Harvard Purdue Data Management Symposium

Paul Bracke, Michael Witt, and Merce Crosas discussed their knowledge of repositories. Many universities are developing data repository services, and many others are considering the development of similar services. This panel presented and discussed established research data repository services. Speakers discussed the design, deployment, and sustainability of such services, as well as strategies for faculty and researcher engagement around the data repositories.

Rick Luce, Ph.D. summarized the symposium and presented ideas for next steps.

Susan Gomes, Laura Biven, Anita de Waard, and Scott Edwards, Ph.D., discussed their experiences with funders and publishers. Interest in data management is growing from external partners of researchers. Funding agencies, interested in reducing duplication of funding, expanding the reach of the research they fund, and improving the ROI for funding initiatives are increasingly mandating data management practices of their investigators. Other stakeholders, such as publishers, are also increasingly interested in the sharing of data connected to research articles. This panel provided insights from funders and publishers on requirements for data management and sharing.

Susan Gomes, Laura Biven, Anita de Waard, and Scott Edwards, Ph.D., discussed their experiences with funders and publishers. Interest in data management is growing from external partners of researchers. Funding agencies, interested in reducing duplication of funding, expanding the reach of the research they fund, and improving the ROI for funding initiatives are increasingly mandating data management practices of their investigators. Other stakeholders, such as publishers, are also increasingly interested in the sharing of data connected to research articles. This panel provided insights from funders and publishers on requirements for data management and sharing.

Sylvie M. Brouder, Ph.D. discussed the researcher’s perspective on data management as it applies to libraries and her research at Purdue University.

Sayeed Choudbury, Ph.D. discussed the importance of data management through a variety of topics including: Data Conservancy (NSF funded project), the implications for libraries, data is a new form of collections, what is big data?, services and infrastructure needed, how to publish data and the implications for universities.

Jeffrey T. Bolin, Ph.D. explained the importance of collaboration throughout the lifecycle of research data management. Dr. Bolin discussed two main premises: many different interests from broad group of stakeholders and university-wide solutions are preferred targets.

Richard D. McCullough, Ph.D. discussed the importance of Data Management at Harvard and beyond. Dr. McCullough explained Harvard’s approach for management of data as well as the research and IT policies that govern the approach.

Sarah E. Thomas, Ph.D. and James L. Mullins, Ph.D. kicked off the event with a joint introduction. This symposium on data management incorporated visionary ideas, new concepts, and inspirational speakers. The purpose was to promote data awareness and integration of library services into the research cycle, and to demonstrate that data management is not simply about compliance but also about building relationships and engaging stakeholders at all levels. The symposium explored broader data management needs across libraries and archives that can lead to developing recommendations and policies as well as creating central architecture to support data management.