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Research data management at Queen’s University Belfast
Dr. Michael O'Connor
The Open Access Team at Queen’s University Belfast assumed responsibility for the provision of Research Data Management from another institutional unit in October 2019. While we are very much in the formative stage of RDM support, we are extremely are excited by the vast array of possibilities in this growth area.
New beginnings
The university has had a Research Data Management Policy for 5 years and there is definitely an awareness generally about this area. This meant that we weren’t starting from a blank sheet!
Upon taking up the reigns for RDM, our immediate priorities included:
- establishing a designated email account for Research Data queries
- creating a Library Guide to supply information for researchers and document each stage of the research life cycle, and
- forming an in-depth set guidelines for the validation of our expanding range of datasets in our Current Research Information System (Pure).
Looking at examples of good practice among peer institutions with regard to their resources and having discussions with RDM specialists definitely proved to be enormously fruitful.
DCC training
One notable high point in our early days was the specialist two-day training provided by DCC at Queen’s on 28 & 29 November 2019. A shout-out to Venkat who delivered a very helpful session on RDM in our new Library Auditorium!
What we have learned so far
Over the course of the last year we have fielded a range of queries from researchers including questions about preservation-format files for datasets, requests for active data storage, the creation of dois for RDM content, and licensing and copyright queries about data. We are also routinely asked to review Data Management Plans. In this task, we have found DMP Online to be extremely valuable. It offers prompts, suggestions and guidance and this is particular helpful when tailoring the DMP to funder requirements.
The biggest surprise over the last year was the discovery that almost anything really can be regarded as useful data. An innocuous ‘throwaway’ photograph taken now actually may be of intrinsic research potential in the future owing to what it may reveal about the customs, practice, culture and fashion of our contemporary society. A comment, a figure, a table or chart, a photograph, a dataset, even audio-visual content – what one researcher might deem as negligible, another researcher – in a different field, in a different time period – might celebrate as providing pivotal information.
PGR students are routinely asked to consider if they have research data they would like to archive when submitting their e-thesis, which has led to an increase in datasets.
Massive growth area
One can feel that Research Data Management as an area is at the cusp of something big right now; academic institutions across the UK have been hiring RDM specialists over the course of the last 12 months and so, it is likely that this area will see an explosion of growth over the next 5-10 years. It is tremendously exciting to be involved in providing support for this area at Queen’s University. We look forward to developing further expertise with RDM in the years ahead.
We would like to say thank you to Michael O'Connor for sharing this blog post with us. If you would like to get involved in our knowledge exchange and share a story from your institution please do get in touch with us.