Designing Data Resources: Tools for the provision of interactive research data management workshops IDCC13 Workshop, Amsterdam

Designing Data Management Training at the University of Bath Catherine Pink Data Scientist, Research360 Jez Cope Technical Data Coordinator, Research360

University of Bath A leading UK research university >15,000 students & 2,500 staff. Applied science and engineering research focus Small Science in collaboration with industry Research month Jisc-funded project Developing human and technical infrastructure for research data management Focused on Faculties of Science and Engineering Piloting resources in the CSCT Doctoral Training Centre

The next 45 minutes Structured around some of our training workshops Content modified for IDCC13 Interactive survey Format modified for IDCC Presentation How weve developed our workshops and what they contain Exercise Data management planning

Before we start: Clicker exercise What we did Multiple choice questions asked at start and end of each session Why it worked Simple activity with clear instructions (hard to get wrong!?) Safe for students – they can compare their knowledge/opinions to the group without being singled out Students engaged with the material from the start Catalyses learning by encouraging reflection

Before we start: Clicker exercise How we did it TurningPoint Audience Response System (ARS) Simple voting system for classroom use Provided by the Universitys e-learning team Today we will use PollEverywhere.com instead

How to vote Laptop, tablet or smartphone: Go to pollev.com/r360 pollev.com/r360 Use the buttons there Mobile phone: Send text message to Codes for each option will appear on the slides Normal network charges apply (UK mobile number)

What training did Bath already provide? Single annual data management presentation for postgraduate students Responsibility for delivery passed between senior academics Content based on external resources (M.I.T) Content not customised to the University or recently updated Focus on why, not how, to manage data 2012: Highlighted main risks of poor data management 2011: Poor understanding of data management despite some training

What did we start to do Re-designed workshop from scratch, including original content and external training resources e.g. DataTrain, MANTRA Focused on generic data management with achievable solutions we that can already provide Aimed at researchers - postgraduate students & academics Delivered by data management experts from Research360 project Tested new content on our pilot group of research students Observers to capture all comments /questions to help with development

Needs structured exercises to develop skills as well as discussion Hands-on workshop Early career researchers are used to lectures and favour this format for gathering new information Researchers prefer content (how, what, where) to soft skills learning Lecture-style workshop Scientists like talking about data management, but wont consider it a worthwhile use of their time Interactive workshop Style & Format – several approaches tried

Structure of content based on data lifecycle Definitions Data management plans Create Data Types Responsibilities Active Use Storage & Security Back up options Organising data File names & versioning Documentation Contextual data Metadata Publication & Deposit Data sharing requirements Restrictions on data sharing How to share data Preservation & Re-use Archive File formats for long term preservation

Funders requirements University codes / policy / procedures Requirements to share data Requirements to write Data Management Plans Raise awareness of their responsibilities Storage and security of data Organisation and file management Keeping good records so data can be re-used Try to prevent worst data management mistakes 2 hours – How much can you cover? Limited time to cover a large and complex subject Provide links to further information Key Content

Demonstrate relevance & support with practical advice Will you be able to write your thesis/final report in 3 years time? Use better file names and capture contextual information What would happen if your computer failed? Request your 1TB of centrally managed research data storage Your digital data is safe, but what about your lab / research notebook? Daily scans of your notebook for free to your personal storage area Can you or anyone else understand your older research data? Capture methods and abbreviations in metadata or readme files Does your funder require you to make your data accessible? Publish your data in a data repository or data journal Share with your future self!

Get participants to plan what they will do after the training Write a data management plan Request central storage space Back up my data At the end of the workshop Helped to focus my data management plan How to store data securely Where to get help & find more information Data organisation Reminded me how easily I could lose my data What was useful? Cloud storage solutions e.g. Dropbox Not enough group discussion To much group discussion Preparing a data management plan Bias towards science What was missing? Participant feedback essential for continued training development

Exercise: Data Management Plans What we did Produced 4 different DMP templates and split students into groups to try them Why it worked Clear time period, clear objectives Data management plans cover many of the issues raised by data management, so lots of subjects can be covered by one exercise Outcomes Students produced their own Data Management Plans Students were contributing to our project felt some ownership of the process

Data Management Plan (DMP) Exercise Templates Digital Curation Centre Checklist:bit.ly/idcc13-dccbit.ly/idcc13-dcc Jezs PGR Student Template:bit.ly/idcc13-dmppgrbit.ly/idcc13-dmppgr David Shottons Twenty Questions: bit.ly/idcc13-20qbit.ly/idcc13-20q What to do – compare the three templates 1.After training, will your researchers know where to find the information to fill in each template? 2.Are different templates suited to different types of researchers?

Future plans Short /Medium Term Continue to develop training format in response to feedback Extend training to include / encourage academic staff Provide additional online support for self learning Long Term aims Train more professional support staff to deliver training (train-the-trainer) Develop subject specific training Broader embedded training plans included as part of business case for sustainable data management infrastructure Updated data management website go.bath.ac.uk/research-data Developing an online self- learning module (see our poster!) Developing an online self- learning module (see our poster!)

Find out more…. Research360 Blog blogs.bath.ac.uk/research360 University of Bath Research Data Management Website Training slides opus.bath.ac.uk/32296 Contact us

Discussion How have you developed & designed research data management training resources at your institution? How have you identified the skills gaps of your researchers/professional services staff? Issues associated with new training programmes vs. embedding training in existing programmes What are the most appropriate formats for training? How will you ensure your training is sustainable? How do you engage with the academic and professional support communities? Benefits of discipline specific vs. cross-discipline training.