Sophia Lafferty-hess | research data manager Demonstrating trustworthiness: The odum Institute, the dataverse, and the Data seal of approval Sophia Lafferty-hess | research data manager Today I am going to talk about our experience at the Odum Institute of applying for the Data Seal of Approval in order to demonstrate our trustworthiness. I am going to specifically highlight a few examples of how we used the functionalities of the Dataverse in our application. And I will also talk a little bit about our plans moving forward for when we re-apply for DSA certification.

Odum institute Dataverse Researcher Ingest 101 010 Data producer ingests data directly into Odum Institute Dataverse. Archivist Ingest Within the Odum Institute Dataverse data can be ingested in two primary ways. We have an open Dataverse, so data producers can directly deposit their data within our Dataverse where the data are made available “as is” with no additional curation performed by archive staff. Or data may be ingested by an archivist, who will curate the data prior to making it available within our Dataverse. We also offer what we call our “guided service” but for the purpose of this discussion, I am really going to focus on these two ingest methods. If you would like to learn more about our different archiving and curation service levels, we did bring a poster that provides more details so please check that out. 101 010 Archivist curates and ingests data into Odum Institute Dataverse.

Odum institute data archive Researcher Ingest 101 010 Data producer ingests data directly into Odum Institute Dataverse. Archivist Ingest In the context of the Data Seal of Approval, we completed our application based upon the curated collections within our archive where an archivist performs a data quality review prior to making the data available. Currently any of the Dataverses within our Dataverse which have been curated by our archive staff will contain the DSA logo but we do not display the DSA for the entire Odum Institute Dataverse since our DSA really focused on the archivist-led ingest workflow. 101 010 Archivist curates and ingests data into Odum Institute Dataverse.

Odum institute data archive Researcher Ingest ? 101 010 Data producer ingests data directly into Odum Institute Dataverse. Archivist Ingest But we have been considering whether we can gain the DSA for our entire Dataverse including researcher ingested data. 101 010 Archivist curates and ingests data into Odum Institute Dataverse.

16 Guidelines Data Seal of Approval The research data can be found on the Internet The research data are accessible (clear rights and licenses) The research data are available in a usable format The research data are reliable The research data are citable Guidelines Data Producer Data Repository So just to back up a little bit and provide a lit bit of context. We applied for the Data Seal of Approval in 2013 and while I don’t have time to go into a lot of detail on the DSA. It contains 16 guidelines, which are based upon responsibilities of the data producer, the data repository, and the data consumer. The DSA guidelines are based upon ensuring research data meet the following five criteria: the data can be found on the internet, the data are accessible, the data are available in a usable format, the data are reliable, and the data are citable. Data Consumer

+ + Dataverse Policies Guidelines Odum’s DSA Strategy When we applied for the DSA we drew our evidence from three main places. First, were our formal policies and procedures such as our appraisal and digital preservation policies and internal data deposit or curation procedures. We also referenced literature and resources that outlined key Dataverse functionalities and lastly we pointed to some more general guidelines and resources we provided for users.

+ + Dataverse Policies Guidelines Odum’s DSA Strategy Since we are all about Dataverse here today. I am now going to give a few examples of where we referenced the Dataverse functionalities in our 2013 application.

Odum’s DSA Strategy The data repository assumes responsibility from the data producers for access and availability of digital objects. Data producers required to agree to Odum Institute Dataverse Terms of Use, which grants the right to disseminate data So for the DSA guideline that relates to assuming the responsibility of making data available, we pointed to our Dataverse Terms of Use, which explicitly gains the right from data producers for Odum to make digital data available through our Dataverse. And we referenced this functionality of clearly communicating responsibilities through our Dataverse Terms of Use to both data producers and consumers in multiple locations in our application.

Odum’s DSA Strategy The data repository enables users to utilize the data and refer to them in a persistent way. Basic and advanced search functionalities Support of OAI-PMH for harvesting metadata Ability to download content in multiple file formats for supported data file types Automated generation of data citation Generation of persistent identifiers Another guideline where we relied heavily on Dataverse functionalities is meeting the requirement of enabling users to utilize and refer to the data in a persistent way. Here we referenced the Dataverse basic and advanced search functionalities, the support of OAI-PMH for harvesting metadata, the ability to download certain file types in multiple file formats, the automated generation of data citations, and the generation of persistent identifiers.

Odum’s DSA Strategy The data repository ensures the authenticity of the digital objects and the metadata. Versioning mechanisms capture essential digital object properties and changes between different versions Collection of data producer identity information through user accounts For the guideline concerning ensuring the authenticity of the data and metadata. We referred to how the Dataverse helps to support authenticity through versioning mechanisms that capture those essential digital object properties and changes between versions as well as the collection of data producer identity information through user accounts.

Odum’s DSA Strategy The data consumer complies with access regulations set by the data repository. Data restrictions are clearly labeled and enforced within the Dataverse Other access regulations communicated through Dataverse Terms of Use Finally, for the guideline concerning compliance with access regulations, we detailed how access restrictions are clearly communicated through the Dataverse interface and how these restrictions can actually be enforced by the Dataverse system. We also discussed how access regulations can be communicated to data consumers through Dataverse Terms of Use. So I should note that for each of these guidelines this is not necessarily the only evidence we provided or the only guidelines where we referenced Dataverse functionalities. The main point here was just to provide some examples of how we used Dataverse functionalities as key evidence within our previous DSA application.

+ + Dataverse Policies Guidelines Odum’s DSA Strategy So after going back and reviewing our previously submitted DSA application, we see a few next steps when we re-apply for the DSA, which could assist us in potentially gaining the DSA for all of our ingest workflows including self-deposit.

+ + Revise Dataverse Policies Guidelines Odum’s DSA Strategy First, we will want to revise our policies to more explicitly differentiate and outline our varying ingest and curation services.

+ + Revise Expand Dataverse Policies Guidelines Odum’s DSA Strategy And in conjunction with revising our current policies we also want to expand our guidelines to assist data producers in depositing data that meet DSA requirements for access and reuse.

+ + Revise Expand New Functionalities Dataverse Policies Guidelines Odum’s DSA Strategy Revise Expand Dataverse Policies Guidelines + + In our previous application, we already relied heavily on certain Dataverse functionalities. When we re-apply we will be exploring how some of the new 4.x features can be integrated into our application for instance we will obviously be adding Sibboleth authentication for the guideline concerning authenticity. We are also interested in having a discussion with the community about new potential functionalities that would support meeting some of these certification criteria. For instance, Jon is going to talk tomorrow about some of the work we are doing to integrate our Dataverse with iRODS so we can automate enforcement of certain preservation policies. New Functionalities

What next? DSA transitions this summer to a new version of the guidelines developed with the World Data System as part of the RDA interest group on certification New guidelines provide more guidance for repositories to complete certification Begin the process of self-assessment under new guidelines this fall So what’s next? Well the Data Seal of Approval is transitioning to a new version of the guidelines this summer, which were developed with the World Data System as part of the RDA interest group on certification and will provide more guidance for repositories to complete certification. Interestingly, the new guidelines will explicitly ask what level of curation is performed by the repository including “content distributed as deposited.” This fall, we will be beginning a more formal self-assessment process using these new guidelines and we are really interested in collaborating with others within the Dataverse community to strategize how Dataverse repositories can demonstrate our trustworthiness through certifications, such as the DSA.

CONNECT WITH THE ODUM INSTITUTE www.odum.unc.edu @Odum_Institute OdumInstitute Sophia Lafferty-Hess slaffer@email.unc.edu