This document discusses the need for integrated research information management systems at universities. It outlines key challenges such as integrated management of research data and outputs, making research visible, encouraging academic self-archiving, and gaining institutional commitment. It describes using a Current Research Information System (CRIS) to collect and provide access to data on grants, publications, projects and researchers. The benefits of an institutional repository for disseminating and measuring research outputs are also covered. Requirements, resources and advocacy needed for successful implementation of integrated research information management are outlined.

1. Integrated information management
for University research
Patricia Liebetrau
April 2012
University of Botswana

2. Research data growth
Scattered data
meaningful information
corporate knowledge

3. Key challenges
1. Integrated management of research information
2. Integrated and visible research output
3. Academic self archiving/deposit
4. Institutional commitment to IR initiatives

4. Key challenges
1. Integrated management of research information
2. Academic self archiving/deposit
3. Integrated and visible research output
4. Institutional commitment to IR initiatives

5. Research information
Grant applications
Research income
Research projects
Publications
Researchers
Postgraduates
Funding bodies
External collaborations

6. Research activity information
Data
 Persons – biographical information and profiles
 Publications – including full-text
 Projects – funding, costing, status
Silo information systems on campus
 Student
 Researchers
 Academics
 Finance administration
 Research Office

7. CRIS
Current Research Information Systems (CRIS)
A Current Research Information System,
commonly known as "CRIS", is any information
tool dedicated to provide access to and
disseminate research information
(www.eurocris.org)

8. euroCRIS
http://www.eurocris.org

9. Management Systems

10. Requirements
Holistic view of research information
Granularity of information
 Drill down to level of individuals
Integrated information management – input once
User friendly interface

11. Measure University research outputs
Research output statistics
Completed research by year/faculty/discipline
PhDs completed
Journal articles published
Books published
Article citation numbers
Innovation activities
 Commercialisation

12. Key challenges
1. Integrated management of research information
2. Integrated and visible research output
3. Academic self archiving/deposit
4. Institutional commitment to IR initiatives

13. Research output made visible
Research output from academic staff
 Academic research papers
 Research data sets
 Journal articles
 Conference papers
 Research project reports
 Policy briefs
Research output from students
 Theses and dissertations
 Research data sets

14. Websites and webpages
UB web site
Departmental web page/ website
Individual academic web page /website
 All research activities
 All research output
 Contact information
Library website
UBRISA website

15. Academic web pages
University template
University branding
= increased Web exposure
= increased corporate knowledge

16. Institutional repository
“A university-based institutional repository is a set of services
that a university offers to the members of its community
for the management and dissemination of digital materials
created by the institution and its community members.
It is most essentially an organisational commitment to the
stewardship of these digital materials, including long-term
preservation where appropriate, as well as organisation
and access or distribution.”
Clifford A. Lynch. Institutional Repositories: Essential Infrastructure for
Scholarship in the Digital Age ARL, no. 226 (February 2003): 1-7.

17. Important elements of IRs
Institutionally defined
Scholarly and research purposes
Cumulative and perpetual
Open and interoperable

18. Strategic importance of IRs
Facilitate access to University wide research
Disseminate and publicise public funded research
Facilitate new forms of scholarly communication
Measure of research output
e-Research

19. Many levels of repositories
Institutional repository
 Research output from an individual institutions
National repository
 Research output from several individual institutions
International repository
 Research output from several national repositories

20. OpenDOAR
http://www.opendoar.org/

21. Push and pull
Information push
 Dissemination – websites, social media tools
 Social media for scholarly purposes
Information pull
 OpenDoar

22. Repositories by Continent

23. UB published journals
Open Journal Systems (OJS)
Articles linked via metadata to the IR
Open access to the full text

24. Key challenges
1. Integrated management of research information
2. Integrated and visible research output
3. Academic self archiving/deposit
4. Institutional commitment to IR initiatives

25. Academic self-archiving
Remove barriers to deposit
Deposit once only
Accredited and non-accredited research output
Motivation

26. Key challenges
1. Integrated management of research information
2. Integrated and visible research output
3. Academic self archiving/deposit
4. Institutional commitment to IR initiatives

27. Resources
Human resources
 New skills
 New posts
• Programmer
• Systems administrator
• Metadata librarian
• Scholarly Communications Librarian
• Academic Research Librarian
Financial resources
 Upgraded IT infrastructure
 Conference attendance

28. Advocacy
Champions
Target audience
Media options
Covering the costs

29. This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the
International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada