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New Tools for Enabling Research: DMPTool, DataUp, and DataONE

December 7, 2012

William Michener
Professor and Director of DataONE, University Libraries
University of New Mexico

Carly Strasser
Data Curation Specialist, University of California Curation Center (UC3)
California Digital Library

John Kunze
Associate Director, University of California Curation Center (UC3)
California Digital Library

Three new data-centric developments that support scientists throughout the research data life cycle are highlighted in this session: the DMPTool, DataUp, and DataONE. The DMPTool is an online “wizard” that helps scientists and data librarians create comprehensive data management plans that meet sponsor requirements for well-documented, high-quality, sharable, and interpretable data. The DataUp tool enables the protection of the long-tail distribution of data (those data that all too frequently become orphaned) by helping scientists organize their tabular data (i.e. Microsoft® Excel), document it with standard metadata, and archive the data in a repository. Finally, DataONE, which became operational in July 2012, provides mechanisms to search data repositories worldwide for relevant biological, ecological, environmental and Earth science data (over 200,000 data products and growing weekly), as well as access to tools that support all aspects of the data life cycle and that are integrated with the data resources. In combination, the three new tools can greatly increase the nature and pace of science as will be demonstrated via several relevant examples.

 http://dataone.org
http://dataup.cdlib.org
http://dmptool.org

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Cyberinfrastructure, Digital Curation, E-Science, Project Briefing Pages, Research Data Management
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Novel Collaboration Forms for Developing and Maintaining Research Data

December 7, 2012

Anita de Waard
Disruptive Technologies Director, Labs
Elsevier

David Marques
Senior Vice President, Research Data Services
Elsevier

 

Funding agencies are displaying two counteracting trends regarding research data repositories: on the one hand, partly motivated by a need for reproducibility and fear of fraud, funding agencies are encouraging scientists and scholars to make their (raw and summarized) research data available in open, publicly accessible repositories; on the other, they are de-scoping and defunding the maintenance of many well-established data repositories. To address this dichotomy, and the clear and present need for the population and maintenance of open research data repositories, more technically and socially acceptable models of and tools for representing, uploading and storing research data are needed, as are innovative and collaborative business models for maintaining data repositories in a scalable, sustainable way.

Elsevier is interested in exploring novel (open, public access-based) collaborations and business models to address both of these needs, and provide uploading, maintenance and annotation tasks and tools in a service-based model. The company is interested in discussing and exploring the views of the Coalition for Networked Information community regarding the relative role of libraries, data repositories, and publishers to develop an open and sustainable research data infrastructure. Issues to discuss include the development of researcher-controlled distribution of research data, and the assessment of attribution, credit and impact of research data, as well as metadata and archiving standards. This talk will include Elsevier’s thoughts and current projects in this direction and then invite comments and ideas from the community on the practical, philosophical and financial possibilities for publishers and libraries to collaborate on this important and emerging topic.

 

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Digital Curation, E-Science, Economic Models, Project Briefing Pages, Research Data Management
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Olive: An Executable Content Archive Underway

December 7, 2012

Gloriana St. Clair
Dean of University Libraries
Carnegie Mellon University

Daniel F. Ryan
Coordinator for Executable Content for Olive
Carnegie Mellon University

 

Now funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Sloan Foundation, the Olive project to preserve executable content is underway. Carnegie Mellon University’s Mahadev Satyanarayanan and his team are leading the technical development. Jerome McDonough, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Anita de Waard, of Elsevier, are the co-principal investigators for the IMLS award. The presenters will describe their objectives under each of the two grants, discuss methodologies employed to meet those objectives, and gather opinions about pending issues.

 

 http://www.olivearchive.org

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, Information Access & Retrieval, Project Briefing Pages, Repositories
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Open Annotation Update: OAC Experiment Results and Ongoing Work of the W3C OA Community Group

December 7, 2012

Timothy Cole,
Mathematics and Digital Content Access Librarian
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

Paolo Ciccarese
Biomedical Informatics Research & Development Instructor of Neurology
Harvard University & Massachusetts General Hospital

 

A year ago the Open Annotation Collaboration (OAC) and the Annotation Ontology Initiative joined forces to found the W3C Open Annotation Community Group. The group has refined and merged data models and ontologies for describing scholarly annotations of web-accessible resources. The Community Group released a late beta version of the reconciled data model in May 2012; the 1.0 release is expected in January 2013. This briefing will provide an update on data model and ontology work done over the last 18 months and summarize results that informed this work from nine annotation demonstration experiments sponsored by the Open Annotation Collaboration (institutions participating in these experiments include: Alexander Street Press, Brown University, Cornell University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Meertens Institute, New York University, Stanford University, University of Colorado, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, and University of Queensland).

The presentation will also include a preview of plans for Spring 2013 public rollouts of the Open Annotation specifications. Concrete illustrations of the Open Annotation data model in action will be presented, and participants will be encouraged to ask questions about how to apply the data model to their specific scholarly use cases.

The Open Annotation Collaboration is supported by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

 

 

http://www.w3.org/community/openannotation/
http://www.openannotation.org/
http://code.google.com/p/annotation-ontology/wiki/Homepage

Presentation (Cole)
Presentation (Ciccarese)

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Project Briefing Pages, Scholarly Communication, Standards
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Piloting Linked Data to Connect Library and Archive Resources to the New World of Data, and Staff to New Skills

December 7, 2012

Zheng (John) Wang
Director, Digital Assets Strategies and Associate Director, Content Division, Library
Emory University

Laura Akerman
Technology and Metadata Librarian
Emory University

This session will include a presentation of Emory University Library’s first-hand experience in interlinking Civil War-related materials and other online resources by leveraging open linked data principles. The library has been actively evaluating linked data’s potential to replace current library processes and services (bibliographic services, finding aids, cataloging, and metadata work) as a more efficient and sustainable means, and one that could bring greater benefit to end users for research and learning. The Library’s initial focus was on workforce education and hands-on learning through real-time experiments: the Connections project was begun to prepare staff to work with linked data, a process that has culminated in a 3-month hands-on pilot to build and convert some data. The pilot introduced the concept to a wide range of staff, including subject liaisons, archivists, metadata librarians, and programmers. Emory’s “silos” of data were interlinked with other open data sources as a way to enhance user discovery and use of library materials on a very limited scale.

The presentation will include an assessment on the readiness of the entire linked open data ecosystem for libraries to cross-link disciplines, and the possible roles of libraries in a linked world. Suggestions for staff involvement in this new paradigm of information curation and dissemination will also be discussed.

 

https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/connections/
Presentation Slides (PPTX)
View Slides on Slideshare

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, Metadata, Project Briefing Pages
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The PressForward Project and Scholarly Communication on the Open Web

December 7, 2012

Dan Cohen
Associate Professor and Director, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
George Mason University

Joan Fragaszy Troyano
Research Assistant Professor, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
George Mason University

 

A healthy ecosystem for scholarly communication requires a continuum from independently distributed work to post-publication peer review. With funding from the Sloan Foundation, the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University created the PressForward project to explore and produce the best means for collecting, screening, and drawing attention to the vast expanse of scholarship that is currently decentralized across the web or does not fit into traditional genres such as the journal article or the monograph.

This presentation will include an overview of current efforts to distribute and evaluate scholarly work available on the open web. An explanation of the experimental methods behind PressForward’s Digital Humanities Now and Journal of Digital Humanities will also be provided. Finally, the session will include a preview of the open source adaptations to WordPress software that PressForward is developing to enable scholarly communities to easily aggregate, select, and credit work published on the open web.

The PressForward Project & Scholarly Communication on the Open Web from CNI Video Channel on Vimeo.

Presentation Slides (PDF)

http://pressforward.org
http://digitalhumanitiesnow.org
http://journalofdigitalhumanities.org

 

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Project Briefing Pages, Scholarly Communication
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The Research Data Alliance: A Forum for Global Cooperation on Data Infrastructure

December 7, 2012

Chris Greer
Associate Director, IT Lab
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Fran Berman
Professor
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is to global data infrastructure what the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is to the Internet. The RDA vision (paraphrased here) is “research data exchange for everyone” and its mission is to “use voluntary cooperation and consensus to run an open, global research data infrastructure.” The RDA Secretariat has been established through Australian Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (IISRTE) support of the Australian National Data Service (ANDS), European Commission support for International Collaboration on Research Data Infrastructure (iCORDI), and US National Science Foundation support to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. This session will focus on RDA structure and planning for an interoperable, global data infrastructure.

http://rd-alliance.org/
Presentation

 

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Cyberinfrastructure, E-Science, Project Briefing Pages, Research Data Management, Standards
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Research Data Management Services in Germany: Funding Activities of the German Research Foundation

December 7, 2012

Eva Effertz
Program Director, Research Centers Division
German Research Foundation (DFG)

Introduction by DFG (Effertz)
Presentation (Effertz)

Christian Willmes
Research Scientist
University of Cologne

Constanze Curdt
Research Scientist
University of Cologne

Data Management in Interdisciplinary Research Projects: Case Studies CRC/TR 32 and CRC 806 (Constanze Curdt and Christian Willmes)

Managing and archiving research data in a well-organized framework is essential in every interdisciplinary, long-term research project. All data created or collected have to be stored and backed up along with accurate descriptive information. In addition, the data should be easily accessible by and exchangeable among the project participants. DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centers (CRC) should apply for a data management project. These sub-projects are responsible for the development and implementation of a research data management system.

This presentation will feature two CRC data management case studies: (i) the Transregional CRC 32 “Patterns in Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere-Systems: Monitoring, Modeling and Data Assimilation” (CRC/TR32,) and (ii) CRC 806 “Our Way to Europe: Culture-Environment Interaction and Human Mobility in the Late Quaternary.” A web-based data management system, a so-called CRC project database, was implemented for both projects, to handle all relevant research data. Both CRC databases are physically located at the Regional Computing Center of the University of Cologne (RRZK). Secure, sustainable archives and back-ups are provided within this environment.

http://www.tr32db.de
http://www.crc806db.de

Presentation (Curdt, Willmes)

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Cyberinfrastructure, Digital Curation, E-Science, Project Briefing Pages, Research Data Management
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The Service Family for Research Data at Oxford University

December 7, 2012

Wolfam Horstmann
Associate Director, Digital Library Programmes and IT, Bodleian Libraries
Oxford University

Neil Jefferies
Research & Development Project Manager, Bodleian Libraries
Oxford University

Research data are at the heart of scholarly advancement. They are increasingly made available on the Internet as underpinnings of research publications or directly exposed as primary research outputs. These emerging trends in scholarly communication are now backed by policy: The UK government is committed to opening up public sector data. The Research Councils UK (RCUK) Common Principles on Data Policy state that “Publicly funded research data are a public good, produced in the public interest, which should be made openly available with as few restrictions as possible in a timely and responsible manner that does not harm intellectual property.”

The challenge for institutions is that research methodologies and the consequent data management practices vary widely across academic subjects and departments. As a consequence, supporting services for researchers have to be generic enough to scale but take into account subject specific requirements.

Support services at Oxford University have been thoroughly studied and prepared in a series of projects, most notably funded by JISC and the University Modernisation Fund. The service family is designed to support researchers in applying best practice and providing e-infrastructure to store and subsequently curate research data, consistent with the University’s research data policy.

The service family at Oxford University foresees a multi-agency approach with the University’s Research Services, IT Services and the Bodleian Libraries working in partnership with the academic divisions. It defines ‘help-not-hinder’ services for different parts of the research life cycle:
•    Inform: The Data Management Hub website is the center of information and support. It links to personal help, policies and subject specific training (including through Oxford’s Doctoral Training Centers).
•    Plan: Data management plans, as increasingly required by funders, can
be generated with DMPonline, a widely used tool that is adapted to Oxford’s needs and integrated with other services.
•    Work: The actual work with data during a research project is the area showing the most diverse use of services inside and outside of the University. Generic tools at Oxford include an easily deployable database (ViDaaS) and the drop-box like DataStage. These are available for embedding in the local research context.
•    Archive: DataBank provides a durable home for research data that is produced and to be held at the University of Oxford. DataBank supports various formats, including software, and different access conditions, ranging from a dark archive to publishing data with a locally minted digital object identifier (DOI).
•    Find: DataFinder enables data generated at Oxford to be discoverable. DataFinder also keeps records of externally available data that represent Oxford’s research results.

Researchers will have a seamless experience when using the research data services at Oxford University. For example, information provided in DMPonline reappears in DataFinder and DataStage automatically transfers data into DataBank, when a durable version is required. Most services are operational individually and the launch of the complete service family is planned for 2013.

Contributors to this work include Paul Jeffreys, Sally Rumsey, Neil Jefferies, David Shotton, Glenn Swafford, James Wilson, Wolfram Horstmann, and others.

 http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/autumn_statement.pdf
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/Pages/DataPolicy.aspx
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/rdm/
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/rdm/managedata/policy/
http://damaro.oucs.ox.ac.uk/
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/rdm/

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Cyberinfrastructure, Digital Curation, Digital Humanities, E-Science, Project Briefing Pages, Research Data Management, User Services
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Student-Driven Innovation: UCLA Library Simul8 Group

December 7, 2012

Kevin Rundblad
UX & Social Technology Strategist
University of California, Los Angeles

Todd Grappone
Associate University Librarian for Digital Initiatives and IT
University of California, Los Angeles

Solving informational problems for users is a core idea at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Library. This requires an understanding of how users operate (user research), the interactions they prefer (ux/ui), and the needed expertise to build the interactions for the devices they use (mobile/web). Numerous mobile apps for higher education have been developed over the years, and these products have been extremely popular with campus administrations and libraries, as well as with students and faculty. UCLA Library stepped into this marketplace with a different approach to development than most of the other offerings. The UCLA Library Simul8 team of developers is made up exclusively of students. The benefit of a team of student developers is twofold: first, user research is implicit within the group, since the developers themselves can inform the app development; second, the students tend to have familiarity with the latest programming languages for web/mobile apps, so the skill sets are more available.

This session will discuss the principles behind the formation of the group, the start-up culture of development, the tools and infrastructure utilized, and how projects are created and brought to fruition.

Presentation Slides

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2012 Project Briefings, Mobile Technologies, Net Generation (includes Millennials), Project Briefing Pages, User Services
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