What's So Special about the Social Sciences

What’s so special about the social sciences? Peter Burnhill Director, EDINA national academic data centre, University of Edinburgh, Scotland UK Bloomsbury Conference on e-publishing and e-publications University College London, 24/25 June 2010

short answer: Some things but not everything
Overview for a longer answer
Autobiographic Apologia
Yesterday and Yesteryears
Research publication and data for research in the social sciences
some evidence (some old and re-used)
all that is digital are not data
Societal Big Challenges
a sense of place
Our shared task
ease and continuity of access
citation and linking
Linked Data: Semantic Web anyone?
Socio-Informatics & the Internet
Will not take the full two hours ….

Social Science Research Council [now ESRC]
‘ Scientific Officer’ for Economic & Social History and Statistics
(left to do MSc Statistics at London School of Economics)
Scottish Education Data Archive, until mid ‘80s
Survey statistician: school leavers, YTS, 16-19 cohort surveys; demand for HE
Graduate School, Faculty of Social Science, 1987 – 1997
Senior Lecturer, teaching quantitative/survey methods
Edinburgh University Data Library, mid- 1980s & on
Manager: set-up and development
President of IASSIST, 1997 – 2001: social science data professionals
ESRC Regional Research Laboratory for Scotland 1986/90
Co-director: early days of Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
EDINA national data centre, mid-1990s to present: my day job
Director: set-up and continuous development
Digital Curation Centre, 2004/05 as Interim Director
set-up & definition of ‘data curation + digital preservation’
autobiography as commentary

digital curation: ... digital objects and data, over their life-cycle, for current & future generations of use ...
= f(data curation & digital preservation)
data curation [when high current/ongoing interest]
actions needed to maintain and utilise digital data & research results over entire life-cycle
data creation & management; adding value; generating new sources of information & knowledge, for use
digital preservation [for longevity;fall off in interest]
long-run technological/legal accessibility & usability
storage, maintenance & accessibility of information content in digital material over the long-term, for use
OAIS concept of designated community
What is this digital curation anyway? Taken from a PPT to JISC in July 2004 …

Taken from a PPT to JISC in July 2004 …
The term Digital Curation is a rather recent invention .
The Digital Data Curation Task Force - Report of the Task Force Strategy Discussion Day (2002) states
Tony Hey took up the term which had been used by Dr John Taylor, Director General of the Research Councils, to distinguish the actions involved in caring for digital data beyond its original use, from digital preservation. The concept’s reach extends beyond libraries.
The e-Science Curation Report (2003) proposed the following distinctions:
Curation : The activity of, managing and promoting the use of data from its point of creation, to ensure it is fit for contemporary purpose, and available for discovery and re-use. For dynamic datasets this may mean continuous enrichment or updating to keep it fit for purpose. Higher levels of curation will also involve maintaining links with annotation and with other published materials.
Archiving : A curation activity which ensures that data is properly selected, stored, can be accessed and that its logical and physical integrity is maintained over time, including security and authenticity.
Preservation : An activity within archiving in which specific items of data are maintained over time so that they can still be accessed and understood through changes in technology.

UK funding councils JISC Sub-Committees JISC Collections acting as platform for network-level services & helping to build the JISC Integrated Information Environment research, learning & teaching in UK universities & colleges Research Councils UK National Data Centres

EDINA Management Board met yesterday to review its 3-year Strategy and its Budget from JISC for the coming year

Reading & Reference Room: supporting scholarly communication the Depot international Open Access facility to support self deposit of peer-reviewed papers SUNCAT UK serials union catalogue: what’s held where No longer host specialist Abstract & Index databases …
EDINA Strategy in this area just reviewed following:
RLUK/JISC Resource Discovery Task Force
SCONUL Shared Services Business Case
EDINA Focus Groups on
‘ ease and continuity of access’
Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
new technologies

authorisation licence to use Ensuring researchers, students and their teachers have ease and continuity of access to online scholarly resources ‘ ease’ ‘ continuity’ P.Burnhill, Edinburgh 2009 open restricted access to content & services usability post-cancellation back content preservation Creative Commons licensing discoverability Search (Re-)Use Modify/Combine Share (Issue/Publish) additional considerations Should apply to different types of resource: typically journal articles, but also now OER learning materials, data etc

Finds the agencies looking after e-journal, and the volumes being preserved

Geo-spatial resources: Map & Data Place

Multimedia resources: Sound & Pictures Show
platform for search and download of film, video and audio
wide range of subject coverage, including documentary film
Llicensed for use in learning, teaching and research
Being re-worked as the Digital Media Hub, combining
Film & Sound Online
initial 600 hours of film, digitised for downloading
NewsFilm Online
3000 hours of material from ITN & Reuters
Over 4TBs of clips to download
Release of product from JISC Digitisation programmes
Plus Education Image Gallery of still photography
Visual and Sound Materials Portal project
Discovering all sorts of audio-visual material
Special interest for social science as record on non-print record of 20 th Century: the first A-V century
With new forms of research material to use and to master

Defining the Social Sciences
a collection of disciplines that variously apply theorising and systematic method to the study of human society
from family to politics, from law/religion to economy: of what it is to be human and our interaction among ourselves and with our environment, whether on land, sea or the Internet
Teaching draws upon schooling: social arithmetic of Qualified Empirical Statements
We make provisional statements about the world
in the language of our theory and the context of time & place
on basis of evidence derived from the [real] world
conditioned by our theory and choice of systematic method
seeking to qualify our statements
with imperative to express our measures of uncertainty

Pattern of research publication in the social sciences
‘ The Four Literatures of Social Science’ (Diana Hicks, 2004) Handbook of Quantitative Science and Technology Studies, Henk Moed (Ed )
All more trans-disciplinary than comparable scientific literatures
international journal articles the SSCI indexed currency of evaluation
books can have a high citation/impact
national knowledge developed in context
embedded in their society ; influenced by national trends & policy concerns
non-scholarly publications knowledge into application
enlightenment or knowledge transfer to the non-scholarly public
Hicks states Burnhill and Tubby-Hille (1994) “investigated this issue in some depth [with] publications database from [ESRC] grant reports [and] survey ..
.. Assigning non peer reviewed journals to .. enlightenment .. suggests that psychologists, statisticians and geographers do not publish much in non-scholarly literature. Other fields do. Even economics, normally quite scientific in its publication patterns, exhibits a healthy percentage of articles in non-scholarly venues. Linguistics, education and sociology lead in share of non-scholarly publications.”
‘ On measuring the relation between social science research activity and research publication’ Research Evaluation 4 (3) December 1994

‘ The Four Literatures of Social Science’ (Diana Hicks, 2004) Handbook of Quantitative Science and Technology Studies, Henk Moed (Ed )
international journal articles
books
national
embedded in their society
non-scholarly publications
enlightenment or knowledge transfer to the non-scholarly public
Hicks states Burnhill and Tubby-Hille (1994) “investigated this issue in some depth [with] publications database from [ESRC] grant reports [and] survey ..
.. Assigning non peer reviewed journals to .. enlightenment .. suggests that psychologists, statisticians and geographers do not publish much in non-scholarly literature. Other fields do. Even economics , normally quite scientific in its publication patterns, exhibits a healthy percentage of articles in non-scholarly venues. Linguistics, education and sociology lead in share of non-scholarly publications. ”
‘ On measuring the relation between social science research activity and research publication’ Research Evaluation 4 (3) December 1994

Pattern of research publication in the social sciences Table from Burnhill and Tubby-Hille (1994) reproduced in Vasilakos et al (2007) ‘Evaluating the Performance of UK Research in Economics’, [sponsored by the Royal Economic Society] Keele Economics Research Papers, ISSN1740-231x www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ec/kerp

Pattern of research publication in the social sciences from Burnhill and Tubby-Hille (1994), not yet reproduced by anyone

Following the trace to
Keele Economics Research Papers, ISSN1740-231x www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ec/kerp
led me to:

What’s special about social sciences: policy & action
“ philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it”
Karl Marx (1845), Thesis 11 published in 1924 in German & Russian translation; in English in 1938 appeared in Engels’ edited version in 1888, as ‘Theses on Feurbach’
Not the moment to debate origins of social science: of Hume, Ferguson, Smith, Hegal, Marx, Kant, Jung, Parsons, Durkheim, Popper etc – even Jeremy Bentham (UCL), nor of modern theorists,
but along with development and shifts in theory …
what is key is that …
the practice of social science, and the modality of peer communication and publication in the discipline, has much to do its connection to the urgency of interaction with agencies of civil society

Six Strategic Challenges:
Global Economic Performance, Policy & Management
Health & Well-being
Environment, Energy & Resilience
Security, Conflict & Justice
Social Diversity & Population Dynamics
New Technology, Innovation & Skills
UK: ESRC Strategic Plan & Societal Big Challenges

Six Strategic Challenges:
Global Economic Performance, Policy & Management
Health & Well-being
Environment, Energy & Resilience
Security, Conflict & Justice
Social Diversity & Population Dynamics
New Technology, Innovation & Skills
UK: ESRC Strategic Plan & Societal Big Challenges 7. Public Debt & the ConDem Government

Data as scholarship: a cultural shift? Preserve or Perish “ You are not finished until you have done the research, published the results, and published the data, receiving formal credit for everything.” Mark A. Parsons (2006) International Polar Year “ A scholar’s positive contribution is measured by the sum of the original data that he contributes. Hypotheses come and go but data remain.” in Advice to a Young Investigator (1897) Santiago Ramón y Cajal (Nobel Prize winner, 1906)

What’s special about social sciences: third party data
Demand for data to carry out secondary data analysis
Social sciences do not generate all the data they need to address their research questions
Do not command the resources (funding/expertise)
few research groups and Government could get funding to manufacture original data
ESRC-led National Data Strategy, 14 Actions:
potential research value of new types of data (transactions data and tracking records)
new data infrastructures via EU and Euro Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures
improved access to Census of Population data
a geo-spatial resources advisory service (JISC/ESRC)
collaborative agreements with agencies within and outside UK
sharing of data resources across ‘North/South’ global networks
Explains why data libraries and archives have been around so long
IASSIST International Association for Social Science Information Service & Technology
annual conference since 1974; www.iassistdata.org
DISC-UK a group of data libraries in UK universities (including EUDL)
Providing ease of access to data held elsewhere (including UKDA)
Datashare project to support institutional responsibilities for data
alongside Institutional Repositories

Note: Not all that is digital are data (& vice versa)
Data derive importance from their evidential value
the empirical base for (scholarly) statement & decision-making
Provenance (how data are derived) is very important
Differences in ways that disciplines in Humanities & Social Sciences assess scholarship and evidence
in what they regard as data, as value for their subject
mix of approach to epistemology, inc document tradition
Data represented (encoded) as numbers or words - often derived from observation (with issues of phenomenology!)
or as pictures or sounds (not encoded - pre-data?)
access to (now digitally/digitised) record of experience
or algorithmic models (as with physical & life sciences)
modelling is widespread in economics, psychology, social statistics, geography etc

Our shared task:
To ensure ease & continuing access to record of scholarship
research publications and research data
Consider at least three types of (research) data:
Supplementary data [enhanced publication]
multimedia files: part of the published article that presents research argument and conclusions
more than linear text, limited tabular and graphical display
enhances user experience with various multimedia objects
Research dataset(s) upon which conclusions based
check analysis of those data to support statements made
Database(s) from which datasets were assembled
for reproducibility (exposure to refutation) and new work via alternative analysis and updates to the database(s)
these are curated in situ – by data centres / originators

Citation and linking
Citation of the datasets used (Type B data)
verification of analysis, that the figures and conclusions accurately reflect those data
Citation of d atabase(s) (Type C data)
for reproducibility (exposure to refutation)
to prompt new work via alternative analysis and updates to the database(s)
to credit those who curate the data needed for scholarship
Plus hyperlink to the database from the published article
… and back again from the database to the published article
Links to presentations, blogs, websites, funders etc related to the same research activity and same researcher(s) (Type D data?)

Obtaining the citation at source
CIESIN
“ Most of our datasets and products contain a suggested citation on the Web site as to where the data was obtained”
“ Whenever possible, we urge you to cite the use of data and web resources in the reference section”
http ://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/citations /
How to Cite Statistics Canada Products:
“ This guide has been developed for authors, editors, researchers, academics, students, librarians and data librarians.
“ It describes, in three steps, how to build your reference when citing Statistics Canada products”
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/12-591-x/12-591-x2006001-eng.htm
Get it from those who make the data available: the data publishers cf Cataloguing in Publication!

Link remains the key verb
But need to shift attention from
Linking resolver (unidirectional)
From metadata reference to full text of article
SICI-Citation | Z39.50
DOI | OpenURL | http
to
Linked Data (relational, bi-directional)
Between resources in the weave of the Web
Using URIs as names for things
Not just URLs (the addresses on the web) but the URIs
Using RDF/XML to define the relationships between the resources
RDF triples: subject / relationship / object

Resource Description Framework (RDF)
Resource Description Framework (RDF), and URIs
framework for representing information in Web; identifiers
http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-concepts/
http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf-primer/

RDF graph: Article & Supplementary Data http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/0350570303002.png
Build and publish as metadata in XML format to be found on the web
Publishing text and data/multimedia content in XML will delight researchers
Researchers want to access ‘article as data’, via computational algorithm

uses Linked Data

Parse to ‘mark up’ archaeological site record (metadata)

Overcoming sparse metadata problem that inhibits discoverability
using ancillary information in the metadata
evoking ‘has Event’ relation
Initial focus on (digitised) 20th Century newsfilm footage
Enriching resources with contextual metadata Sparse Metadata
The only data we have:
1 st October 1995
Cyprus
Disturbance (street disturbance)
British soldiers
Broadcast on TV News

finding related text
for mining and so
auto-creating metadata
to improve discoverability
and
provide/enhance context

Digital Library as applied Information Science
Michael Buckland, Presidential Address, American Society for Information Science, JASIS’s 50th (1998)
2 traditions/mentalities co-exist in Information Science
Document tradition : signifying record-ness
Computational tradition : various uses of formal techniques
non-convergent mentalities working to build the ‘digital library’
modernisation of library services
infrastructure to access complex databases
Aside: first met Clifford Lynch when visiting Professor Buckland in UC Berkley on occasion of IASSIST Conference in 1994

[email_address]
http://edina.ac.uk
Tel.: +44 (0)131 650 3302
Fax: +44 (0)131 650 3308
Time for me to stop …
Hoping that I have left some space/place for questions
Thank you
Acknowledgements

Pattern of research publication in the social sciences from Burnhill and Tubby-Hille (1994), not yet reproduced by anyone

ISSN Register E-J Preservation Registry Service E-Journal Preservation Registry SERVICES: user requirements (a) (b) Data dependency P iloting an E -journals P reservation R egistry S ervice METADATA on extant e-journals METADATA on preservation action Abstract Data Model: Figure 1 in reference paper in Serials , March 2009 Digital Preservation Agencies e.g. CLOCKSS, Portico; BL, KB; UK LOCKSS Alliance etc.

Author (article) Reader (article) Publisher article serial issue Library (serial) Licence Challenge to Ensure Continuing Access peer review peer exchange Informal: ‘invisible college’ and the ‘gift economy’ Institutional arrangement Licensed Online Access Fo rma£ E c onomy ILL/ docdel Continuity of access learned society Long term digital preservation E-prints Institutional Repositories free to web access E-prints Subject Repositories

Author (article) Reader (article) Publisher article serial issue Library (serial) Licence Increasing dominance of The Web peer to peer exchange Informal: ‘invisible college’ and the ‘gift economy’ Institutional arrangement Fo rma£ E c onomy free to web access Role of Institutional Repositories? Web 2.0/3.0: Semantic web mash-ups, Blogs. RSS feeds, Wikis

Research Data Creator Researcher Generates (curates) data for own purpose, or as part of team … wants/has to ‘put’ it somewhere for use by others (perhaps to be recognised by a peer community) Key User (Researcher) Verbs: Discover data of interest Locate service on that data with documentation on provenance etc Request permission to use service Access to service/data, Evidential value of data in analysis as object of desire’

…… ..
The term “curation” builds on our understanding of the word “curator”, somebody who keeps something for the public good, whose value often needs to be brought out by the curator.
Firstly, this open context implies more support for explicit policies with regard to data sharing, and it has major implications for structuring and tools.
Secondly, the digital curator is store-keeper but he is also closely linked to promoting new science, making sure that his user-base is solid, sufficient, and looking forward to identify new ways to serve present and future researchers. The digital curator should take an active role in promoting and adding value to his holdings, hold exhibitions, run joint events; he should manage the value of his collection.

More definitions
There does seem to be a lack of clarity. Some terms worth distinguishing are:
data preservation : a general term probably equivalent to digital preservation in this context
digital preservation : could be, and probably is, interpreted as simply ensuring the original bits and bytes are accessible
digital information preservation : this is what is referred to in the OAIS standard - what is important is not the original "bits and bytes" but the content. An OAIS ensures that the content is accessible, understandable and usable.
curation : general term - taking care of things
if someone currently calls themselves a “curator” – do we accept their definition?
data curation : looking after and adding value to data
digital curation : looking after and somehow "adding value" to digital data. This probably implies creating some new data from the existing, in order to make the latter more useful and "fit for purpose".
information curation : not seen in the wild
evidence : bit preservation plus authenticity and trust?

licence to use ‘ ease’ P.Burnhill, Edinburgh 2009 usability open preservation post-cancellation back content restricted access to content & services who/WAYF authentication licence registry entitlement history location registry/discovery content registry archiving registry UKAMF registry Suncat & Zetoc OpenURL Router [Curation is additional but has relation to ease and continuing access.] Use case: article–length work published in e-journals ISSN Register as a key content registry; need registry of ToC ‘ continuity’ Ensuring researchers, students and their teachers have ease and continuity of access to online scholarly resources

What's So Special about the Social Sciences

by EDINA, University of Edinburgh

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