UCL LIBRARY SERVICES Experimenting with the trial of a research data audit: some preliminary findings about data types, access to data and factors for long term preservation Panayiota Polydoratou UCL DAF:

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES Outline of the presentation Projects info UCL Data Audit Framework - Context Definitions – Information audit and primary data Methodology Results Summary

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES JISC – Digital Repositories programme ( sitories2007.aspx) sitories2007.aspx 7 months 18 August 2008 – 17 March 2009 Collaboration with the DAF development team HATII, DCC UCL DAF – project info

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES UCL – some data 1826 – Research-led institution 4000 academic and research staff 20 Nobel Laureates since 1901 Professor Sir Martin Evans in the field of Physiology of Medicine, in 2007 UCL 9 th of the world top 200 universities (THE, 2007) a recent bibliometric study placed UCL in the 2 nd place of most productive research institutions in Europe (van Raan, 2008)

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES UCL DAF – the context Research data are important Potential for re-use and sharing Few institutions have formal strategies for curating research data Need for a method that enables us to quickly and easily establish an overview of holdings as well as existing data management practices

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES Information Audit – a definition A process for discovering, monitoring and evaluating an organisations information resources in order to implement, maintain, or improve the organisations management of information. Buchanan, S., & Gibb, F. (1998). The information audit: An integrated strategic approach. The International Journal of Information Management, 18(1), 29–47.

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES Primary research data Primary research data are data produced within the timeframe of a project/research work/lifetime. They are unprocessed (often referred to as raw data), original, generated by machines or humans and are regarded as the core of any research activity.

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The methodology 4 stages Planning the audit. (Appoint auditor, establish business case, research the organisation, set up the audit, etc.) Identifying and classifying assets (Collect information about the organisations holdings, use methods such as surveys and interviews to identify and classify assets, prepare the inventory, set up meetings to assess findings, etc.) Assessing management of data assets (prepare and conduct interviews to assess vital assets, etc.) and Reporting and recommendations.

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES Trialling Pick your moment Questionnaire survey Interviews The forms for collecting the data The results

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The questionnaire Questionnaire survey: brief characteristics of the participants/nature of research activity data types, characteristics of research, attributes of primary research data brief description of primary research data to match information requested in Form 2 of the methodology

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Summary Yes, primary data are important Yes, they acquire value through context and use Yes, there are potential for re-use Yes, when linked to Information Strategy and embedded in the research process Yes, complying with legal requirements Yes, through automatic capturing of associated info Yes, with training and support Yes, with a tangible result in mind

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES Further information Data Audit Framework Development: DAF methodology: UCL DAF pilot:

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES Thank you!

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES References Buchanan, S., & Gibb, F. (1998). The information audit: An integrated strategic approach. The International Journal of Information Management, 18(1), 29–47. Buchanan, S and Forbes Gibb (2007). The information audit: role and scope. International Journal of Information Management, 27, pp doi: /j.ijinfomgt Times Higher Education (2007). World University Rankins: top 200 world universities. Information available at: de=144 de=144

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES van Raan, A.F.J. (2008). Bibliometric statistical properties of the 100 largest European research universities: Prevalent scaling rules in the science system. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(3): p Pre print available at: UCL facts and figures. Information available at: