Category Archives: JoRD

C.R.C attendence at RECODE workshop in Sheffield University

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The RECODE project is an EU funded project designed to compile a set of generic guidelines for EU funders to use when forming research data sharing policies. The premise is that publicly funded data should be openly accessible to the public, because they have paid for it. The workshop signalled the end of the first work-package of the project.  This studied stakeholder values and ecosystems, that is individual’s and scientific groups’ concepts of open access to data and an examination of current good practice in the area.  Other topics such as the ethical considerations and the technological solutions of sharing data are to be tackled in other work-packages. This workshop was of particular interest to the CRC and Sherpa Services because we have recently conducted research into journal research data (the JoRD project; http://jordproject.wordpress.com) and because of the implications for funder’s policies in SHERPA/JULIET.

It was with some relief that we found that our findings about stakeholder perspectives were broadly the same as the RECODE findings; it shows that we were right! I gathered some extra insights from presentations by representatives from participants of the  RECODE case studies. For example, there is not a clear difference of opinion on opening out research data between scientific disciplines, but there are many opinions within each discipline. It reminded me of the adage “when you put two academics together you get three different opinions”. It seems to me that it would be easier to sort the factions across disciplinary lines into “pro data sharing”, “contra data sharing” and “no-one would want our data because it is boring”.   Another major problem of sharing data that became apparent is that the person who can interpret the data best is the person who collected it because data needs a context.  In other words, the knowledge that the data reveals is stuck inside someone’s head, and it is very hard to make that openly accessible. This is the knowledge management problem of intellectual capital. One of the RECODE team expressed it as, a lot of knowledge is lost when you lose another post-doc.

Other issues were raised about technological infrastructure, data licensing, data citation, lack of standardisation of practice within the same fields, the simply practicality of opening huge data sets (the word peta-bytes was bandied about) and whether some sort of reward to an academic could be triggered for openly sharing their data. Overall, the workshop raised some interesting points, and I do not envy the RECODE project team in trying to reach a generic set of open research data guidelines for funders. This is a project that we will follow with great interest.

You can find more about the RECODE project on their website http://recodeproject.eu/

 

 

SHERPA Services at Open Repositories 2013

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We are glad to announce that several members of SHERPA Services staff will be attending and presenting at Open Repositories 2013, in Prince Edward Island, Canada next week.

 

Presentations by SHERPA Services include:

Peter Millington – Plenary: Compliance with Funders’ Mandates – FACT

Peter Millington – 24/7: Counting on OpenDOAR

Azhar Hussain – 24/7: An Investigation into Journal Research Data Policies: Lessons from the JoRD Project

Azhar Hussain – Poster: An Investigation into Journal Research Data Policies: Lessons from the JoRD Project

 

Further details of the conference schedule can be found here.

Please note that there may be a delay in replying to enquiries during the week of 8th-12th July.

Journal Research Data Policy Bank (JoRD)

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Journal Research Data Policy Bank (JoRD) will shed light on the policies devised by academic publishers to promote linkage between journal articles and underlying research data.

This initiative, is funded by JISC as part of its Digital Infrastructure Programme;  it runs from July to December 2012. This work is being carried out by the Centre for Research Communication, University of Nottingham, working with Research Information Network and Professor Paul Sturges.

The aim of the JoRD Policy Bank project is to conduct a feasibility study into the scope and shape of a sustainable service to collate and summarise journal data policies. The project will deliver requirements and specifications for a service that will provide researchers, managers of research data and other stakeholders with an easy source of reference to understand and comply with the research data policies of journals and publishers.

Through maintaining a firm focus upon research literature and stakeholder consultations, the project aims to:

  • identify and consult with a wide range of stakeholders, publishers and others, and develop a detailed set of stakeholder requirements and service specifications;
  • investigate the current state of data sharing policies within journals and shed light on how journals are addressing this crucial question;
  • scope and deliver recommendations on the shape of a central service that will (i) summarise journal research data policies; and (ii) provide a ready reference source of easily accessible, standardised, accurate and clear guidance and information relating to the journal policy landscape for research data;
  • provide models to establish the business framework that will allow the committed relationships necessary to deliver such a service on a long term basis;
  • provide service sustainability models determining how the long term operation of such a service can be sustained.

JoRD Blog and Project Website (http://jordproject.wordpress.com/)

 

Azhar,  Jane and Melanie