This document discusses the role of university libraries in research data management. It notes that funders now require wider access to research data and universities are involved due to public pressure and obligations to research assets. Libraries are well-positioned to provide research data management support given their expertise in information management, training, and long-term preservation of knowledge. The document outlines a project at the University of East London where the library is providing training to students and staff on best practices for research data management and helping to embed these practices across disciplines.

1. Research Data and the Role of
University Libraries
John Murtagh, Research Data Management
Officer, Library and Learning Services
London Information & Knowledge Exchange 25 April 2013

2. Outline
1. Context at UEL
2. Why librarians, and the skills gap
3. Learning resource “supportDM”
4. Setting up an RDM support service

3. Lovely Acronyms
• RDM = Research Data Management
• Jisc = Joint Information Services
Committee
• EPSRC = Engineering & Physical
Sciences Research Council
• RCUK = umbrella organisation of
Research Councils UK
• DCC – Digital Curation Centre

4. UEL and data management
• Identified RDM as issue in 2009 following
„Keeping Research Data Safe‟ Report
• Responded to EPSRC letter by drafting a
policy - adopted March 2012
• Bespoke support under DCC‟s Institutional
Engagement programme

5. Why is it important (now)?

6. Funders want wider access to research
they paid for – starting to demand
access
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/policy-and-
legal/overview-funders-data-policies

7. 26/04/201
3
© The University of Sheffield
Prevention/detection of fraud

8. 26/04/2013 © The University of Sheffield
Sharing and publishing Data
• Growing interest in publishing
data papers which can be cited
in a similar method to normal
papers via DOI‟s
• DataCite (www.datacite.org) is
an example of generating DOIs
for data citation
• New Journal of Open
Psychology Data (Ubiquity
press)
• Such papers describe what the
data is, how it was collected,
methodology, variables,
suggested reuse and a link to
the actual data
• Get academic credit for sharing
data

9. Benefits of sharing data
Image from Journal of Open Psychology Data, © Ubiquity

10. Why are Universities involved?
• Public pressure - E.g. The British Medical
Journal’s open data campaign to achieve
independent scrutiny of data from clinical trials
• Researchers themselves – research integrity
for prevention/detection of fraud in research
(replicable results of data)
• Universities (obligations to research record and
assets) Research Data Policies – Edinburgh to
Oxford to UEL

11. Why are Universities involved?
• IT Services – face increasing demands for
storage and support and cloud storage for large
research data sets
• Research Offices need to ensure compliance
with Funder grants, monitor DMPs and as
guarantors for funding e.g. EPSRC
• Libraries’ natural role of knowledge exchange
and information expertise.

12. Why are libraries involved?
• Academics need help
• Libraries have sought involvement
• Libraries have permanence, infrastructure
and staff
• Librarians have relevant skills
• Will also involve IT, Research Offices etc.

13. What will/might librarians do?
• Help with data management plans
• Data repositories, and help in transferring
to data archives
• Quality metadata
• Appraisal of datasets – what to keep?
• Training and guidance

14. Why are libraries leading RDM?
• Most of the Jisc RDM projects are library-
led – not all, and often working in
conjunction with IT and/or Research Office
• Close to researchers as library users
• Data are a form of information – librarians
manage information
• Libraries are trusted partners (impartial)
&we committed to long-term
scientific/scholarly endeavour

15. What is the TraD project?
• Embedding good RDM practice at UEL
– Training doctoral students in Psychology
– Training MSc taught students in Geo-
informatics
– Generic workshop in Graduate School
– Training course for liaison librarians
• Create, deliver and evaluate materials
• Seek to adopt in curricula and training
programmes

16. Sheila Corrall, Univ. of Pittsburgh
“Powerful synergies exist between the
longstanding library commitment to open
access and the philosophy of open science,
between the principles underpinning library
collection management and emerging protocols
for curating digital data, between the track record
of libraries in technology adoption and systems
development and the complex demands for
integrated infrastructure and novel workflows,
and between the teaching mission of librarians
and the educational agenda for e-research.”
Corrall, Sheila (2012), "Roles and responsibilities: libraries, librarians and data", In: Pryor, G.
(ed.), Managing research data. Facet Publishing, ISBN 978-1-85604-756-2.

17. TraD is a Jisc-funded project of Library and
Learning Services at the University of East London.
With the support of the Digital Curation Centre.
John Murtagh
Email j.p.murtagh@uel.ac.uk
Web www.uel.ac.uk/trad/
Blog datamanagementuel.wordpress.com
Thank you