New data project to support the profiling of UB-wide research data
5 December 2012
The Centre for eCommerce and Communications (CeCC) is leading a large, University-wide project to develop a centralised, research data repository that will improve the capture of research, conducted at the University of Ballarat.
The project titled Seeding the Commons: Improving Institutional Research Data Capture is funded by the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) and includes project partners from across the University of Ballarat, including representatives from the Library, eResearch and ICT.
One of the principle benefits of this project will be an enhanced data repository system that will support the management, storage and dissemination of research conducted at the University of Ballarat. The data system will offer a quality data collection system for UB, with open access portals to Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and Research Data Australia (RDA). Information accessible through this repository will assist UB researchers address future research funding requirements, identify and collaborate with other researchers in their areas of expertise, and to facilitate data management planning.
The first stages of this project are already well underway: Material developed through previous ANDS projects is being reviewed to identify documents that can be adapted to form the foundation for the UB research data management plans and guidelines. Significant UB research data sets are being identified with metadata being sourced and collated in readiness for making information accessible to researchers for discovery and re-use at UB and beyond.
The project is being widely promoted across the University to build staff awareness and to invite researcher input on their current and future data management practices. Surveys and interviews are being conducted to ensure that all University of Ballarat researchers have the opportunity to share information about current and future data sets that can be captured and showcased via the new data repository.
CeCC Director and manager of this project Dr Helen Thompson considers the collaboration of project partners, and the input from University-wide researchers, as a key driver contributing to the project’s future success: ‘This project represents an important step towards an enhanced data management system for the University. The input of all stakeholders ensures that the data management system will be robust and sustainable and reflects the considerations of key UB services, and meets the varied needs of UB researchers and others that access the repository.’
Dr Thompson is extremely positive about the potential for this project to meet the needs of UB researchers. She commented that ‘the support from staff across the University has been very positive and feedback to date suggests that staff are increasingly aware of the benefits of not only showcasing their research but also improving access to data upon which that research is based’
The ANDS project continued to be developed into early 2013 with the data repository records progressively published via Research Data Australia and other online repositories.
On 3 May 2013, at the eResearch workshop, the Research Data Management information package was lauched. It is now available for access via the University of Ballarat's Library webpages.