data creators and intermediaries like KIDS COUNT grantees and NNIP partners work with data repositories like ICPSR to make their data available to others now and in the future. The archiving of these data would require both the infrastructure of a secure data repository as well as specialized curation and technical assistance related to sharing these types of data. The creation of an archive for data intermediaries’ data would extend the value of intermediaries’ important work, creating new resources for community members, institutions, and researchers.Annie E. Casey Foundationhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148837/1/Supporting the Identification, Monitoring and Preservation of Government Data Resources.pdfDescription of Supporting the Identification, Monitoring and Preservation of Government Data Resources.pdf : Repor

Direct Evidence for Packaging Signal-Mediated Assembly of Bacteriophage MS2

Using cross-linking coupled to matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and CLIP-Seq sequencing, we determined the peptide and oligonucleotide sequences at the interfaces between the capsid proteins and the genomic RNA of bacteriophage MS2. The results suggest that the same coat protein (CP)-RNA and maturation protein (MP)-RNA interfaces are used in every viral particle. The portions of the viral RNA in contact with CP subunits span the genome, consistent with a large number of discrete and similar contacts within each particle. Many of these sites match previous predictions of the locations of multiple, dispersed and degenerate RNA sites with cognate CP affinity termed packaging signals (PSs). Chemical RNA footprinting was used to compare the secondary structures of protein-free genomic fragments and the RNA in the virion. Some PSs are partially present in protein-free RNA but others would need to refold from their dominant solution conformations to form the contacts identified in the virion. The RNA-binding peptides within the MP map to two sections of the N-terminal half of the protein. Comparison of MP sequences from related phages suggests a similar arrangement of RNA-binding sites, although these N-terminal regions have only limited sequence conservation. In contrast, the sequences of the C-termini are highly conserved, consistent with them encompassing pilin-binding domains required for initial contact with host cells. These results provide independent and unambiguous support for the assembly of MS2 virions via a PS-mediated mechanism involving a series of induced-fit viral protein interactions with RNA

Individual working memory capacity is uniquely correlated with feature-based attention when combined with spatial attention

A growing literature suggests that working memory and attention are closely related constructs. Both involve the selection of task-relevant information, and both are characterized by capacity limits. Furthermore, studies using a variety of methodological approaches have demonstrated convergent working memory and attention-related processing at the individual, neural and behavioral level. Given the varieties of both constructs, the specific kinds of attention and WM must be considered. We find that individuals’ working memory capacity (WMC) uniquely interacts with feature-based attention when combined with spatial attention in a cuing paradigm (Posner, 1980). Our findings suggest a positive correlation between WM and feature-based attention only within the spotlight of spatial attention. This finding lends support to the controlled attention view of working memory by demonstrating that integrated feature-based expectancies are uniquely correlated with individual performance on a working memory task

Assessing Participatory Development Processes Through Knowledge Building

Participatory development is seen by many to be the answer to the issues of ineffectiveness and insustainability which plague externally-imposed international community development. Critics discount this, questioning the inclusivity and sustainability of participatory methods. This paper argues that stakeholders undertaking truly participatory development must balance power to create a discourse surrounding the development effort. The effect of this dialog is knowledge building. It is hypothesized that the overall effectiveness of participatory development efforts can be assessed by evaluating the knowledge building that occurs throughout the efforts. A model, based upon Bessette (2004), is presented as a means of framing such an assessment. The knowledge building associated with four participatory development case studies is analyzed using this framework. The results show that development efforts with increased knowledge building have greater overall success and sustainability

The Utility of AT-SAT in Hiring Graduates of an Air-Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative Program

The FAA recruits applicants for Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) positions from multiple sources. Each hiring source has requirements that applicants must meet for eligibility. These hiring sources include the Air Traffic – Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI), for applicants with specialized education in air traffic control (ATC) and General Public (GP), for applicants with no prior ATC education or experience. Both AT-CTI and GP applicants must take and pass the Air Traffic Selection and Training (AT-SAT), a computerized pre-employment test battery designed to assess an applicant’s aptitude for performing the duties of an ATCS. The current research effort compares the selection and training performance of AT-CTI and GP trainees to provide an initial assessment of the utility of AT-SAT as part of the hiring process for AT-CTI graduates