Research Data (and) Systems

Overview

Simple, accurate transfer of content between systems and across institutional boundaries is one of the core aims of information management. In the research environment, there is an accepted need to link publications to the datasets which underpin them, and to sustain these links over the long term, thereby ensuring a more robust and trustworthy scholarly record. But while research publications will generally be held in comparatively stable repositories, data (and metadata) may be created, held in, and accessed via a multitude of different – and constantly evolving – systems.

Furthermore, as data becomes increasingly accepted as a first-class research output in its own right, the types of (re-)user become more diverse. Research funders and university administrators, for example, take a growing interest in usage statistics and impact, as well as monitoring compliance with relevant policies and legislation. And audiences beyond the academy also need to be considered: from the creators and stewards of datasets originating within the government sector, to private enterprises seeking to reuse and build services on top of publicly funded data. Each of these stakeholder groups has its own outlook on what they need research data to ‘do’, and the types of system they need it to interface with.

This event will aim to provide a variety of perspectives on data and systems, from university repository managers to research data tool providers, and case study examples of cross-system information flow (both within and between organisations). It will provide valuable insight for those seeking to develop their organisations’ technical (and human) data management infrastructure.