Now showing 1 - 10 of 42
  • Publication
    Sustaining Data Archives over Time: Lessons from the Organisational Studies Literature
    The long-term preservation of digital data involves a complex intersection of technologies, institutions, stakeholders, and policies. But for data to remain accessible over time, the data repository which houses it, preserves it, and circulates it must itself be sustainable. The sustainability of data repositories is a growing concern as researchers, archival practitioners, and funders of digital archive projects seek to ensure that resources invested in research will have benefits that endure beyond the period of individual research contracts and grants. However, sustainability efforts are limited by lack of long-term comparative studies of digital repositories in research field contexts, national and market contexts [6]. Also, there has been little attempt to synthesize the organisational literature with practitioner perspectives in an effort understand how successful data archives maintain themselves (and how and why some data archives do not). This paper will explore how organisational theory approaches to understanding institutional sustainability could be applied to contemporary data archives and archival practices, with the aim of raising larger questions about data sustainability. The paper is part of a larger study in progress of how one particular example of long-lived archives, Social Science Data Archives (SSDAs), have maintained themselves over time. SSDAs predate both computers and the Internet and provide a unique opportunity to examine perceptions about what makes an archive sustainable, through the ups and downs of funding cycles and massive changes in technical and organisational infrastructure.
      150
  • Publication
    Studying the History of Social Science Data Archives as Knowledge Infrastructure
    (Finnish Society for Science and Technology Studies, 2016-05-13) ; ;
    In this paper, we develop a brief history of Social Science Data Archives (SSDAs) and their implications for evolving scholarship on the sustainability and coordination of contemporary knowledge infrastructures.  We draw upon analyses of institutional and policy documents and interviews from active SSDAs as well as field level analyses of professional societies for staff and representatives of SSDAs.  We examine the history of SSDAs in shaping the social sciences of the latter part of the twentieth century, their strategies for remaining active and relevant through institutional and financial uncertainty, and conclude with implications for current STS scholarship in cyberinfrastructures and open data.
      157
  • Publication
    Using Emotional Attachment as a Lens to Improve Users E-reading Experience
    (International Journal of Interaction Design and Architecture, 2017) ; ; ;
    This paper explores ways to improve e-reading by examining theexperience of people who have developed a sense of attachment to their ereaders.Nine participants who reported experiencing emotional attachmentcompleted a semi-structured interview asking them about their experiences withe-readers and e-reading. Thematic analysis led to three main themes beingidentified as important to their experiences: projection of identity, control overthe device, and environmental factors. We examine how these themes suggestthat peoples experiences of reading in traditional and electronic formats areheavily interlinked. We also discuss how these themes resonate with the widerattachment literature. Based on our findings we suggest the need to support theexpression of identity through configuration and display in the e-readerexperience, as well as exploring ways devices can be used to control andpersonalize the reading environment.
      272
  • Publication
    Biomedical Information and Its Users
    (Taylor and Francis, 2009-12-09)
    The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the information science reader to the wide range of data and other resources that constitute “biological information”. Attention is paid to both paper and digital sources and the use of digital libraries and cyberinfrastructure for the creation, use, and re-use of information. The chapter discusses various user communities and their needs, including scientists, educators and students, policymakers, and other secondary users. The chapter concludes with challenges for data sharing, preservation, and access.
      189
  • Publication
    From MLIS students to LIS professionals: combining research with professional development and career planning in graduate education
    (Library Association of Ireland, 2018-03-01) ;
    According to the IFLA Guidelines for Professional Library/Information Educational Programs, "Opportunities to gain and demonstrate professional competencies should be a part of the educational programme. An awareness of professional concerns should permeate the programme" (IFLA Professional Committee, 2012).
      278
  • Publication
    Inter-organisational coordination work in digital curation: The case of Eurobarometer
    Open research is predicated upon seamless access to curated research data. Major national and European funding schemes, such as Horizon Europe, strongly encourage or require publicly funded data to be FAIR - that is, Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (Wilkinson 2016). What underpins such initiatives are the many data organizations and repositories working with their stakeholders and each other to establish policies and practices, implement them, and do the curatorial work to increase the available, discoverability, and accessibility of high quality research data. However, such work has often been invisible and underfunded, necessitating creative and collaborative solutions. In this paper, we briefly describe how one such case from social science data: the processing of the Eurobarometer data set. Using content analysis of administrative documents and interviews, we detail how European data archives managed the tensions of curatorial work across borders and jurisdictions from the 1970s to the mid-2000s, the challenges that they faced in distributing work, and the solutions they found. In particular, we look at the interactions of the Council of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA) and social science data organizations (DO) like UKDA, ICPSR, and GESIS and the institutional and organizational collaborations that made Eurobarometer “too big to fail”. We describe some of the invisible work that they underwent in the past in making data in Europe findable, accessible, interoperable, and conclude with implications for “frictionless” data access and reuse today.
      146
  • Publication
    Prevalence and use of the term "business model" in the digital cultural heritage institution professional literature
    We investigate how the term “business model" was used in the digital cultural heritage literature from 2000 to 2015 through content analysis. We found that discussion of business models is not prevalent and there is no observable growth trend. Analysis of how authors represented business models showed predominately positive uses of the concept but include discussion of tension between the concept of business model and traditional cultural heritage field values. We found that non- element representations of business models were most common.
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  • Publication
    Big Data: Rewards and Risks for the Social Sciences
    Both applicants have been extensively involved in science data (Big Data, Small Data, and the transitions among them) and have conducted ethnographic and qualitative studies of data creation and use, but have recently shifted their interests and work to social science data. Although they have not formally worked together, they have worked on the same large science data project (Center for Embedded Networked Sensing at University of California, Los Angeles). More recent interactions and conversations have brought them together to share interests and concerns. To perhaps begin collaboration, they are interested in jointly applying for this workshop. In this paper, we briefly discuss three issues that are of interest to us in the realm of big data and the social sciences.
      119
  • Publication
    Response to Ireland's Open Data Implementation
    (Deptartment of Public Expenditure & Reform, 2014-09-19) ;
    We would like to commend Insight and DPER for their hard work and inclusive process on furthering Ireland’s Open Data initiatives. Although we have many concerns and thoughts about the initiatives to date, we will limit ourselves to two categories in which we feel that we have the greatest depth of expertise: the digital curation component and education/outreach of data creators. Some general comments on data audit are also included at the end.
      120
  • Publication
    Unlock ways to share data on peer review
    Journals, funders and scholars must work together to create an infrastructure to study peer review.
      75Scopus© Citations 20