Keynote delivered at Nordbib 2012, June 12, 2012. Uses an ecological perspective to analyse research data publishing

1. Conceptualising Collaboration
and Competition in the Changing
Ecology of Research Data
Dr Andrew Treloar
Director of Technology
Australian National Data Service
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2. Why me?
• Information management
• Scholarly communication
• Institutional repositories
• Research data management
• „Adjunct librarian‟
• andrew.treloar.net/research
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3. ANDS enables transformation of:
Data that are: To Structured Collections that are:
Unmanaged Managed
Disconnected Connected
Invisible Findable
Single use Reusable
so that Australian researchers can easily
publish, discover, access and use research data.
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ands.org.au

4. Clockwork
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CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/3553313505/

5. Jungle
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BY http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Jungle.jpg/1280px-Jungle.jpg

6. Why an ecological approach?
• Information ecology:
o people
o practices
o values
o technologies
• Way of thinking about the space that offers
richer insights
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7. Ecology elements
• Systems that evolve over time
• Environmental factors (constraints, forcing)
• Selection pressures
• Biodiversity
• Species and individuals
• Niches for colonisation/exploitation
• Resources
• Interactions
• Species co-evolution/co-adaptation
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8. Research data ecology
elements
• Researchers
• Institutions
• Research funders
• Data centres (institutional, disciplinary,
national, international)
• Disciplines
• Research facilities
• Libraries
• Publishers
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9. Predator-Prey
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CC-BY: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cskk/3974104408/

10. Competitor
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CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/bata/2463176219

11. Parasitism
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CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_rodd/2759008143/

12. Symbiosis
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CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/rling/438038729/

13. Co-evolution isn‟t necessarily
good
• Systems co-evolve
• But can also get stuck in a new stable (not
necessarily more desirable) state
• Example: p-journals e-journals
o form and access arrangements largely
unchanged
• #openaccess is now gaining momentum
• But form changing more slowly
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14. New niches allow for new
possibilities
• Internet was new niche for journals
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CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/stone-imaginings/3504148642/

15. Research data can be new niche
for librarians
• New roles within institutions
• New way to engage with wider range of
clients
• New application of existing skills
• New partnerships with Research Office, IT
Services, e-Research folks
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16. Selection pressures in research
data driving change
• Increasing
o
o
o
volume
variety
}
velocity
(Gartner, 2001)
• Increasing importance of data relative to
publications
• Mixed messages from journal publishers
• Outcomes currently unclear
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17. Role of Publishers
• Is the relationship between the publishers
of research and the producers of research
symbiotic or parasitic?
• And how will rise of data-intensive
research change this?
o Protein Data Bank
o Human Genome Project
o International Virtual Observatory
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18. Collaboration or competition?
• Symbiotic relationships are often better for
both parties than either competition or
predator/prey
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CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/peternijenhuis/2979063336/

19. Conclusions
• Ecology provides a richer way of thinking
about scholarly communication than
mechanics
• Research data is a new niche for (some)
librarians
o but it‟s a niche undergoing great change
• Look for symbiotic relationships
• Critically examine the roles of other
players in the ecosystem
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20. Further reading
• B. A. Nardi, & V. L. O‟Day, “Information
ecologies: using technology with heart.
Chapter Four: Information ecologies”, First
Monday Vol 4 No 5 May 3, 1999.
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue4_5/n
ardi_chapter4.html
• R. J. Robertson, M. Mahey, J. Allinson, An
ecological approach to repository and service
interactions, v. 1.5 http://ie-
repository.jisc.ac.uk/272/1/Introductoryecolog
yreport.pdf
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21. Questions?
• andrew.treloar@ands.org.au
• @atreloar
• andrew.treloar.net
• http://www.slideshare.net/atreloar/research
-data-ecology
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