This document summarizes the results of a needs assessment survey conducted by UNC Greensboro Library to understand faculty research data management practices and needs. The survey found that the top research data formats were text, PDFs, and spreadsheets. Most faculty backed up their data to external drives but not automatically. Three quarters of respondents did not anticipate sharing their data. The greatest needs identified were assistance with storage, backup, and meeting data sharing requirements. The library collaborated with campus partners to address these needs through new storage services, training, and guidance on developing data management plans.

1. Defining the Libraries' Role in
Research: A Needs
Assessment Case Study
Michael Crumpton
Kathryn Crowe
UNC Greensboro
Library Assessment Conference 2014

2. Why survey?
• Assess faculty needs re: storing and sharing
data
• Determine priorities and resources
• Respond to federal and university policies for
data sharing

3. What is research?
• Information recorded in any form, and
includes any materials needed to validate
research findings, such as laboratory
notebooks, biological specimens, video,
photographs, and environmental samples

4. Collaborators
• University Libraries
• Information Technology Services
• Office of Research and Economic
Development

5. Methodology
• Developed survey fall 2012
• Tested late 2012 and early 2013
• Distributed to all faculty, research and post-doctoral
staff (1,193)
• 160 completed (13% response rate)

6. Who responded
• 73% tenure track faculty
• 38% had external funding

7. Research Data Formats
Text
Spreadshe
et
PDF
Top 10 Research Data Formats
Statistical
software
notes/sket
ches/figure
s
Digital
images
Raw text
data
Consent
forms
Digital
audio
Web
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Number 147 113 91 89 82 75 70 62 61 54
Number

8. Document and Text Formats
Portable document
format
Document and Text Formats
Spreadsheet Text
Hand-written
notes/ sketches/
figures
Non-digital text Web
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Number 91 113 147 82 30 54
Number

9. Visual Formats
Non-digital audio
recordings
Audio/Video/Images Formats
Digital audio Digital video CAD Digital images Artistic products
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Number 7 61 46 4 75 22
Number

10. Science Specific
Science Formats
GIS
Gene sequences or samples or
specimens
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Number 15 9
Number

11. Storing data
• 68% use CD/DVD,USB, external hard drive
• 58% use computer hard drive
• 27% network file space
• 28% cloud
• Only 16% automatically generate backup files

12. Sharing data
• 75% did not anticipate sharing data!
• Use cloud services (e.g. Dropbox, Google
Docs)
• CDs, file transfer

13. Barriers to sharing
• Size of datasets
• Confidentiality and copyright
• Limited access to central storage on campus
• Lack of knowledge about sharing - what can
be shared and how to do it
• Compatibility across systems

14. Data Management Plans
• 40% (of 97 respondents that currently have
plans)
Reason for Data Management Plan
Required by IRB
Required by the
funding agency
Required by unit
or Research
Center
Good practice Other
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Number 47 39 8 64 10
Number

15. Priorities for Support Query
• Best practices for developing a data management plans
• Cost estimates for data storage and retrieval
• Meeting data sharing or storage requirements
• Storing data with third-party archives
• Routine data storage & backup services
• Tools for sharing research data
• Digitizing data from older formats
• Applying metadata to research data
• Preparing data sets for public access
• Data disposal/destruction
• Other (please specify)

16. Priorities for support (summary)
• Storage and backup
• Meeting data storage and sharing
requirements
• Data management plans

17. Conclusions
• Storage and automatic backup greatest need
• Assistance w/ sharing data 2nd greatest need
• Most faculty back up data but are not
following best practices
• Many faculty not aware of data sharing
requirements or assume final publication
suffices

18. Follow up
• Team wrote report and shared on campus
• IT Services launched a hosting service and Box
Cloud storage
• Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) provides
DMP assistance
• Libraries and OSP collaborating on DMPTool

19. Follow up, cont.
• Libraries provide social science data archiving
through Odum Institute
• Liaisons visit key faculty and research staff
• Liaisons provide advice on archiving and
preserving data
• LibGuide will serve as a portal for campus
services
• Training for liaisons and faculty

20. Discussion: Libraries’ role with
research?
• DMP consultation
• Data management
• Data
curation/preservation
• Data literacy
• Institutional
repositories
• Research consultation
• Knowledge banks
• Database and web
design
• Digitization
• Grant writing support
• Open access support
• Scholarly
Communication

21. Questions?

22. More information
• Report
http://tinyurl.com/pzab27y
• Mike Crumpton macrumpt@uncg.edu
• Kathy Crowe kmcrowe@uncg.edu