Now Available: Research Data Management Survey Results

Graphic by Sarah Brown; background image from unsplash.com

To evaluate concerns regarding research data management on campus, the Federal Public Access Compliance Task Force sent a survey to 181 principal investigators who received federal research awards at the U of A between January 2016 and August 2020. The results of this survey have been interpreted and yield important considerations for U of A’s research administration arm—the Division of Research and Innovation.

Participants and other researchers will be interested to know the findings of the study, as well. The full report can be accessed on the Research and Innovation website. A brief summary is given below.

Main observations include:

1. The Desire for Training – Respondents expressed interest in training on the following topics for themselves and for graduate students
   • Data management plan
   • Day-to-day research data management
   • Preparation of data and creation of associated meta data to be published, shared, or otherwise disseminated
2. The Responsibility for Training – Respondents repeatedly named the following organizations and campus units as those which should take responsibility for providing training
   • Division of Research and Innovation
   • Federal Agencies
   • University Libraries
   • University IT
   • Colleges
3. The Awareness of Resources – Respondents reported being unaware of resources for managing, sharing, and preserving research data

Based on these results, the Task Force recommends:

1. The individual colleges, in collaboration with the University Libraries and the Division of Research and Innovation, will develop a short curriculum and associated tools for research data management to provide training for faculty, staff, postdocs, and students. This curriculum will cover topics including – but not limited to – the following:
   • data management plans
   • sensitive and proprietary data
   • metadata creation
   • publishing data
   • sharing and archiving data
   • showcasing and publicizing research

The Task Force notes that the University Libraries, particularly the Data Services Librarian, offers instruction and assistance with many aspects of research data management.

2. The Task Force, with input from the Data Services Librarian, will create a set of data management plan templates reflecting the facilities and support available at the U of A; these templates will be available on the Division of Research and Innovation website.
3. The Division of Research and Innovation communication specialists will collaborate with the colleges, the University Libraries, AHPCC, and ITS to inform the entire campus about available facilities, services, and training for the research data management.
4. The Office of Research Compliance and ITS will continue to work with principal investigators to ensure the security of research data as well as compliance with federal regulations and data use agreements.
5. The Task Force will work with the incoming Director of Sponsored Programs to develop an efficient process for ensuring compliance with federal public access mandates for both publications and data.
6. This Task Force, in consultation with the research deans, the Research Council, research center leaders, and experienced principal investigators, will develop a long-term strategy for the governance, management, and sharing of research data.

Special thanks to all the members of the Task Force. They are listed as follows:

• Chair: Melody Herr, head, Office of Scholarly Communications
• Bob Beitle, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation
• David J. Chaffin, director, High Performance Computing Center
• Donald DuRosseau, director of research computing, University Information Technology Services
• Timothy Eichler, assistant professor, College of Education and Health Professions
• Dinesh R. Hegde, associate CIO, University Information Technology Services
• Steve Krogull, associate vice chancellor for University Information Technology Services
• Jason Ramage, director, Office of Research Compliance
• Kathy Scheibel, assistant director, Office of Sponsored Programs
• Wes Stites, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation

Lora Lennertz, Data Services Librarian, provides instruction and individual assistance with research data management. Questions regarding university data management may be emailed to lennertz@uark.edu.

For questions regarding survey findings, please email herr@uark.edu.