The document outlines the research data management practices at the University of the Arts London (UAL), emphasizing its commitment to supporting researchers in managing and sharing diverse data types. It includes details on training, the UAL data repository, and community practices aimed at enhancing data management skills among faculty. The university aims to ensure compliance with research funders' obligations while developing best practices in data curation and visibility.

1. Research data
management at
UAL
Jeremy Barraud, Deputy Director, Research Management and Administration
Jess Crilly, Associate Director & Head of Resources, Library Services

2. • Largest arts and design
university in Europe
• Consists of six Colleges:
Central Saint Martins;
London College of
Communication; London
College of Fashion;
Camberwell, Chelsea, and
Wimbledon Colleges of Arts
• Top 30 UK research
institution for the quality of
research submitted in the
REF 2014
About UAL
Image copyright Ivan Jones

3. • Theory and practice based
research
• Research outputs
• The Kultur project
• Research data
• The Kaptur project
• DCC institutional
engagement
• Scholarly communications
infrastructure
…in the arts?
Image copyright Ivan Jones

4. Policy aims
• To ensure that staff involved in the research process are
aware of their data-related responsibilities
• To ensure that the University meets its obligations with regard
to research data management, as defined by research
funders
• To make explicit the University’s institutional commitment to
good research data management practice
• The policy is supported by a set of procedures and
institutional awareness raising and training activities

5. • “Examples of visual arts research
data may include sketchbooks,
logbooks, sets of images, video
recordings, trials, prototypes,
ceramic glazes, found objects and
correspondence”
• “..tangible and intangible, digital
and physical, heterogeneous and
infinite, complex and complicated”
(Kaptur project)
definitions
Image copyright Lucy Rie Archive, Crafts Study Centre, UCA via VADS

6. Data management challenge
• Researchers need to identify
and define data in their
processes
• Researchers are not used to
packaging and sharing data
• Management of highly diverse
content and formats
Image copyright: Enrico Sacchetti

7. Data management challenge
• New and developing field –
no real best practice in place
• Visualising research data
Image copyright Lucy Rie Archive, Crafts Study Centre, UCA via VADS

8. What we’re doing
• UAL Data repository
• Training
• Data management planning
• Community of Practice

9. UAL Data Repository
• Holds UAL research data for all research projects where there
is a need to store and share the supporting research
• Research Council-funded projects with a Data Management
Plan
• Tested with existing, tricky data
• http://researchdata.arts.ac.uk/

13. ROCOCO project
• ROCOCO (Remote Cooperation and COmmunication) project
is the identification of the communication requirements of
remotely sited designers working on a shared problem
• Funded by EPSRC
• Data collection took place 1989 to 1992

15. ROCOCO project
• File formats - as open source as much as possible for wider
access and preservation issues
• File sizes – maintaining quality of digital files against file sizes
• Organisation - needs to be logical and cohesive, contextual
• Labelling of individual files
• Legal considerations: IP, copyright, Data Protection, release
forms

16. Training

17. Data management planning
• Established workflow as part of Data Management Policy
• Workflow covers, pre-award, post-award and post-project
stages
• Bespoke support for each application

18. Community of Practice
Communities of practice are groups whose members share a
passion for something they know how to do and who interact
regularly to learn how to do it better.
- Etienne Wenger
• Share and disseminate expertise and skills between
colleagues across a whole range of subject and
professional disciplines

19. Community of Practice
• Introduction to data management
• Case studies
• Visiting institution: Glasgow School of Art
• Metadata discovery
• File formats

20. Future developments
• Further repository enhancements to fit the needs of the
researchers
• New methods of marking and visualising the data
• Developing best practice in the curation of data
• Educating practice-based researchers on the need to
organise and share their data
• JISC Research Data Spring: RDIVA, Sound Matters

21. Thank you
Research Data Management UAL Data Repository
http://www.arts.ac.uk/
Search: ‘research data’
http://researchdata.arts.ac.uk/