SPEC Kit 334: Research Data Management Services · 85
Our data archiving services as a recognized value added to research on campus. Preservation and data sharing are a
hard sell when the researcher only needs to write a plan...not implement one.
Reaching grant writers well before their deadlines.
Researchers have few tangible incentives to actively support data management and curation. This challenge is not
limited to our institution, so measures to overcome it will come from a variety of individuals, groups, organizations, and
institutions. For our part, we aim to minimize the administrative burden associated with our data management and
curation services and, generally, advocate for data as a first-class, credit-worthy research product.
The independent nature of the researchers and the highly decentralized culture is a challenge. Measures: We try to
partner with our library liaisons who have existing relationships with researchers in the departments, labs, and centers
to know what research data issues are being encountered and to promote our RDMS.
Technology Infrastructure
Developing an institutional technical infrastructure for research data storage and management. Measures to overcome
this challenge: proposed a major storage infrastructure acquisition to the university’s provost office (declined)
developed and submitted an NSF Major Research Instrumentation grant proposal to acquire a petascale storage array
(currently under review by NSF).
Developing the technology infrastructure.
Digital preservation for research data.
Highly decentralized nature of the campus IT infrastructure. (also Collaboration campus-wide)
Improving the technical infrastructure to archive and curate research data: four pilot projects currently underway along
with major DAMS upgrade.
Inadequate long-term curated storage [advocacy for central funding for local and cloud solutions] (Also Funding)
Providing archiving and storage options.
Providing support while lacking a data repository.
Technical infrastructure: we are limited by both the Libraries’ infrastructure as well as the campus’ infrastructure
options. We are in the process of proposing a campus-wide task force to address this issue (specifically, research data
management and storage infrastructure, as opposed to computation).
Technology limits the size of files we can accept into our repository.
The absence of appropriate technical infrastructure and support for researchers. The library has begun looking towards
OCUL/Scholars Portal’s Dataverse instance as a potential data repository for researchers.
We lack an appropriately configured repository for optimal data storage.
What repository to recommend to faculty for sharing their data? Some disciplines don’t have a repository. We can
recommend that faculty use the campus repository, but there’s a limit to file size that can be loaded. If they don’t have
a disciplinary repository, what should we recommend? Looking at this institution-wide with central IT and the Office of
the VP for Research involved also being looked at from a university perspective.
Limited Staffing
Gauging resource capacity to potential service demand is a challenge. There is a limit on the time that staff can dedicate
to RDM services. We’ve tended to be conservative with our service offerings until we have a better understanding of
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