Structuring better services for unstructured data: Academic libraries are key to an ethical research data future with big data
Section snippets
Brief history of research data management (RDM)
Librarian skill sets are well suited for RDM, but not all librarians are currently trained for the niche requirements of the task. As universities attempted to solve the RDM concerns of faculty, libraries have stepped up to provide training, and later repositories. Librarians have been crucial stakeholders—sometimes leaders—in data consortia, like ICPSR and the Data Curation Network.
After the NIH funding mandates, libraries reassigned existing staff to newly developed RDM-related positions.
Big data's unique challenges
The big data definition I think is most fitting for librarianship comes from a report by the DataPop Alliance. Big data is “a mindset (…) to turn mess into meaning,” It speaks to the role of librarians in information curation and access. This need for meaningful access is why librarians cannot be omitted from RDM efforts. And while big data presents complex, sometimes novel, issues, they are not entirely wicked problems.
Data & HEI
Government regulation of higher education institutions and internal programs relies on ever more data metrics, even though many of those metrics are dubious indicators of the characteristics they reportedly measure (Lindsay, 2020). Billions of dollars are invested in analytic capabilities, though administrators do not have backgrounds in qualitative or quantitative analysis (Lindsay, 2020; Smith, 2018). There is room to improve in each of these areas now before big data exacerbates existing
Opportunities for academic libraries to provide value in big data initiatives
The increased interest in big datasets for research provides an opportunity for the academic library to leverage its RDM services to develop a more visible and central role in the big data future of academic research. It is becoming increasingly easy to collect large datasets, but secure, efficient access systems are still lacking.
Managing and pulling meaning from big data sets requires varied expertise that no one person can provide, let alone one department. Unclear roles and a lack of
Conclusion
Even though research data management has been a concern for universities for decades, few have clear processes, policies, and RDM leadership. RDM is a natural fit for libraries, and our community must capitalize on this advantage by ensuring we are seen as experts in this area. Library and Data Carpentry are two efforts to do just that, but library schools need to come to the plate as well, as few require data-related coursework as part of their degree.
Libraries already play an integral role in
References (12)
The end of theory: The data deluge makes the scientific method obsolete
Wired Magazine
(2008)Sources of Tension and Conflict between Librarians and Faculty
The Journal of Higher Education
(1981)- et al.
Technical data skills for reproducible research
- et al.
Developing the librarians’ role in supporting grant applications and reducing waste in research: Outcomes from a literature review and survey in the NIHR Research Design Service
New Review of Academic Librarianship
(2017) Big data: Are we making a big mistake
Significance
(2014)Update on the Twitter archive at the Library of Congress