Presentation as part of the Discoverability of African Scholarship workshop in Nairobi, March 10-11.

1. kaitlin thaney
@kaythaney ; @mozillascience
#scholarAfrica, nairobi / 10 march 2014
discoverability and
web-enabled research

2. (0)

3. doing good is part of our code

4. help researchers use the
power of the open web to
change science’s future.

6. discoverability
what the web offers
role of data, sharing
challenges around “open”

7. (1)

8. research cycle
idea
experiment
lit review
materials
publish
share results
retest
analyze
collect data

9. types of information
hypothesis/query
protocols
parameters
content
non-digital “stuff”
articles
proceedings
negative results
analysis
code
datasets
models
(added complexity)
prof activities
mentorship
teaching activities

10. blocking points
idea
experiment
access
attaining
materials
publish
share results
retest
analyze
collect data
(to name a few ...)

11. discoverability:
ability to access
(but also to reuse,
disseminate)

12. technical needs
metadata standards
discoverability services
dissemination platforms
APIs, tagging

13. rewards, incentives,
reputation

14. (2)

15. leveraging the power of
the web for scholarship

16. - access to content, data, code, materials.
- emergence of “web-native” tools.
- rewards for openness, interop, collaboration, sharing.
- push for ROI, reuse, recomputability, transparency.
“web-enabled science”

17. wasted ...
$$$
time
opportunity

18. communication
access, reuse, scale
community-building
the web as a platform

19. early forms of knowledge sharing

20. emergence of new
communities, practice

21. broader access,
engagement,
reach

22. there’s still friction in the
system.
and duplication out of frustration.

23. traditions last not because they are
excellent, but because influential
people are averse to change and
because of the sheer burdens of
transition to a better state ...
“
“
Cass Sunstein

24. our systems need to
talk to one another.
both human and machine, globally.

25. (3)

26. thinking beyond the
PDF.
role of data, code, methods.

28. 3 GB/year

29. 9 GB/PhD
3 GB/year

30. 30,000,000 GB/all*
9 GB/PhD
3 GB/year
* roughly

31. how much made available?
9 GB/PhD
3 GB/year
* roughly
30,000,000 GB/all*

32. Source: Michener, 2006 Ecoinformatics.

34. code as a research object
what’s needed
to reuse ?

35. Source: Piwowar, et al. PLOS.

39. (4)

40. is open enough?
necessary but not sufficient.

41. access versus deluge
how to reconcile?

42. our systems need to talk to one another.

43. we also need to build capacity.

44. digital literacy

47. “Reliance on
ad-hoc, self-
education
about what’s
possible
doesn’t scale.”
- Selena Decklemann

48. education as a means of
building community
... globally, as well as across disciplines.

49. current activity:
129 instructors
(60+, training)
109 bootcamps
3700+ learners

51. in an increasingly digital, data-
driven world, what core skills, tools
do the next-generation need?

52. (5)

53. shifting practice
(and getting it to stick)
is challenging.
and we’re here to help.

54. tools and technology
cultural awareness, best practice
connections, open dialogue
skills training
what are the necessary components?

55. coordination and
collaboration are key.
design for interoperability.
remember the
non-technical challenges.

56. operating in isolation
doesn’t scale.

57. help shape the
conversation.
teach, contribute, learn.
http://software-carpentry.org
http://mozillascience.org

58. questions?
kaitlin@mozillafoundation.org
@kaythaney ; @mozillascience