Using backward design to create research data management professional development for information professionals

This poster details the design process that was used to develop the Association of College and Research Libraries “Building Your Research Data Management Toolkit: Integrating RDM into Your Liaison Work” road show. Starting with the development of learning objectives, and highlighting the multiple assessments that are offered prior to the road show experience, during the road show itself, and follows up the road show at the one month and six month post- show mark. The poster then shows the links between the learning objectives, assessments, and learning activities developed to assist learners to meet the learning objectives

The Data Engagement Opportunities Scaffold: Development and Implementation

While interest in research data management (RDM) services have grown, clarifying the path between traditional library responsibilities and RDM remains a challenge. While the literature has provided ideas about services and student-/researcher-focused data information literacy (DIL) competencies, nothing has yet brought these skill sets together to provide a pathway for librarians engaging in RDM. The Data Engagement Opportunities scaffold was developed to provide a strategic trajectory relating information science skills, the DIL competencies, the stages of the data life cycle, three levels of RDM engagement activities, and potential measurable outcomes. This scaffold provides direction for librarians looking to identify their current abilities and explore new opportunities

Going Beyond the Data Management Plan: Services and Partnerships

Data management plans (DMPs) have provided an excellent gateway for librarians seeking ways to collaborate with researchers. However, the DMPs frequently capture only initial plans for data at the end of a grant application, often written just hours before the submission deadline. Researchers may also have data captured from a previous pilot project, a project already underway, or a project that is already completed. Further, once the grant is received or a plan has been completed, the researcher may realize she needs something entirely different halfway through the process; may run into intellectual property, patent, or privacy issues; or may encounter an unexpected publisher or university mandate regarding data. These myriad experiences provide a variety of points for librarian-researcher collaboration that require the librarian to consider a broader array of research data management activities in order to best meet the needs across the data lifecycle. Considering a panoply of services also allows librarians to anticipate questions that may be referred to them. Before launching any data management services, it is important for librarians to understand the purpose of each service in order to select the services they are prepared to offer, identify library staff and funding needed to support these efforts, and have advance communication with relevant campus partners. To assist with this, we have outlined services and grouped those that require progressive levels of time and effort, as well as identified the primary campus partners with whom the library will wish to communicate when launching these services. By identifying appropriate service levels, librarians can expand their collaborations in stages without feeling overwhelmed or unable to appropriately direct researchers. When investigating research data services for your library, it is best to start small, investigate research data needs locally, and develop strategies to build services over time. This chapter was first published in The Medical Library Association Guide to Data Management for Librarians published by MLA

Institutional, Funder, and Journal Data Policies

Data curation exists within a larger framework of laws and policies covering topics like copyright and data retention. These obligations must be considered in order to properly care for data as it is being created and preserved. While laws may transition slowly, the policies applying to research data by funding bodies, institutions, and journals have seen significant change since the turn of the century. These policies have directly impacted the practices of researchers and prompted the creation of data curation services by many libraries in partnership with their larger institutions. This chapter examines three important categories of policies, primarily covered from the US perspective, that affect data curation practices in libraries: funding agency policies, institutional data policies, and journal data policies. This chapter was first published in Curating Research Data, Volume One: Practical Strategies for Your Digital Repository published by ACRL

Do You Have an Institutional Data Policy? A Review of the Current Landscape of Library Data Services and Institutional Data Policies

INTRODUCTION Many research institutions have developed research data services in their libraries, often in anticipation of or in response to funder policy. However, policies at the institution level are either not well known or nonexistent. METHODS This study reviewed library data services efforts and institutional data policies of 206 American universities, drawn from the July 2014 Carnegie list of universities with “Very High” or “High” research activity designation. Twenty-four different characteristics relating to university type, library data services, policy type, and policy contents were examined. RESULTS The study has uncovered findings surrounding library data services, institutional data policies, and content within the policies. DISCUSSION Overall, there is a general trend toward the development and implementation of data services within the university libraries. Interestingly, just under half of the universities examined had a policy of some sort that either specified or mentioned research data. Many of these were standalone data policies, while others were intellectual property policies that included research data. When data policies were discoverable, not behind a log in, they focused on the definition of research data, data ownership, data retention, and terms surrounding the separation of a researcher from the institution. CONCLUSION By becoming well versed on research data policies, librarians can provide support for researchers by navigating the policies at their institutions, facilitating the activities needed to comply with the requirements of research funders and publishers. This puts academic libraries in a unique position to provide insight and guidance in the development and revisions of institutional data policies. Also published in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication. This article\u27s data (given here as Additional Files) is available under a CC0 license. The preferred citation for the data is: Briney, Kristin; Goben, Abigail; Zilinski, Lisa, 2015, “Data from: Do You Have an Institutional Data Policy? A Review of the Current Landscape of Library Data Services and Institutional Data Policies”, http://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/GAZPAJ, Harvard Datavers

Do You Have an Institutional Data Policy? A Review of the Current Landscape of Library Data Services and Institutional Data Policies

Introduction: Many research institutions have developed research data services in their libraries, often in anticipation of or in response to funder policy. However, policies at the institution level are either not well known or nonexistent. Methods: This study reviewed library data services efforts and institutional data policies of 206 American universities, drawn from the July 2014 Carnegie list of universities with “Very High” or “High” research activity designation. Twenty-four different characteristics relating to university type, library data services, policy type, and policy contents were examined. Results: The study has uncovered findings surrounding library data services, institutional data policies, and content within the policies. Discussion: Overall, there is a general trend toward the development and implementation of data services within the university libraries. Interestingly, just under half of the universities examined had a policy of some sort that either specified or mentioned research data. Many of these were standalone data policies, while others were intellectual property policies that included research data. When data policies were discoverable, not behind a log in, they focused on the definition of research data, data ownership, data retention, and terms surrounding the separation of a researcher from the institution. CONCLUSION By becoming well versed on research data policies, librarians can provide support for researchers by navigating the policies at their institutions, facilitating the activities needed to comply with the requirements of research funders and publishers. This puts academic libraries in a unique position to provide insight and guidance in the development and revisions of institutional data policies