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Research data

Research data includes data from scientific, technical, medical and social science research. The huge amounts of data that these disciplines generate makes it difficult to preserve everything. Strategies to preserve an optimal and meaningful amount of data include the development of collaborative ventures and infrastructures, cross-disciplinary compatible access and storage policies, and new information and communication technologies, such as grid technology, which offers decentralised storage and open standards and interfaces.

Articles | Books | Events | Organisations and Websites | Online tutorial | Policies, Strategies & Guidelines | Projects and Case Studies | Bibliographies | Glossaries | Journals & Newsletters | Discussion Lists | Surveys | Tools | Evaluations

Articles

Access to Data for eResearch: Designing the Australian National Data Service Discovery Services
Treloar, Andrew; Wilkinson, Ross (Date Created: Nov 2008) (Australia)
This article provides an introduction to the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) which commenced in September 2008 and will run until June 2011. It also describes attempts to understand the access needs and access methods which led to the development of an information model and repository requirements for ANDS.
http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/viewFile/95/66
Available in The International Journal of Digital Curation, Volume 3, Issue 2, 2008 pp 151-158
APSR Sustainability Issues Discussion Paper
Bradley, Kevin (Date Created: 28 Jan 2005)
This comprehensive paper examines various aspects of digital sustainability. These include economic aspects, such as costing, funding and business models; technological aspects, such as repositories, formats, bit stream and persistence; and risk and risk management. Also included is a summary of specific issues and their associated tasks. The document also includes an extensive bibliography.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/documents/APSR_Sustainability_Issues_Paper.pdf
Archiving Archaeological Data -- Is There a Viable Business Model for a U.S. Repository?
Eiteljorg, Harrison (Date Created: 2005) (United States of America)
This article explores the problems of a lack of active digital repositories for archaeological data in the United States. The author proposes that a lack of funding and a viable business model for this type of archive is in part responsible for this situation.
http://csanet.org/newsletter/winter05/nlw0501.html
CSA Newsletter, vol. XVII, no. 3 (Winter 2005)
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Historical Archiving Scientific Data
Buneman, Peter; Khanna, Sanjeev; Tajima, Keishi; Tan, Wang-Chiew (Date Created: Jun 2002)
A paper presented at ACM SIGMOD 2002, describing the development of an archiving tool for XML data that allows retention of all previous states of the data as it changes over time. Meaningful change descriptions, retrieval of specific versions and history over time for any element in the archive are supported. The paper is available in a number of formats.
http://db.cis.upenn.edu/research/ki.html
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Some Challenges and Issues in Managing and Preserving Access to Long-Lived Collections of Scientific and Technical Data
Anderson, W. L. (Date Created: Dec 2004)
This report summarises the major archiving, preservation and access issues for scientific and technical data as identified by an ad hoc working group of the U.S. National Committee for CODATA. The author divides these issues into four categories: science-based issues, including interoperability and compatiblity of the various types of science data (e.g. observational, experimental and computer generated data); data management issues, including selection and appraisal; policy issues, such as access and copyright; and technical issues including the volume of data and the diversity of formats.
http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/dsj/3/0/191/_pdf
Data Science Journal, ISSN 1683-1470, Vol. 3, December 2004, pp. 191-202.
DARE Chronicle: Open Access to Research Results and Teaching Material in the Netherlands
Waaijers, Leo In: Ariadne (Date Created: Oct 2007) (Netherlands)
This article reflects on the four years and future of the DARE project which enables Dutch Higher Education and research institutions to provide easy and timely open access to research results and teaching materials.
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue53/waaijers/
Data Audit Framework : A Toolkit to Identify Research Assets and Improve Data Management in Research Led Institutions
Jones, Sarah; Ross, Seamus; Ruusalepp, Raivo (Date Created: 30 Sep 2008) (United Kingdom)
This paper given at iPRES 2008 (British Library Conference Centre, 29-30 Sept. 2008) outlines the audit methodology, and online toolkit developed by the Data Audit Framework Development project which was funded by JISC. Lessons learned from pilot audits at the universities of Glasgow, Bath and Edinburgh are discussed.
http://www.bl.uk/ipres2008/presentations_day2/33_Jones.pdf
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From Data Deluge to Data Curation
Giaretta, David; Lord, Philip; Lyon, Liz; Macdonald, Alison (Date Created: Sep 2004)
This article discusses the findings and strategic and policy level recommendations of the e-Science data curation report commissioned by JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee). The article also discusses the role and activities of the Digital Curation Centre in meeting some of these recommendations.
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ukoln/staff/e.j.lyon/150.pdf
Paper presented at the UK e-Science All Hands Meeting, 31 August - 3 September, 2004
Data Preservation and Long-term Analysis in High-Energy Physics
Mount Richard (Date Created: Jan 2009)
This conference report on the First Workshop on Data Preservation and Long-Term Analysis in High-Energy Physics, held at DESY (Deutsche Elektronen-Synchrotron), Hamburg, Germany, on 26-28 January 2008 summarises the presentations and discussions. [The program and proceedings of the workshop are available on the DPHEP website.]
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue58/dplta-hep-rpt/
Ariadne Jan 2009 Issue no. 58
Data Preservation, Reuse and Open Access in High-Energy Physics
Holzner, Andre; Igo-Kemenes, Peter; Mele, Salvatore (Date Created: 02 Feb 2009)
This Digital Preservation Europe (DPE) briefing paper introduces the emerging debate in the high energy physics community on dealing with the deluge of non-reproducible data it produces. Issues such as preservation, re-use and open-access, which are basic digital preservation issues are receiving increasing recognition in this field.
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/dp_in_high
_energy_physics.pdf
Digital Preservation Europe Briefing Paper
Data Preservation, the New Science and the Practitioner Librarian
Joint, Nicholas (Date Created: Apr 2007)
This paper discusses the challenge of preserving e-Science data as the output of scientific experimentation in contrast to the traditional scientific paper which librarians are more used to dealing with. It considers how the librarian/ information professional skillset could potentially contribute to curating this new form of scientific output (data-intensive research produced by virtual organisations).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00242530710760337
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/00242530710760337
Also available in PDF and in Library Review ISSN: 0024-2535, 2007 Vol: 56 No.: 6 pp: 451 - 455
Data Without Meaning: Establishing the Significant Properties of Digital Research
Knight, Gareth; Pennock, Maureen (Date Created: 29 Sep 2008) (United Kingdom)
This paper given at iPRES 2008 (British Library Conference Centre, 29-30 Sept. 2008) outlines methodologies being developed by InterPARES, PLANETS and other international research to support the decision making process and recent JISC funded studies to specify the significant properties of vector images, moving images, software and learning objects. The paper provides a definition of significant properties and outlines their role in a digital preservation strategy for digital research.
http://www.bl.uk/ipres2008/presentations_day1/16_Knight.pdf
Dataset Preservation for the Long Term: Results of the DareLux Project
Dekker, Ronald; Dürr,Eugène ; Luxemburg, Wim; van der Meer, Kees In: International Journal of Digital Curation (Date Created: Jul 2008) (Netherlands)
This article reports on the DareLux (Data Archiving River Environment Luxemburg) Project which aimed to preserve unique and irreplaceable datasets. Hydrology data required for future climate modelling was used as an example to build an operational archive built with XML containers, OAI-PMH protocol and an architecture based on web services. Research is recommended on visualisation tools for search and retrieval.
http://www.ijdc.net/ijdc/article/view/61/62
Dealing with Data : Roles, Rights, Responsibilities and Relationships. Consultancy Report
Lyon, Liz (Date Created: 19 Jun 2007) (United Kingdom)
This report funded by the JISC Digital Repositories Programme explores the roles, rights, responsibilities and relationships of institutions, data centres and stakeholders working with data in the UK. Based on a consultation workshop and interviews with stakeholder representatives, the report makes recommendations of interest to JISC, institutions and research funding organisations in the areas of Co-ordination and strategy, Policy and planning, Practice, Technical Integration and interoperability, Legal and ethical issues, Sustainability, Advocacy, and Training and skills.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/digitalrepositories/d
ealing_with_data_report-final.pdf
Design and Implementation of the Australian National Data Service
Treloar, Andrew (Date Created: Dec 2008)
This paper describes the context, design and implementation of the Australian National Data Service (ANDS). It considers the principles, programs and frameworks underlying the service and the likely benefits.
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dcc-2008/programme/papers/Design%20&%20Imp
lementation%20of%20the%20ANDS.pdf
Paper of the 4th International Digital Curation Conference, 1-3 Dec 2008, Edinburgh Scotland
Developing the Skills to Support eResearch
Henty, Margaret In: Ariadne (Date Created: Apr 2008) (Australia)
This article reports on a study conducted in 2007 in Australia to "identify the range and types of skills required to undertake and support eResearch; to provide information on which to base proposals for future events, training and other means of skills development; and to provide information for institutions and government for consideration in relation to formal Higher Education and vocational training options".
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue55/henty/
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Historical Digital Archiving and Long Term Preservation: An Early Experience with Grid and Digital Library Technologies
Chadduck, Robert; JaJa, Joseph; McCall, Fritz; Moore, Reagan; Smorul, Mike (Date Created: 2004)
This article describes two large scale data archiving projects which have a common infrastructure based on storage hierarchies. The projects are the Persistent Digital Archives project, which is a joint effort between the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), the University of Maryland (UMD), and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); and the second is the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF) that currently offers over 13TB of earth science data to a very broad international user community, including researchers and government agencies interested in environmental and ecological studies.
http://www.archives.gov/era/papers/thic-04.html
Digital Curation for Science, Digital Libraries, and Individuals
Beagrie, Neil (Date Created: Sep 2006) (United Kingdom)
This paper explores inter-disciplinary research, trends, practices and new developments in the emerging field of digital curation.
http://www.ijdc.net/ijdc/article/view/6/5
The International Journal of Digital Curation Issue 1, Vol 1 Autumn 2006 pp 3-16
Digital Object Identifiers for Scientific Data
Paskin, Norman (Date Created: 28 Apr 2005)
This article describes the application of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) in maintaining links to scientific data. It explains the function and purpose of Digital Object Identifiers and presents two case studies of DOI use within large repositories of scientific data sets.
http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/dsj/4/0/4_12/_article
Data Science Journal, ISSN 1683-1470, Vol. 4, April 2005, pp. 12-20.
Digital Preservation for Long-Term Environmental Monitoring
Luigio, Fusci; Sergio, Albani; Veronica, Guidetti (Date Created: 02 Feb 2009)
This Digital Preservation Europe (DPE) briefing paper considers the need for strategies for long-term archiving and preservation of earth observation data.
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/dp_for_lon
gterm_environmental_monitoring.pdf
Digital Preservation Europe Briefing Paper
Digital Preservation Through Archival Collaboration: The Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences
Adams, Margaret; Altman, Micah; Crabtree, Jonathon; Donakowski, Darrell; Maynard, Mark; Pienta, Amy; Young, Copeland (Date Created: Mar 2009) (United States of America)
This article provides an overview of the Data-PASS collaboration which is supported by the Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) and is a collaboration of five major institutions: the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research; The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research; The Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science; the electronic records custodial division of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); and The Henry A. Murray Research Archive, with strong technology support from the Harvard-MIT Data Center.
http://maltman.hmdc.harvard.edu/papers/SharedPractices.pdf
Draft of Article prepared for the American Archivist
Dreaming Data : The Library's Role in Supporting eResearch and Data Management
Henty, Margaret (Date Created: Sep 2008) (Australia)
This paper given at the Dreaming08, ALIA Biennial Conference, 2-5 September 2008 at Alice Springs, examines the capabilities and skills required within research institutions to manage, use and re-use data as shown by the Skills for eResearch Project undertaken by APSR in 2007.
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/13910/20080930-1156/conferences.alia.org
.au/alia2008/pdfs/213.TT.pdf
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Earth Observation Archives in Digital Library and Grid Infrastructures
Fusco, Luigi (Date Created: Dec 2004)
Earth observation missions generate petabytes of data which need to be preserved for use in long-term analyses. This article describes how digital library and Grid technology can support long-term data preservation and access. Examples of initiatives that use these technologies are described, such as the European DILIGENT project.
http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/dsj/3/0/222/_pdf
Data Science Journal, ISSN 1683-1470, Vol. 3, December 2004, pp 222-226.
Escience and Archiving for Space Science
Borne, K. D. ; Eastman, Timothy E. (Date Created: 01 Sep 2005)
This article explores space science data preservation, archiving, and access. It also looks at interoperability of datasets and OAIS architecture.
http://journals.eecs.qub.ac.uk/codata/journal/contents/4_05/4_05pdfs/D
S430.pdf
Data Science Journal, Vol. 4, 1 September, 2005, http://www.datasciencejournal.org/
New Experimenting with the Trial of aResearch Data Audit: Some Preliminary Findings About Data Types, Access to Data and Factors for Long Term Preservation
Polydoratou, Panayiota (Date Created: 11 Jun 2009) (United Kingdom)
This paper given at ELPUB 2009 (10-12 June 2009, Milan Italy) discusses some preliminary results from a questionnaire survey, conducted as part of the trial implementation of the Data Audit Framework Methodology at University College London. The survey explored factors that could impact on access, use and preservation of primary research data.
http://conferences.aepic.it/index.php/elpub/elpub2009/paper/view/142/5
8
Abstract paper and presentation slides available
First Insights into Digital Preservation of Research Output in Europe: Interim Insight Report
PARSE.Insight (Date Created: Sep 2009)
This report (20 p.) is a preliminary report on surveys and case studires prepared by the PARSE.Insight project members. It includes findings of surveys into the needs and attitudes of major stakeholder groups in research; case studies of the High Energy Physics, Earth Observation and Social Science and Humanities communities; and the resulting implications for the development of the PARSE.Insight Roadmap.
http://www.parse-insight.eu/downloads/PARSE-Insight_D3-5_InterimInsigh
tReport_final.pdf
First Results from the PARSE.Insight Project: HEP Survey on Data Preservation, Re-use and (Open) Access
Holzner, Andre; Igo-Kemenes, Peter; Mele, Salvatore (Date Created: 26 Jan 2009)
This paper was given at the First Workshop on Data Preservation and Long-Term Analysis in High-Energy Physics, DESY, Hamburg, Germany, January 26th-28th 2009. It gives preliminary findings of a 3-month survey conducted from October 2008 amongst the High Energy Physics (HEP) community on the attitudes and concerns of HEP scientists which will provide the basis for a case study.
http://arxiv.org/abs/0906.0485
Available as PDF from arxiv.org
Infrastructure Planning and Data Curation : A Comparative Study of International Approaches Enabling the Sharing of Research Data. Version 1.6
Ruusalepp, Raivo (Date Created: 30 Nov 2008) (United Kingdom)
This study (108 pp.) commissioned by JISC takes forward recommendations of the JISCDealing with Data project report. The study compares international approaches to conceptualising, implementing, maintaining and developing infrastructure arrangements relevant to sharing research data in a cohort of OECD countries. The report mainly focuses on Australia, UK and the USA but includes comparisons with arrangements in othe OECD countries.
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/docs/publications/reports/Data_Sharing_Report.pdf
Introduction to the Dataverse Network as an Infrastructure for Data Sharing
King, Gary (Date Created: Nov 2007) (United States of America)
This article provides an introduction to the Dataverse Network Project which enables data sharing via a standard citation format which enables persistent identification.
http://gking.harvard.edu/files/abs/dvn-abs.shtml
Also available in Sociological Methods and Research, Vol. 32, No. 2 (November, 2007): Pp. 173--199
Large Scale Data Sharing in the Life Sciences : Data Standards, Incentives, Barriers and Funding Models : the Joint Data Standards Study
Bioinformatics Research Centre, University of Glasgow; Digital Archiving Consultancy; National e-Science Centre (Date Created: Aug 2005)
This report examines the data sharing practices in the large-scale life-sciences and environmental data resources. The study is sponsored by MRC, BBSRC, NERC, Wellcome Trust, Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the Department of Trade and Industry. The report includes recommendations on standards, tools, life cycle management, legal issues, core models for data sharing and case studies.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Utilities/Documentrecord/index.htm?d=MRC002552
LEADS Database at ICPSR : Identifying Important “At Risk” Social Science Data
Gutman, Myron; Hoelter, Lynette; Lyle, Jared; Pienta, Amy M. (Date Created: 01 Aug 2008) (United States of America)
This roundtable paper presented at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting 1-4 August, 2008, Boston, MA by members of the DATAPASS project, describes the LEADS database which has been created at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, which includes thousands of social science studies produced over 40 years. Research on the database has identified potentially "at risk" social science research data.
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/DATAPASS/pdf/Pienta_et_al_2008.pdf
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Historical Long Term Spatial Data Preservation and Archiving : What are the Issues?
Bleakly, Denise R. (Date Created: Jan 2002) (United States of America)
This report discusses the activities of several United States government agencies relating to data management and preservation of geospatial data. It includes a general overview of the various digital preservation strategies and describes how geospatial data is unique and what makes it more difficult to archive compared to other types of data.
http://www.prod.sandia.gov/cgi-bin/techlib/access-control.pl/2002/0201
07.pdf
SAND Report 2002-0107
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Long-Lived Digital Data Collections : Enabling Research and Education in the 21st Century : Draft Report of the National Science Board
National Science Board (U.S.) (Date Created: 30 Mar 2005)
This is the final draft version of the report published by the National Science Board. The report discusses the findings and recommendations of the Board on Long-Lived Digital Data Collections. The report will be of interest to those involved with the curation of scientific and other large data collections.
http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/documents/2005/LLDDC_report.pdf
NSB-05-40
Long-term Preservation of Raw Scientific Data : Study into the Status of Existing Research and Raw Scientific Data : Prerequisites and Suitability for Preservation and Accessibility in Germany
Hilf, Eberhard R.; Severiens, Thomas (Date Created: Apr 2006) (Germany)
This is a 2 page English summary of a 40p. document originally published in German, "Langzeitarchiverung von Rohdaten - Studie zum Stand vorhandener Forschungsdaten und Rohdaten aus Wissenschaftlichen Tätigkeiten: Erfordernisse und Eignung zur Archivierung bzw. Zurverfügungstellung in Deutschland (Primärdaten)". It is part of a series of 7 digital preservation papers commissioned by nestor. The document briefly discusses how research data is handled for long term preservation in Germany.
http://www.langzeitarchivierung.de/downloads/mat/06_summary.pdf
nestor studies; 6
Long-term Preservation of Scientific and Scholarly Information : The Perspective of the European Commission
Oliveira, Carlos Jose (Date Created: 09 Oct 2007)
This paper presented at PV 2007 (Munich, 9-11 October 2007) discusses ongoing research activities in Europe aimed at addressing the challenge of long-term digital curation and preservation in the context of policies for digital libraries and scientific and scholarly information.
http://www.pv2007.dlr.de/Papers/Oliveira_EU_digital_preservation.pdf
Historical National Archive of Datasets
Darlington, Jeffrey In: Ariadne (Date Created: 30 Apr 2004) (United Kingdom)
This article describes The National Archives (United Kingdom) development of a national collection of datasets titled National Digital Archive of Datasets (NDAD) with intention to preserve it permanently. Datasets are safe-kept on a high-capacity automated tape library system. Each dataset is stored in a simple linear format based on open standards with forward migration of standards assured. More complex historic datasets were converted to the NDAD standard preservation format.
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue39/ndad/
Historical Online Scientific Data Curation, Publication and Archiving
Gray, Jim; Stoughton, Christopher; Szalay, Alexander S.; Thakar, Ani R.; vandenBerg, Jan (Date Created: Jul 2002)
This article describes the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) strategies for data publication, data access, curation, and preservation. The article describes what needs to be preserved, how it is to be preserved and who will preserve it. Also discussed is the interconnected concepts of the 'data pyramid" and 'data inflation'.
http://arxiv.org/abs/cs.DL/0208012
Technical Report MSR-TR-2002-74
Open Access to and Reuse of Research Data : The State of the Art in Finland
Kuula, Arja; Borg, Sami (Date Created: 2008) (Finland)
This report discusses results of an online survey by the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD) on practices related to research data including preservation, in light of the OECD Recommendation on open access to digital research data.
ISBN: 9789514474798
http://www.fsd.uta.fi/julkaisut/julkaisusarja/FSDjs07_OECD_en.pdf
Finnish Social Science Data Archive 7, 2008 ISSN 1459-8906
Past, present and future: XML, archaeology and digital preservation
Kilbride, William (Date Created: 2005)
This article discusses the use of XML as a preservation ready format for use by archaeologists when they create archaeological data sets. The author discusses and gives examples of current and potential uses of XML in the preservation of archaeological data.
http://csanet.org/newsletter/winter05/nlw0502.html
CSA Newsletter, Vol. XVII, no. 3 (Winter 2005)
Planning an Effective Digital Curation & Preservation Strategy for a Research Organization
van Deventer, Martie; vd Merwe, Adele (Date Created: May 2009) (South Africa)
This paper given at African Digital Scholarship & Curation 2009 conference (12-14 May 2009, Pretoria South Africa), provides background to the development of a curation and digital preservation strategy for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria in the context of international developments.
http://www.ais.up.ac.za/digi/docs/avdmerwe_paper.pdf
Preservation and Management Strategies for Exceptionally Large Data Formats: 'Big Data'. EH Project No. 3984. Final 1.03.
Austin, Tony; Mitcham, Jenny (Date Created: 28 Sep 2007) (United Kingdom)
This is the final report of a project looking at the preservation and management strategies for large data sets such as those produced in archaeological research including LIDAR, 3D Laser Scanning, Maritime Survey and Digital Video produced during archaeological surveys.Suitability for long term preservation of such data formats is considered.
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/bigdata/final_report/bigdata_final_repor
t_1.3.pdf
Preservation of Earth System Model Data
Lautenschlager, Michael (Date Created: 30 Jun 2008)
This Digital Preservation Europe (DPE) briefing paper examines how the World Data Center for Climate approaches the preservation of Earth system model data and improvement to long term archive reliability through introduction of a new system.
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/preservati
on-of-earth-system-model-data.pdf
Digital Preservation Europe Briefing Paper
Preservation of Public Sector Datasets
Archives New Zealand (Date Created: 30 Jun 2009) (New Zealand)
This report (35 p.) outlines the issues involved with preserving public sector datasets over time. The findings result from interviews with a number of New Zealand public sector organisations about their dataset holdings. It discusses current international archival approaches to the preservation of datasets and includes recommendations for Archives New Zealand.
http://continuum.archives.govt.nz/preservation-public-sector-datasets.
html
Ver. 3.1
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Preserving the Outputs of Research
Cathro, Warwick (Date Created: Nov 2004)
This paper was presented at the Archiving Web Resources conference in Canberra, Australia, November 9-11 2004. The paper discusses the issues and challenges of preserving both the primary outputs, such as datasets, and secondary outputs, such as journal articles, of research. The paper also focuses on the various responses to these issues by institutional repositories and national level programs. The author also argues for more collaboration between stakeholders as well as a role for national libraries in developing an infrastructure for the preservation of these outputs.
http://www.nla.gov.au/nla/staffpaper/2004/cathro1.html
Report on the Range of Policies Required for and Related to Digital Curation
Jones, Sarah (Date Created: 30 Mar 2009) (United Kingdom)
This report (34 p.) aims to: 1. provide an overview of curation requirements as set out by UK research funders; 2. examine the current curation policy landscape to identify gaps in provision; and, 3. recommend policy developments to ensure appropriate curation of research outputs. It includes a brief overview of background research; a consideration of the requirements for digital curation and comparison of the policies of the major UK research funding bodies; the main types of curation policies and aspects to consider when creating policies.
http://dcc.ac.uk/docs/reports/DCC_Curation_Policies_Report.pdf
Research Data Preservation and Access: The Views of Researchers
Beagrie, Neil; Beagrie, Robert; Rowlands, Ian (Date Created: Jul 2009) (United Kingdom)
This article discusses the findings of a survey undertaken between March and October 2008 as part of the feasibility study for the UK Research Data Service (UKRDS). The survey sought the researchers' viewpoint on and practices for preservation and dissemination of research data in four UK universities (Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, and Oxford). The article places them in the wider UK and international context..
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue60/beagrie-et-al/
Ariadne July 2009 Issue 60
Scientific Data and Information : Report of the CSPR Assessment Panel
Committee on Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR) (Date Created: Dec 2004)
The ICSU (International Council for Science) is a non-government organisation representing over 100 international scientific bodies. This report by the CSPR (Committee on Scientific Planning and Review) assesses the strategic issues in scientific data and information and reviews the ICSU's current activities. This report is wide-ranging, covering all aspects of the data and information lifecycle including the need for long-term management and preservation.
ISBN: 0930357604
http://www.icsu.org/Gestion/img/ICSU_DOC_DOWNLOAD/551_DD_FILE_PAA_Data
_and_Information.pdf
Historical Selection, Appraisal and Retention of Digital Scientific Data : Final Report
ERPANET (Date Created: 10 Feb 2004)
The seminar, held from 15th-17th of December 2003 at the Biblioteca Nacional in Lisbon, brought together more than sixty-five researchers, data managers, information specialists, archivists, and librarians from thirteen countries to discuss the issues regarding the long-term preservation of the scientific record. One of the major aims for this seminar was to provide an international forum to exchange information about data archiving policies and practices across different scientific, institutional, and national contexts. The seminar also highlighted some conceptual hurdles to overcome before effective collaboration between the diverse communities can take place.
http://www.erpanet.org/events/2003/lisbon/LisbonReportFinal.pdf
Final report of the ERPANET CODATA Workshop held at Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon, December 15-17, 2003
Semi-Automated Preservation and Archival of Scientific Data Using Semantic Grid Services
Choudhury, Sharmin; Hunter, Jane (Date Created: May 2005)
This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Cluster Computing and the Grid in 2005. It presents arguments for the use of PANIC as a solution to long term preservation of large scale collections of scientific data. PANIC is based on preservation metadata, software and format registries and semantic Grid services.
http://metadata.net/panic/Papers/SIGAW2005_paper.pdf
Paper presented at the Semantic Infrastructure for Grid Computing Applications Workshop at the International Symposium on Cluster Computing and the Grid, CCGrid 2005. Cardiff, UK. May 2005
Skills, Role and Career Structure of Data Scientists and Curators ; An Assessment of Current Practice and Future Needs. Report to the JISC
Brown, Sheridan; Swan, Alma (Date Created: 31 Jul 2008) (United Kingdom)
This report, commissioned by JISC examines and makes recommendations on the roles and career development of data scientists and the supply of specialist data curation skills to the research community. Recommendations are made on the development of data skills in research domains, research libraries and in general. Executive summary available from the JISC website.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/digitalrepositories/d
ataskillscareersfinalreport.pdf
Stewardship of Research Data in Canada: A Gap Analysis
Research Data Strategy Working Group (Date Created: Oct 2008) (Canada)
This report (31 p) provides results of a gap analysis undertaken in spring/summer 2008 by the Research Data Strategy Working Group, to compare ideal and current states in the stewardship of research data in Canada. Areas considered are Data policies; Funding; Roles and responsibilities; [Trusted digital] data repositories; Standards; Skills and training; Reward and recognition systems; Research and development; Accessibility; and Preservation.
http://data-donnees.gc.ca/docs/GapAnalysis.pdf
Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa: Focus on Health and Environmental Information for Sustainable Development : CODATA Task Group on Preservation of and Access to S&T Data in Developing Countries
CODATA (Date Created: 2006) (South Africa)
This website includes links to the final Report, Executive Summary, and presentations from the September 2005 CODATA Workshop on Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa: Focus on Health and Environmental Information for Sustainable Development. The South African workshop focused on issues related to the preservation of and access to scientific information resources in developing countries. It includes sections on policy and legal issues, institutional and economic issues, management and technical issues and covers specific types of data including scientific, technical and medical data and earth and environmental data.
http://stardata.nrf.ac.za/html/workshopCodataPublications.html
Report of workshop held 5-7 September 2005 at the CSIR Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa
Sustainability Issues for Australian Research Data : the Report of the Australian E-research Sustainability Research Project
Buchhorn, Markus; McNamara, Paul (Date Created: Oct 2006) (Australia)
This is a report on a survey that examined sustainability issues for data-intensive research projects.The issues included the lack of support for long term data management, the lack of a workable national data management system and problems associated with a decentralised data management infrastructure. The report proposes that a data stewardship sytem that interlinks policy and infrastructure would address many of these issues. This report also provides an overview of future scenarios and actions.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/publications/aeres_report.pdf
Ten Major Issues in Providing a Repository Service in Australian Universities
Henty, Margaret (Date Created: May 2007) (Australia)
This article reports the results of a series of interviews with senior Australian university personnel conducted by the Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories (APSR) in 2006. The issues identified by interviewees were 1. Roles and responsibilities; 2. Sustaining the service; 3. Engaging the community; 4. Guaranteeing quality of the service; 5. Defining the collection; 6. Research reporting and compliance; 7. The repository and e-research; 8. skills and staffing; 9. Technology; and 10. The regulatory environment: copyright and digital rights management. The author adds an eleventh major issue - long term preservation.
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/may07/henty/05henty.html
D-Lib Magazine, Vol 13 No.5/6, May June 2007
Toward Distributed Infrastructures for Digital Preservation : The roles of Collaboration and Trust
Day, Michael In: International Journal of Digital Curation (Date Created: Jul 2009)
This article considers the role of collaboration in scientific data curation, digital preservation initiatives and development of institutional repositories. It also considers the concepts of trust and control as discussed in the literature and their application to work on trustworthy repositories.
http://www.ijdc.net/ijdc/article/view/60/61

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Books

New Enhanced Publications: Linking Publications and Research Data in Digital Repositories
Woutersen-Windhouwer, Saskia et al. (Date Created: Oct 2009) (Netherlands)
This study for the DRIVER II project provides an overview of the state of the art of enhanced publications, object models and functionalities, sample datasets and demonstrators, and a discussion of the their long-term preservation.
ISBN: 9789089641885
http://dare.uva.nl/document/150723
Ensuring the Integrity, Accessibility and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age
Committee on Ensuring the Utility and Integrity of Research Data in a Digital Age; National Academy of Sciences (Date Created: Jul 2009) (United States of America)
This book considers the factors effecting the integrity, accessibility and integrity of research data in the digital age and the roles and responsibilities of various stake holders. It recommends training in the management of research data for all researchers, and calls on researchers to make all research data, methods, and other information underlying results publicly accessible in a timely manner.
ISBN: 9780309136808
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12615
Prepublication available online and for sale as print or PDF
New European Repository Landscape 2008 : Inventory of Digital Repositories for Research Output
van der Graaf, Maurits (Date Created: Oct 2009)
This study for the DRIVER project investigates the current state of European Union digital repositories for research output and follows on from a study undertaken in 2006. It provides a complete inventory of digital repositories in the European Union countries as at 2008 and compares the results with the earlier 2006 survey.
ISBN: 9789089641908
http://dare.uva.nl/document/150724
The European Repository Landscape : Inventory Study Into Present Type and Level of OAI Compliant Digital Repository Activities in the EU
van Eijndhoven, Kwame; van der Graf, Maurits (Date Created: 16 Jan 2008) (Netherlands)
This study for the DRIVER project investigates the current state of European Union digital repositories for research output. It provides a complete inventory of digital repositories in the 27 countries of the European Union as at 2007.
ISBN: 9789053564103
http://dare.uva.nl/document/93725
Also available in print from Amsterdam University Press
Investigative Study of Standards for Digital Repositories and Related Services
Andre, Francis; Foulonneau, Muriel (Date Created: 16 Jan 2008) (Netherlands)
This 112 page report for the DRIVER project consortium (Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for European Research) reviews the current standards, protocols and applications in European institutional repositories and the requirements for future enhanced access to digital resources.
ISBN: 9789053564127
http://dare.uva.nl/document/93727
Also available in print from AmsterdamUniversity Press
Sustainable Data From Digital Fieldwork
Sydney University Press (Date Created: Dec 2006) (Australia)
This book contains refereed papers from a conference of the same name held at the University of Sydney in December 2006 which was presented by Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC). The conference showcased a number of projects that have developed innovative and sustainable ways of managing primary data captured during academic fieldwork. It includes contributions from fieldworkers in linguistics, botany and anthropology and by archives and repository managers.
ISBN: 9781920898502
http://purl.library.usyd.edu.au/sup/1920898506
Papers plus mp3 also available in Sydney eScholarship Repository http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/1160
UKRDS UK Research Data Service Feasibility Study: Report and Recommendations to HEFCE
(Date Created: 19 Dec 2008) (United Kingdom)
This study (78 p., 2.8MB) assesses the feasibility and costs of developing and maintaining a national shared digital research data service for UK Higher Education sector. The study involved an assessment of researchers requirements through surveys, interviews and workshops, stakeholder requirements and desk research on the international context. A shared co-operative service approach was selected as the preferred model and features and benefits including cost assessment are provided. The study concluded that the UKRDS is feasible and should be considered for funding. A Management Summary (6p.) is also available
http://www.ukrds.ac.uk/resources/download/id/16

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Events

19th International CODATA Conference : the Information Society New Horizons for Science
07 - 10 Nov 2004 , Berlin (Germany)
Abstracts for all presentations and links to some papers available from the website.
http://www.codata.org/04conf/
1st African Digital Management and Curation Conference and Workshop
12 - 13 Feb 2008 , CSIR Convention Centre, Pretoria (South Africa)
This conference looked at international trends and perspectives on digital management and curation in various sciences and for e-research. Presentations are available from the website.
http://stardata.nrf.ac.za/nadicc/index.html
2nd Workshop on Data Preservation and Long-Term Analysis in High Energy Physics
26 - 28 May 2009 , SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
(United States of America)
This workshop is an invitation only international expert level meeting organized by DPHEP Study Group for Data Preservation and Long Term Analysis in High Energy Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Progress reports and status of data preservation efforts in High Energy Physics (HEP) will be discussed.
http://confluence.slac.stanford.edu/display/dplta/2nd+Workshop+on+Data
+Preservation+and+Long+Term+Analysis+in+HEP
African Digital Scholarship & Curation 2009
12 - 14 May 2009 , CSIR Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa (South Africa)
The aim of this conference was to identify new opportunities and strategies for scholarship and research and the management of the digital content created by these activities. It included strands on digital preservation and digital data management and curation Papers and presentations available from the programme.
http://www.ais.up.ac.za/digitalscholarship.htm
African Digital Scholarship & Curation 2010
25 - 27 May 2010 , University of Botswana New Conference Complex, Botswana (Africa)
This 3-day conference jointly organised by the Universities of Botswana and Pretoria (South Africa) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR (South Africa) will address various issues of digital scholarship, digital curation and emerging technologies within the theme ‘Mapping and Demystifying Digital Scholarship: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities ‘ .
http://www.ais.up.ac.za/digi/digitalscholarship2010.htm
Alliance for Permanent Access Annual Conference 2009: Keeping the Records of Science Accessible: towards a sustainable science data e-infrastructure!
24 Nov 2009 , Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB), The Hague
Alliance for Permanent Access
(Netherlands)
This conference will "focus on developments in scientific communities (social sciences, earth observation and high energy physics). In addition cross-communities topics among others R&D and technical tools, funding and sustainable business models, certification / accreditation mechanism will be addressed."
http://www.alliancepermanentaccess.eu/
Beyond the Repository Fringe 2009
Jul 2009 , University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)
This event event hosted by the University of Edinburgh with support from the Digital Curation Centre, the School of Informatics, EDINA, and Information Services, as well as UKOLN and EPrints, is sponsored by JISC. The event will consider developments in the repository landscape and will include two special workshops 1. DISC-UK DataShare Workshop Data Requirements and Digital Repositories; 2. Digital Curation Centre Associates Network Workshop Digital Curation 101 'Lite', in addition to demonstrations, tutorials and show and tell. Keynotes by Ben O'Steen, Sally Rumse and Clifford Lynch.
http://www.repositoryfringe.org/
CASPAR Training Day for the Cultural and Scientific Domains
12 - 13 Jan 2009 , Rome, Italy
CASPAR
(Italy)
This one day training event covered a range of topics including preservation threats,the preservation process, infrastructure, information conceptual models, authenticity, user needs of scientific community and a case study from the European Space Agency. Presentations available.
http://www.casparpreserves.eu/training/Members/metaware/Events/caspar-
training-day-for-the-cultural-domain
Creating the Information Commons for e-Science: Toward Institutional Policies and Guidelines for Action : an International Workshop
01 - 02 Sep 2005 , UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, (France)
This workshop aimed to promote development of institutional policies and guidelines for action in support of the “information commons” for e-science. Abstracts and presentations are available from the website.
http://www.codata.org/archives/2005/UNESCOmtg/agenda.html
Data-intensive Research and Analysis, Preservation Environments and the Data Grid : Tutorial
30 Sep 2005 , Baume Theatre (Room 213). Ground Floor, Peter Baume Building, The Australian National University, Canberra (Australia)
This one day tutorial given by Reagan Moore was preceded by a public lecture Data Intensive Research- Challenges and issues for which the overheads are available.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/events/Data_intensive_research_and_analysis.htm
Digital Curation in the Human Sciences
30 Sep - 01 Oct 2009 , Corfu, Greece (Greece)
This workshop organised in conjunction with ECDL 2009 (13th European Conference on Digital Libraries, Corfu, Greece 27 Sept - Oct 2 2009) will bring together stakeholders in the development of human science digital infrastructures in Europe. Topics include theoretical and methodological support support for infrastructures, digital curation, research repositories, digital libraries and best practices.
http://www.ionio.gr/conferences/ecdl2009/ws_digcur.php
Safekept
Digital Curation: Digital Archives, Libraries and E-Science
Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) (United Kingdom) Reviewed by: Digital Curation: digital archives, libraries and e-science seminar
This web page contains links to the Meeting Report and individual presentations given at an invitational seminar sponsored by the Digital Preservation Coalition and the British National Space Centre on October 19, 2001. Sessions included the OAIS Reference Model and digital archive certification, data curation and the grid, and curation of digital collections.
http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/events/digitalarchives.html
ECURE Archives
ECURE. Arizona State University. (Regularly Updated) (United States of America)
This website presents speakers' presentations given at ECURE (Preservation and Access for Electronic College and University Records) conferences 1999 to 2005.
http://www.asu.edu/ecure/archives.html
European Infrastructure for Repositories of Scientific Information
08 - 09 Jun 2006 , Brussels
Information SocietyTechnologies
(Belgium)
The objective of the workshop was to discuss the development of Digital Repositories from the perspective of e-Infrastructure. Presentations are available from the website.
http://cordis.europa.eu/ist/rn/ri-cnd/wshop-080606.htm
IDCC 2007: 3rd International Digital Curation Conference : Curating our Digital Scientific Heritage: a Global Collaborative Challenge
11 - 13 Dec 2007 , Renaissance Washington DC Hotel (United States of America)
This conference focused on emerging strategy, policy implementation, leading-edge research and practitioner experience, and comprised a mix of peer-reviewed papers, invited presentations and international keynote speakers. Presentations including national perspectives and case studies available from the programme link.
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dcc-2007/
IDCC 2009: 5th International Digital Curation Conference : Moving to Multi-Scale Science: Managing Complexity and Diversity
02 - 04 Dec 2009 , Millennium Gloucester Hotel, London
Digital Curation Centre
(United Kingdom)
This conference jointly organised by the Digital Curation Centre and the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) has themes of multi-scale, multi-discipline, multi-skill and multi-sector, relating to the creation, curation, management and re-use of research data. Research data is broadly defined to include the digital subjects of all types of research and scholarship (including Arts and Humanities, and all the Sciences).
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dcc-2009/call-for-papers/
Papers to be published in the International Journal of Digital Curation.
Keeping the Records of Science Accessible Can We Afford it? Business Models for an Infrastructure for Permanent Access to Scientific Data and Publications
04 Nov 2008 , Budapest, Hungary
Alliance for Permanent Access
(Hungary)
This high level strategic meeting jointly organised by the European Science Foundation and Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTK) focused on the estimated costs that underpin preservation of digital scientific data and publications. Presentations and a comprehensive report are available from the website.
http://www.alliancepermanentaccess.eu/index.php?id=3
National Research Data Service for the UK ? : An International Conference on the UK Research Data Service Feasibility Study
26 Feb 2009 , Royal Society, London
UKOLN, University of Bath
(United Kingdom)
This international conference discussed the outcomes of the UKRDS (UK Research Data Service) feasibility study, looked at International developments in the management of research data, and considered the next steps for the development of the UKRDS. The study was funded by HEFCE as part of its Shared Services programme, with additional support from JISC, Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and the Russell Group IT Directors (RUGIT). It has been led by the London School of Economics, with Serco Consulting as lead consultants, with Charles Beagrie Limited and Grant Thornton as sub-contractors.Presentations available from the programme .
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/ukrds-2009/
Open Access and Research Conference 2008
24 - 25 Sep 2008 , Brisbane, Queensland
Queensland University of Technology
(Australia)
This conference includes a range of topics such as evolving publishing models, repository management, e-Research, policy development, and legal and technical issues. Presentation slides and audio recordings available from the program page.
http://www.oar2008.qut.edu.au/
Permanent Access to the Records of Science
01 Nov 2004 , Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB), The Hague,
Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB)
(Netherlands)
This conference organised by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek considers the requirement for developing a European infrastructure to enable ongoing access to scientific data and records . Links available to presentations.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060107063927/http://www.kb.nl/coop/euconf
erence/
PresDB'07 : International Workshop on Database Preservation
23 Mar 2007 , National E-Science Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland (United Kingdom)
This workshop organised by the National e-Science Centre brought together a multidisciplinary group to consider the archival issues surrounding databases, including the characteristics and life cycle of databases and preservation strategies.Presentations available from the program link.
http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/hmueller/presdb07/
PV 2005 : Ensuring Long-term Preservation and Adding Value to Scientific and Technical data
21 - 23 Nov 2005 , Royal Society, Edinburgh, (United Kingdom) Has papers: Advancing Geospatial Data Curation
Papers are available from the conference website.
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/pv-2005/
PV 2007 : Ensuring the Long-Term Preservation and Value Adding to Scientific and Technical Data
09 - 11 Oct 2007 , DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen/Munich
DLR, German Remote Sensing Data Center
(Germany) Has papers: Lightweight Formats for Product Model Data Exchange and Preservation ; Use of File Description Languages for File Format Identification and Validation ; Long-term Preservation of Scientific and Scholarly Information : The Perspective of the European Commission
This conference focused on management and preservation of heterogeneous data and dynamically evolving information; handling heterogeneous data in value adding applications; and ensuring access to and usability of heterogeneous data for diversified applications. Papers and presentations available from the Proceedings link.
http://www.pv2007.dlr.de/index.htm
PV 2009 : Ensuring Long-Term Preservation and Adding Value to Scientific and Technical Data
01 - 03 Dec 2009 , European Space Astronomy Centre, Madrid
European Space Agency
(Spain)
This conference theme is "Standards for archives and interoperability enabling new added value services". The main topics will be Ensuring long-term data preservation; Adding value to data; Lessons learnt; and Future prospects.
http://www.sciops.esa.int/index.php?project=CONFERENCE&page=pv2009
Supporting the Data Lifecycle Symposium
11 Feb 2009 , University of Sydney, NSW
ANDS
(Australia)
This invitation only one day symposium convened by the Australian National Data Service (ANDS), the Australian Research Collaborative Service (ARCS) and Intersect , aims to define and align institutional, national and international approaches to storing and managing research data. Presentation slides available from the website.
http://ands.org.au/events/sdl/index.html
Sustainable Data from Digital Fieldwork : From Creation to Archive and Back
04 - 06 Dec 2006 , PARADISEC, Transient Building F12, University of Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)
Many academic disciplines depend on analysis of primary data captured during fieldwork. Increasingly, researchers today are using digital methods for the whole life cycle of their primary data, from capture to organisation, submission to a repository or archive, and later access and dissemination in publications, teaching resources and conference presentations. This conference and workshop will showcase a number of projects that have been developing innovative and sustainable ways of managing such data. Presentations available from Papers
http://conferences.arts.usyd.edu.au/index.php?cf=11
Proceedings available in print for purchase from University of Sydney Press & in repository http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/1160
Towards Trusted Digital Archives for Social Science and Humanities Data
30 Jan 2009 , NWO JAVA building, The Hague
DANS Data Archiving and Networked Services
(Netherlands)
This workshop is organised by DANS with Digital Preservation Europe (DPE), Council of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA), Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities (DARIAH), Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure (CLARIN) and the Data Seal of Approval Assessment-International Board (DSAA IB). It focuses on guaranteeing the quality and trustworthiness of digital archives for the social sciences and humanities research data. The Data Seal of Approval guidelines will be considered as a starting point for a discussion on trusted digital archives and other certification processes. Presentations and reports available.
http://www.dans.knaw.nl/nl/dans_symposia/2009_2/

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Organisations and Websites

Alliance for Permanent Access
(Date Created: 2006)
This collaborative group aims to develop a shared vision and infrastructure for the permanent access to scientific information in Europe.
http://www.alliancepermanentaccess.eu/
ANDS Australian National Data Service
ANDS (Date Created: Sep 2008) (Australia)
ANDS officiallycommenced in September 2008 with initial funding until 2011 from the Australian Commonwealth Government. It aims to influence policy in relation to data management in the Australian Research Community; inform best practice for the curation of data; and transform the disparate collections of research data around Australia into a cohesive network.
http://ands.org.au/
Safekept
Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories (APSR)
Scholarly Technology Services, Australian National University (Regularly Updated) (Australia)
This project, funded by the Australian Dept. of Education, Science and Training, has five partners - the Australian National University, National Library of Australia, University of Queensland, University of Sydney and the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing. The aim of the project is to act as a centre of excellence for the management of scholarly assets in digital format. The project consists of four interlinked programs - digital continuity and sustainability, International linkages program, National Services Program and Practices and Testbed.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/index.html
DANS : Data Archiving and Networked Services
DANS (Data Archiving and Networked Services) (Regularly Updated) (Netherlands)
DANS is a Dutch national organisation which is responsible for the long term storing and access to data in the humanities and social sciences. Established in 2005, DANS is a joint initiative of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
http://www.dans.knaw.nl/en/
Data Exchange Tools (DExT)
UK Data Archive. University of Essex. (Date Created: Dec 2006) (United Kingdom)
This one year project led by the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex aimed to "develop, refine and test models for data exchange for both survey data and qualitiative research data based on XML/RDF schema and will develop tools for data import and export." Data formats included are SPSS, STATA, XML, Atlas-ti, MaxQDA and Nvivo. The project final report was issued in April 2008.
http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/dext/
Data Seal of Approval
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (Regularly Updated) (Netherlands)
The Data Seal of Approval web site has been developed by DANS (Data Archiving and Networked Services), the Netherlands national organization for ensuring long term access to social sciences research data. The web site contains guidelines for applying and checking quality aspects of the creation, storage and (re)use of digital research data in the social sciences and humanities. "These guidelines serve as a basis for granting a “data seal of approval”. The criteria for granting the data seal of approval are in accordance with, and match, national and international guidelines for digital data archiving such as the Kriterienkatalog vertrauenswürdige digitale Langzeitarchive developed by NESTOR, the Digital Repository Audit Method Based on Risk Assessment (DRAMBORA) published by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and DigitalPreservationEurope (DPE), as well as the Trustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification (TRAC): Criteria and Checklist by the Research Library Group (RLG)." The guidelines indicate responsibilities for data producers, repositories and consumers to ensure ongoing access.
http://www.datasealofapproval.org
Website also available in Dutch language version http://www.datakeurmerk.nl/
DICE Center: Data Intensive Cyber Environments (DICE) Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Regularly Updated) (United States of America)
The DICE Center was opened in April 2009 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and builds on the work of the DICE Research Group (operating since 1996), and conducts research in advanced technologies for managing, sharing, publishing, and preserving digital data including data grid technologies. The center is based at the School of Information and Library Science and works with the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) also at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The Data Intensive Cyberinfrastructure Foundation (DICF).
http://dice.unc.edu/
DPHEP: Study Group for Data Preservation and Long-Term Analysis in High Energy Physics
DPHEP (Date Created: Oct 2008)
This study group was formed in late 2008 to clarify the objectives and the means of preserving data in high-energy physics (HEP). The collider experiments BaBar, Belle, BES-III, CLEO, CDF, DØ, H1 and ZEUS, as well as the associated computing centres at SLAC, KEK, the Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing, Fermilab and DESY, are all represented, together with CERN, in the group’s steering committee. Working subgroups include Physics case for data preservation in HEP; Preservation models; Collaborations, governance and data access policies; and Technologies and Facilities.
https://www.dphep.org/
ECURE Archives
ECURE. Arizona State University. (Regularly Updated) (United States of America)
This website presents speakers' presentations given at ECURE (Preservation and Access for Electronic College and University Records) conferences 1999 to 2005.
http://www.asu.edu/ecure/archives.html
MRC Data Sharing and Preservation Initiative
Medical Research Council (Regularly Updated) (United Kingdom)
The Medical Research Councill (MRC) in the UK is a taxpayer funded organisation that provides grants for medical research programs and infrastructure. As part of the MRC's Data Sharing and Digital Preservation initiative several documents and guidelines have been produced. These include a policy statement on data sharing and preservation, a report on practical guidance on data preservation, promotion and development of data sharing tools, development of a set of principles in using personal information in medical research and commissioning a report of access to collections of data for health research.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Ourresearch/Ethicsresearchguidance/Datasharingini
tiative/index.htm
NDAD: UK National Digital Archive of Datasets
University of London Computing Centre (Regularly Updated) (United Kingdom)
NDAD contains archived digital data from UK government departments and agencies. The system has been available since March 1998 and provides open access to the catalogues of all its holdings, and free access to open datasets following a simple registration process.
http://www.ndad.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
Research Libraries UK (RLUK)
Research Libraries UK (RLUK) (Regularly Updated) (United Kingdom)
Research Libraries UK (RLUK) was built on the foundations of CURL (Consortium of University Research Libraries). Its mission is to ensure the UK has the best research library support in the world.
http://www.rluk.ac.uk/
Task Group on Preservation of and Access to Scientific and Technical Data in Developing Countries
International Council for Science, Committee on Data for Science and Technology (Regularly Updated)
Established in 2002, and originally called the Task Group on Preservation and Archiving of Scientific and Technical Data in Developing Countries the objectives of the Task Group include the "promotion and understanding of the particular conditions in developing countries with regard to long-term preservation, archiving, and access to scientific and technical (S&T) data; the advancement of improved archiving procedures, technologies, standards, and policies; the provision of an interdisciplinary forum and mechanisms for exchanging information about S&T data archiving requirements and activities, with particular focus on the concerns of developing countries; and the dissemination of the results of these efforts." The Task Group regularly convenes conferences and workshops. Task Group name changed in May 2005 to Preservation of and Access to Scientific and Technical Data in Developing Countries.
http://www.codata.org/taskgroups/TGpreservation/index.html
Historical Virtual Data Center (VDC)
Harvard-MIT Data Center (Last Updated: 2006) (United States of America)
The Virtual Data Center (VDC) was developed by the Harvard-MIT Data Center and the Harvard University Library. The VDC was an open-source digital library system for the management, dissemination, exchange and citation of quantitive data. It was updated and maintained through Sourceforge - http://sourceforge.net/projects/thedata. Features include data format conversion, persistent naming and metadata harvesting. This project ran from 1999 to 2006 and was succeeded by the Dataverse Network Project.
http://thedata.org/vdc/

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Policies, Strategies & Guidelines

Council Conclusions on Scientific Information in the Digital Age: Access, Dissemination and Preservation. 2832nd Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry and Research) Council Meeting Brussels, 22 and 23 November 2007.
Council of the European Union (Date Created: 23 Nov 2007)
This press release from the Council of the European Union acknowledges cross border and cross sector collaboration in the creation, dissemination and preservation of digital scientific data and knowledge. The Council invites member states to reinforce national strategies and structures to enhance coordination, maximise access and ensure the long term preservation of scientific information. It includes time frames for the adoption of recommendations.
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/intm/
97236.pdf
Cyberinfrastructure Vision for 21st Century Discovery
National Science Foundation Cyberinfrastructure Council (Date Created: Mar 2007) (United States of America)
This document sets out the National Science Foundation's vision and commitment to cyberinfrastructure for 2006-2010. The document is divided into five chapters entitled: A Call for Action; High Performance Computing; Data, Data Analysis and Visualization; Virtual Organizations for Distributed Communities and Learning and Workforce Development.
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf0728/index.jsp
NSF 07-28. Available for download in PDF
New Data Asset Framework Implementation Guide
Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute, University of Glasgow (Date Created: Oct 2009) (United Kingdom)
This guide (36 p.) is based on the lessons learned from the Data Audit Framework (DAF) pilot studies. It provides an introduction to the framework, (now to be called the Data Asset Framework) which is targeted at preserving research data in the UK Higher Education sector. It explains how to use the framework and includes practical examples.
http://www.data-audit.eu/docs/DAF_Implementation_Guide.pdf
Data Seal of Approval
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (Regularly Updated) (Netherlands)
The Data Seal of Approval web site has been developed by DANS (Data Archiving and Networked Services), the Netherlands national organization for ensuring long term access to social sciences research data. The web site contains guidelines for applying and checking quality aspects of the creation, storage and (re)use of digital research data in the social sciences and humanities. "These guidelines serve as a basis for granting a “data seal of approval”. The criteria for granting the data seal of approval are in accordance with, and match, national and international guidelines for digital data archiving such as the Kriterienkatalog vertrauenswürdige digitale Langzeitarchive developed by NESTOR, the Digital Repository Audit Method Based on Risk Assessment (DRAMBORA) published by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and DigitalPreservationEurope (DPE), as well as the Trustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification (TRAC): Criteria and Checklist by the Research Library Group (RLG)." The guidelines indicate responsibilities for data producers, repositories and consumers to ensure ongoing access.
http://www.datasealofapproval.org
Website also available in Dutch language version http://www.datakeurmerk.nl/
Digital Research Data Curation: Overview of Issues, Current Activities and Opportunities for the Cornell University Library: A Report of the CUL Data Working Group
CUL Data Working Group (Date Created: May 2008) (United States of America)
This report of the Data Working Group offers recommendations for how the Cornell University Library might engage in data curation activities. It scans the internal and external environment (including national and international developments), considers data curation issues and provides recommendations for future directions.
http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/10903/1/DaWG_WP_fin
al.pdf
Safekept
Geophysical Data in Archaeology: a Guide to Good Practice
Schmidt, Armin In: AHDS Guides to Good Practice (Date Created: 2002) (United Kingdom)
"The Guide to Good Practice offers an introduction to archaeological geophysics and the variety  of data that is produced including the raw measurement data, processed data and interpretative drawings. The guide emphasises the importance of ensuring that effective documentation is available for effective re-processing and re-interpretation of geophysical data. It also provides an invaluable introduction to storage and archiving of geophysical datasets and to sources of geophysical data in the UK. This Guide to Good Practice will be of use to the wide variety of individuals and organisations involved with geophysical survey projects.
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/goodguides/geophys/
Guidance on Data Management
Economic and Social Data Service (Date Created: Aug 2006) (United Kingdom)
Although written as a guide for RELU (Rural Economic Land Use) programme in the UK, the advice can be generally applied for data management by researchers in most disciplines. It includes sections on data management strategies, digital preservation, data quality, security, project lifecycle and a checklist for data management.
http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/publications/reluaug2006.pdf
Harnessing the Power of Digital Data for Science and Society : Report of the Interagency Working Group on Digital Data to the Committee on Science of the National Technology Council
Interagency Working Group on Digital Data (Date Created: Jan 2009) (United States of America)
This document (60 p., 1.2 MB) outlines a strategy to ensure that digital scientific data produced by and for the US Federal government can be reliably preserved for maximum access for progress in science and society. The report includes 3 main recommendations: 1. Create an Interagency Subcommittee under NSTC that will focus on goals that are best addressed through continuing broad cooperation and coordination across agencies; 2. Departments and agencies to lay the foundations for agency digital scientific data policy and make the policy publicly available; and, 3. All agencies to promote a data management planning process for projects that generate scientific data for preservation. Appendixes include: The Terms of Reference; Data Lifecycle; Organizations, Individuals, Roles, Sectors, and Types; and, Related Documents.
http://www.nitrd.gov/About/Harnessing_Power_Web.pdf
Keeping Research Data Safe
Beagrie, Neil; Chruszcz, Julia; Lavoie, Brian (Date Created: 12 May 2008) (United Kingdom)
This JISC study investigated the medium to long term costs to higher education institutions of the preservation of research data and developed guidance on these issues. The study has developed a costing methodology and will assist in strategy development for higher education institutions.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/keepingresearchdatasaf
e.aspx
Executive summary and pdf of report available from website.
MRC Data Sharing and Preservation Initiative
Medical Research Council (Regularly Updated) (United Kingdom)
The Medical Research Councill (MRC) in the UK is a taxpayer funded organisation that provides grants for medical research programs and infrastructure. As part of the MRC's Data Sharing and Digital Preservation initiative several documents and guidelines have been produced. These include a policy statement on data sharing and preservation, a report on practical guidance on data preservation, promotion and development of data sharing tools, development of a set of principles in using personal information in medical research and commissioning a report of access to collections of data for health research.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Ourresearch/Ethicsresearchguidance/Datasharingini
tiative/index.htm
MRC Data Sharing Initiative
MRC (Medical Research Council) (Date Created: 2003) (United Kingdom)
This web page introduces the MRC (Medical Research Council) policy on sharing and preservation of research data. There are links to the aims, policy, terminology and reports. The initiative aims to establish a set of collaborative science-led activities to produce generic data sharing, standards, tools and best practice for the population research community.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/PolicyGuidance/EthicsAndGovernance/DataSharing/in
dex.htm
Safekept
Historical The NERC Data Policy Handbook. Version 2.2 December 2002
NERC Data Strategy Group (Last Updated: 2002) (United Kingdom)
The (UK) NERC wishes to ensure that data is properly managed and preserved for future use. This document provides guidance on the implementation of NERC's Data Policies.
http://badc.nerc.ac.uk/data/NERC_Handbookv2.2.pdf
PARSE.Insight Deliverable D2.1 Draft Road Map
PARSE:Insight (Date Created: 18 May 2009)
This is the second version of the draft road map developed by PARSE.insight, which characterises an e-infrastructure for science data in Europe and proposes components for building it. Components include financial, organisational/'social, policy and technical solution to the threats of preservation.
http://www.parse-insight.eu/downloads/PARSE-Insight_D2-1_DraftRoadmap_
v1-1_final.pdf
Historical PARSE.Insight Deliverable D2.1: Draft Road Map
PARSE:Insight (Date Created: 27 Mar 2009)
This draft document provides an overview and details of technical and non-technical components required to supplement existing and planned infrastructures for digital preservation and long-term accessibility for raw science data in Europe. Superseded by final version released May 2009
http://www.parse-insight.eu/downloads/Parseinsight_draft_roadmap_20090
327.pdf
Policy-Making for Research Data in Repositories: A Guide. Version 1.2
Green, Ann; Macdonald, Stuart; Rice, Robin (Date Created: May 2009) (United Kingdom)
This guide has been prepared by the JISC funded DISC-UK Share project. It is intended to be used as a decision making and planning tool by institutions with digital repositories, by sharing sound data management principles and supporting goals of data sharing and long-term access. It covers content coverage, metadata, ingest, access and reuse of data, preservation, withdrawal of data and succession plans. It includes extensive references and examples.
http://www.disc-uk.org/docs/guide.pdf
Preservation Handbook : Geophysics
Westcott, Keith (Date Created: 17 Mar 2005)
This publication is part of a series of preservation handbooks published by the AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service). This handbook discusses the significant characteristics of geophysics data files, common formats and best practice. The goal of the handbook is to instruct AHDS staff on how best to preserve digital objects, in accordance with "a migration based preservation approach, incorporating migration to standard formats during ingest." Although this document is written for AHDS staff, the information is useful to the broader digital preservation community.
http://ahds.ac.uk/preservation/geophysics-preservation-handbook.pdf
Version 1.1. Also available in RTF - http://ahds.ac.uk/preservation/geophysics-preservation-handbook.rtf
Preservation Handbook : Statistical Data
Arts and Humanities Data Service (Date Created: 15 Jul 2005)
This publication is part of a series of preservation handbooks published by the AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service). This handbook discusses the significant characteristics of statistical data, common formats and best practice. The goal of the handbook is to instruct AHDS staff on how best to preserve digital objects, in accordance with "a migration based preservation approach, incorporating migration to standard formats during ingest." Although this document is written for AHDS staff, the information is useful to the broader digital preservation community.
http://ahds.ac.uk/preservation/statistics-preservation-handbook.pdf
Version 3. Also available in RTF - http://ahds.ac.uk/preservation/statistics-preservation-handbook.rtf
Scientific Data and Information : Report of the CSPR Assessment Panel
Committee on Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR) (Date Created: Dec 2004)
The ICSU (International Council for Science) is a non-government organisation representing over 100 international scientific bodies. This report by the CSPR (Committee on Scientific Planning and Review) assesses the strategic issues in scientific data and information and reviews the ICSU's current activities. This report is wide-ranging, covering all aspects of the data and information lifecycle including the need for long-term management and preservation.
ISBN: 0930357604
http://www.icsu.org/Gestion/img/ICSU_DOC_DOWNLOAD/551_DD_FILE_PAA_Data
_and_Information.pdf
To Stand the Test of Time : Long-term Stewardship of Digital Data Sets in Science and Engineering. A Report to the National Science Foundation from the ARL Workshop on New Collaborative Relationships : The Role of Academic Libraries in the Digital Data Universe.
Association of Research Libraries (ARL) (Date Created: 26 Sep 2006) (United States of America)
This report (158, 36.1 MB) from a workshop held 26-27 September 2006 in Arlington Virginia makes recommendations to the National Science Foundation for developing an infrastructure to support long term curation of digital data sets in science and engineering. It discusses the current US data landscape, infrastructure, new partnership models and economic sustainability and provides recommendations for long-term curation.
http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/digdatarpt.pdf
Stewardship of Digital Research Data - Principles and Guidelines: Responsibilities of Research Institutions and funders, data managers, learned societies and publishers
Research Information Network (Date Created: Jan 2008) (United Kingdom)
This document produced by the Research Information Network (RIN) provides a framework of key principles and guidelines for the stewardship of digital research data and is based on the premise that ideas and knowledge including data derived from publicly funded research should be made available. The framework is structured around five broad principles: 1. Roles and responsibilities; 2. Standards and quality assurance; 3. Access, usage and credit; 4. Benefits and cost-effectiveness, and; 5. Preservation and sustainability.
http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/data-management-and-curation/stewardship
-digital-research-data-principles-and-guidelines
Full document and summary available for dowload in PDF.
Historical Strategies for Digital Data : Findings and Recommendations from Digital Data in Archaeology : A Survey of User Needs
Condron, Frances; Richards, Julian; Robinson, Damian; Wise, Alicia (Date Created: 1999) (United Kingdom)
Archaeology Data Service Report. Following an analysis of a survey into the creation, archiving, use and re-use of digital data in archaeology in the United Kingdom, is a set of recommendations.
ISBN: 0 9536043 0 6
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/strategies/
UK Data Archive Preservation Policy Ver. 3.1
Woollard, Matthew (Date Created: 24 Jun 2009) (United Kingdom)
This document outlines the principles underpinning the UK Data Archives activities. The Archive is the primary repository for social science research data in the UK. The document outlines the purpose & objectives, the legal & regulatory framework, roles & responsibilities, the model & its functions, preservation planning & strategy, IT Architecture, Security, Cooperation and funding.
http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/news/publications/preservationpolicy.pdf

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Projects and Case Studies

Audiovisual Research Collections and Their Preservation
Schüller, Dietrich (Date Created: Mar 2008)
This 38 p. report focuses on collections of recordings made during academic field work, interviews and documentaries now held by archives, academic departments and individual researchers. It discusses the requirements for ongoing access and re-use and the potential for digitisation for creating distributed content-based archives.
http://www.tape-online.net/docs/audiovisual_research_collections.pdf
Safekept
Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories (APSR)
Scholarly Technology Services, Australian National University (Regularly Updated) (Australia)
This project, funded by the Australian Dept. of Education, Science and Training, has five partners - the Australian National University, National Library of Australia, University of Queensland, University of Sydney and the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing. The aim of the project is to act as a centre of excellence for the management of scholarly assets in digital format. The project consists of four interlinked programs - digital continuity and sustainability, International linkages program, National Services Program and Practices and Testbed.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/index.html
CASPAR : Cultural, Artistic and Scientific Knowledge Preservation for Access and Retrieval
CASPAR Consortium (Date Created: Apr 2006)
This project commenced in April 2006 and is due to be completed in October 2009. It is coordinated by the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils, UK and is partly funded by the European Union. It is a large scale project which will develop a methodology for digital preservation activities across a disparate range of data types coming from the sciences, arts and culture.
http://www.casparpreserves.eu/
New Data Audit Framework: Four Steps to Effective Data Management
(United Kingdom)
The Data Audit Framwork (DAF) project is led by HATII (Humanities Advanced Technology & Information Institute) at the University of Glasgow in conjunction with the Digital Curation Centre and is funded by JISC. DAF is aimed at providing a methodology and tools to enable UK Higher Education organisations to preserve and provide long-term access to their research data.
http://www.data-audit.eu/
Data Exchange Tools (DExT)
UK Data Archive. University of Essex. (Date Created: Dec 2006) (United Kingdom)
This one year project led by the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex aimed to "develop, refine and test models for data exchange for both survey data and qualitiative research data based on XML/RDF schema and will develop tools for data import and export." Data formats included are SPSS, STATA, XML, Atlas-ti, MaxQDA and Nvivo. The project final report was issued in April 2008.
http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/dext/
Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences (Data-PASS)
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) (Regularly Updated) (United States of America)
The Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences (Data-PASS) is funded by an award from the Library of Congress to acquire and preserve data from opinion polls, voting records, large-scale surveys, and other social science studies. The three-year project is a broad-based partnership between the several major American social science data archives and the National Archives and Records Administration. The project will concentrate on four areas - content identification and selection, content acquisition, partnership building and content retention and transfer. Funding was extended for a further 18 months in 2007. The website includes a shared catalogue search facility and links to presentations and publications.
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/DATAPASS/
Dataverse Network Project
King, Gary (Regularly Updated) (United States of America)
This project builds on the Virtual Data Center Project but uses new software developed in 2006. It allows publishers and individuals to set up dataverses with special citation mechanisms that act as a persistent identification system.
http://thedata.org/
Driver : Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for European Research
CORDIS (Community Research & Development Information Service) (Regularly Updated)
The Driver project is a joint collaboration between multiple international partners with the intention to create a knowledge base of European research.The first phase of the project, was funded under the European Union's Sixth Framework Programme for 18 months beginning June 2006 with the aim of building a test-bed for the development of infrastructure for the delivery of data content resources such as scientific output, including scientific/technical reports, working papers, pre-prints, articles and original research data. The second phase, DRIVER-II began in December 2007 and was funded under the seventh framework for 24 months. It aims to foster the development of Digital Repositories in all European countries. It includes a search portal for Open Access publication in the European Information Space.
http://www.driver-repository.eu/
Incentives for Data Producers to Create Archive Ready Data Sets
School of Information, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) (Date Created: 2005)
This research project is sponsored by the Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) and the National Science Foundation. The purpose of this project is to investigate the obstacles and incentives for producers to prepare data for deposit that is archive-ready. Focus will be on collaboration between producers and archives, including identification of a process for archives to adjust their deposit requirements to better suit producer needs. The website has information on research aims, current state of knowledge and practice, standards and guidelines.
http://www.si.umich.edu/incentives/
Keeping Research Data Safe 2 - A JISC Funded Project: The Identification of Long-lived Digital Datasets for the Purposes of Cost Analysis
Charles Beagrie Ltd (Date Created: 31 Mar 2009) (United Kingdom)
This project (March to December 2009) is a follow up to the JISC funded Keeping Research Data Safe study completed in 2008. Project partners include University of Cambridge, Charles Beagrie Ltd, OCLC Research, University of Southampton, Archaology Data Service, University of Oxford, UK Data Archive and University of London Computer Centre. The project will identify and analyse sources of long-lived data and develop longitudinal data on associated preservation costs and benefits, as an aid to to developing preservation costing tools and cost benefit analyses for justifying and sustaining major investments in repositories and data curation
http://www.beagrie.com/jisc.php
Pacific And Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC)
PARADISEC (Australia)
PARADISEC provides a facility for digital conservation and access for endangered materials from the Pacific region including Oceania and East and Southeast Asia. Participating researchers come from the Universities of Sydney, Melbourne and New England and the Australian National University. PARADISEC collaborates with other groups to promote good practice in field documentation and digital archiving of endangered languages: Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity (RNLD), the Open Language Archives Community (OLAC), the Digital Endangered Languages and Musics Network (DELAMAN) and the Electronic Metastructure for Endangered Languages Data Project (E-MELD). PARADISEC has initially focused on digitisation of audio tapes and has developed guidelines for deposit of other digital objects and models to ensure the archive can provide ongoing access to interested communities.
http://paradisec.org.au
PARSE.Insight
PARSE:Insight (Date Created: Mar 2008)
This EU project (2008-2010) aims to give insight into issues of Permanent Access to the Records of Science in Europe. The project will focus on on the e-science infrastructure needed to support persistence and understandability of key information assets over the long term. The web site gives details of the milestones, deliverables and schedules.
http://www.parse-insight.eu/
Preservation and Management Strategies for Exceptionally Large Data Formats : Big Data
Arts and Humanities Data Service (Last Updated: Oct 2007) (United Kingdom)
This Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) project, commenced in March 2005 and ran for 18 months, investigated preservation (storage methods), reuse (usability) and dissemination (delivery mechanism) strategies for large data files generated by archaeologists and other researchers. The website has descriptions of case studies generating large amounts of data; links to a survey designed to find information on the uses and users of big data; project deliverables and formats.
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/bigdata/index.html
Preservation of Earth System Model Data
Lautenschlager, Michael (Date Created: 30 Jun 2008)
This Digital Preservation Europe (DPE) briefing paper examines how the World Data Center for Climate approaches the preservation of Earth system model data and improvement to long term archive reliability through introduction of a new system.
http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/publications/briefs/preservati
on-of-earth-system-model-data.pdf
Digital Preservation Europe Briefing Paper
SCARP Case Study No 2. : Curating Atmospheric Data for Long Term Use: Infrastructure and Preservation Issues for the Atmospheric Sciences Community
Conway, Esther (Date Created: 02 Jun 2009)
This case study (52p, 3MB) applies the preservation analysis methodology to the Mesospheric Stratospheric Tropospheric (MST) Radar Dataset which is currently hosted by the British Atmospheric Data Centre, and makes recommendations about strategies for its long term preservation and discusses related issues for this community.
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/docs/publications/case-studies/SCARP_B4832_Atmosp
heric.pdf
Digital Curation Centre SCARP Project Case Studies ISSN 1759‐586X
Historical Towards an Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories : a National Policy Infrastructure Development Proposal
Australian National University (Date Created: 23 Oct 2003) (Australia)
This proposal forms the basis of the establishment of the Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories (APSR). The proposal discusses the objectives of the APSR including adopting digital continuity, repositories and access platforms as an underlying theme, which will then be applied to the areas of eScience and eHumanities. The core programs of digital continuity and sustainability are also examined. The key objectives of the International Linkages program and the National Services program are discussed in detail. The proposal concludes with a discussion of the expected outcomes, benefits and a time line of the implementation plan of a National Repository Centre.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/documents/APSR.pdf
UKRDS - The UK Research Data Service Feasibility Study
UKRDS (Date Created: Mar 2008) (United Kingdom)
UKRDS is a joint project between RLUK (the Consortium of Research Libraries in the UK and Ireland), and RUGIT (the Russell Group IT Directors Group). The study's objective is to assess the feasibility and costs of developing and maintaining a national shared digital research data service for UK Higher Education sector. The web site includes documents (terms of reference,interim and final reports, newsletters, etc.).
http://www.ukrds.ac.uk/

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Journals & Newsletters

Share: the newsletter of the Australian National Data Service
Australian National Data Service (Date Created: Jul 2009) (Australia)
This quarterly newsletter from the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) will include information on ANDS engagements, project updates, latest findings, conference reports and forthcoming events.
http://ands.org.au/newsletters/
Newsletters available in PDF.

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Surveys

Audiovisual Research Collections and Their Preservation
Schüller, Dietrich (Date Created: Mar 2008)
This 38 p. report focuses on collections of recordings made during academic field work, interviews and documentaries now held by archives, academic departments and individual researchers. It discusses the requirements for ongoing access and re-use and the potential for digitisation for creating distributed content-based archives.
http://www.tape-online.net/docs/audiovisual_research_collections.pdf
Data Management Model Survey
Kim, Shaun; Myers, Andy; Richards, Mark; Tanner, Edwina (Date Created: Dec 2008) (Australia)
This study uses the example of a survey at the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney, to identify valuable documents and data and then through use of a data management model how they can be managed effectively using rules, guidelines and workflow strategies.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/publications/tanner_data_management_model_surve
y.pdf
New European Repository Landscape 2008 : Inventory of Digital Repositories for Research Output
van der Graaf, Maurits (Date Created: Oct 2009)
This study for the DRIVER project investigates the current state of European Union digital repositories for research output and follows on from a study undertaken in 2006. It provides a complete inventory of digital repositories in the European Union countries as at 2008 and compares the results with the earlier 2006 survey.
ISBN: 9789089641908
http://dare.uva.nl/document/150724
New Experimenting with the Trial of aResearch Data Audit: Some Preliminary Findings About Data Types, Access to Data and Factors for Long Term Preservation
Polydoratou, Panayiota (Date Created: 11 Jun 2009) (United Kingdom)
This paper given at ELPUB 2009 (10-12 June 2009, Milan Italy) discusses some preliminary results from a questionnaire survey, conducted as part of the trial implementation of the Data Audit Framework Methodology at University College London. The survey explored factors that could impact on access, use and preservation of primary research data.
http://conferences.aepic.it/index.php/elpub/elpub2009/paper/view/142/5
8
Abstract paper and presentation slides available
First Results from the PARSE.Insight Project: HEP Survey on Data Preservation, Re-use and (Open) Access
Holzner, Andre; Igo-Kemenes, Peter; Mele, Salvatore (Date Created: 26 Jan 2009)
This paper was given at the First Workshop on Data Preservation and Long-Term Analysis in High-Energy Physics, DESY, Hamburg, Germany, January 26th-28th 2009. It gives preliminary findings of a 3-month survey conducted from October 2008 amongst the High Energy Physics (HEP) community on the attitudes and concerns of HEP scientists which will provide the basis for a case study.
http://arxiv.org/abs/0906.0485
Available as PDF from arxiv.org
Investigating Data Management Practices in Australian Universities
Bradbury, Stephanie; Henty, Margaret; Porter, Simon; Weaver, Belinda (Date Created: Jul 2008) (Australia)
This survey was undertaken in 2007 and completed in 2008 in recognition that repositories need to include research data. It was an activity of the APSR ORCA Support Network, and was completed with the support of APSR and the ANDS Establishment Project, The University of Queensland, The University of Melbourne and the Queensland University of Technology. The survey included questions on the types of digital data being created (spreadsheets, documents, experimental data, images, fieldwork data, etc), the size of the data collection, software used for data analysis, data storage and backup, application of a data management plan, roles and responsibilities around data management, copyright frameworks, usage of high capacity computing, and more.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/orca/investigating_data_management.pdf
Further informtation available from http://www.apsr.edu.au/orca/data_management_survey.htm
Report Based on DT/7 Questionnaire: PLANETS Deliverable DT7-D4
PLANETS Project (Date Created: 22 Apr 2009) (Denmark)
This report analyses the results of a survey of researchers at Aarhus University, Denmark which indicates the growing importance of electronic communication to the academic community’s work and the implications for digital preservation. It looks at what researchers (in different disciplines) believe should and should not be preserved and the extent to which policies, practices and software in their institutions make this possible.
http://www.planets-project.eu/docs/reports/Planets_DT7-D4_Questionnair
e_Report.pdf
Research Data Preservation and Access: The Views of Researchers
Beagrie, Neil; Beagrie, Robert; Rowlands, Ian (Date Created: Jul 2009) (United Kingdom)
This article discusses the findings of a survey undertaken between March and October 2008 as part of the feasibility study for the UK Research Data Service (UKRDS). The survey sought the researchers' viewpoint on and practices for preservation and dissemination of research data in four UK universities (Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, and Oxford). The article places them in the wider UK and international context..
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue60/beagrie-et-al/
Ariadne July 2009 Issue 60
Survey of Canadian and International Data Management Initiiatives
Argaez, Diego; Shearer, Kathleen (Date Created: 28 Apr 2008) (Canada)
This working paper provides an overview of the types of data management activities being undertaken in Canada and internationally. It documents options for libraries and is a preliminary study for a more detailed investigation.
http://www.carl-abrc.ca/about/working_groups/Reports/data_mgt_wg_worki
ng_paper-e.pdf
Sustainability Issues for Australian Research Data : the Report of the Australian E-research Sustainability Research Project
Buchhorn, Markus; McNamara, Paul (Date Created: Oct 2006) (Australia)
This is a report on a survey that examined sustainability issues for data-intensive research projects.The issues included the lack of support for long term data management, the lack of a workable national data management system and problems associated with a decentralised data management infrastructure. The report proposes that a data stewardship sytem that interlinks policy and infrastructure would address many of these issues. This report also provides an overview of future scenarios and actions.
http://www.apsr.edu.au/publications/aeres_report.pdf

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Tools

Digital Curation Lifecycle Model
Digital Curation Centre (Date Created: 02 May 2008) (United Kingdom)
This model provides a "graphical, high level overview of the stages required for successful curation and preservation of data from initial conceptualisation through the iterative curation cycle. The model can be used to plan activities within a specific research project, organisation, or consortium to ensure all necessary stages are undertaken, each in the correct sequence." More information in the associated FAQ sheet.
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/docs/publications/DCCLifecycle.pdf
Historical Virtual Data Center (VDC)
Harvard-MIT Data Center (Last Updated: 2006) (United States of America)
The Virtual Data Center (VDC) was developed by the Harvard-MIT Data Center and the Harvard University Library. The VDC was an open-source digital library system for the management, dissemination, exchange and citation of quantitive data. It was updated and maintained through Sourceforge - http://sourceforge.net/projects/thedata. Features include data format conversion, persistent naming and metadata harvesting. This project ran from 1999 to 2006 and was succeeded by the Dataverse Network Project.
http://thedata.org/vdc/

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Evaluations

UKRDS UK Research Data Service Feasibility Study: Report and Recommendations to HEFCE
(Date Created: 19 Dec 2008) (United Kingdom)
This study (78 p., 2.8MB) assesses the feasibility and costs of developing and maintaining a national shared digital research data service for UK Higher Education sector. The study involved an assessment of researchers requirements through surveys, interviews and workshops, stakeholder requirements and desk research on the international context. A shared co-operative service approach was selected as the preferred model and features and benefits including cost assessment are provided. The study concluded that the UKRDS is feasible and should be considered for funding. A Management Summary (6p.) is also available
http://www.ukrds.ac.uk/resources/download/id/16

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Related Topics: E-prints | Electronic Theses and Dissertations | Electronic journals | Electronic publishing | Grey literature

Broader Topic: Networked digital material

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