Legacy Research Data Management for Librarians: A Case Study

Tina Qin

Science Librarian

Michigan State University

qinna@msu.edu

517.884.7666

The Data Steward

• A group of library science students• No formal data management training• Possess few data management resources• Self-trained from free available online

resources

The Dataset

• Public Health Data• A legacy Dataset created by Dr. Smith• 856 Data Files and two descriptive documents*• Data spanned several decades

*One document is a Microsoft Word file created by Dr. Smith to explain the names of the folders. The second document is a ReadMe text file with information gathered during the data management librarian's interview with Dr. Smith.

Data: .dat, .txt, .0000, .0001, .ask, .def, .mick, .fix, some no extensionsInput: .sps, .george, .orig, .fix, some no extensionsOutput/Print Out: .out, .inf, .put, .tab, some no extensionsCopies: .old, .save, .fixed, .backPlain Text/Other: .info, .com, .jnl, some no extensions

• Software compatibility• General lack of knowledge of old software and systems• Understanding context• Naming complexity• Difficulty understanding language within files • Identifying Desiderata

Understand the Dataset

Identify the Issues

• Organize the data • Provide context for the data• Storage and access

Organizing and Providing Texts

• Metadata options• Naming convention for the folders

• Data Curation Profiles (DCP) Toolkit

folderName_originalName_sourceName_sourceFormat [questionnaire or data file]

Examples: IndianaUniversityStudy2001_slisclass_PHQ_questionnaireIndianaUniversityStudy2001_sliswrit_slisclass_data

Storage and Access

• Storage platformsInstitutional repositoryInstitutional server

• Access issuesUsersPublic health subject

Recommendations

• Education• Documentation• Leverage Existing Resources• Licensing and Access• Sustainable Policies

Digital Scholarship Collaborative at Michigan State University

References

Marshall, B., O’Bryan, K., Qin, N. & Vernon, R. 2013. Organizing, Contextualizing, and Storing Legacy Research Data: A Case Study of Data Management for Librarians. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, Fall 2013. DOI:10.5062/F4K07270.

Bardyn, T.P., Resnick, T., & Camina, S.K. 2012. Translational researchers' perceptions of data management practices and data curation needs: findings from a focus group in an academic health sciences library. Journal Of Web Librarianship, 6(4), 274-287.

Ferguson, J. 2012. Description and annotation of biomedical data sets. Journal of eScience Librarianship 1(1), 51-56.

Garritano, J.R. & Carlson, J.R. 2009. A subject librarian's guide to collaborating on e-science projects. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship [Internet]. [Cited 2013 June 11]; 57. Available from http://www.istl.org/09-spring/refereed2.html

Heidorn, P.B. 2011. The emerging role of libraries in data curation and e-science. Journal of Library Administration 51(7-8), 662-672.

Latham, B. & Poe, J. 2012. The library as partner in university data curation: A case study in collaboration. Journal Of Web Librarianship, 6(4), 288-304.