An Introduction

Aspiration To begin the process of adding significant value to those emerging repositories in which are deposited the intellectual products of academic research – principally the published reports and papers that describe what research has been undertaken, and what new knowledge has been established as a consequence – by enabling them to interact directly with the repositories of source data from which these publications were developed.

Project Cluster JISC Digital Repositories Programme 8 clusters Legal & policy issues Data repositories E-learning Machine services Integrating infrastructure Images E-theses Repositories & preservation Project StORe

Project Board UK Data Archive National Centre for e-Social Science National e- Science Centre Archaeology Data Service Digital Curation Centre UKOLN CURL Project Director Project Manager Project Management Group Survey Team Imperial College LSE UCL Edinburgh U UKDA CURL UKOLN Birmingham U Manchester U York U / White Rose JHU The Project StORe Collaboration

Multi-discipline Project Biochemistry UCL Archaeology York University (White Rose) Social Policy & Political Science LSE Astronomy Edinburgh University Chemistry Imperial College Biosciences Manchester University Astronomy Johns Hopkins University Physics Birmingham University

Repositories DisciplineSource RepositoryOutput Repository ArchaeologyArchaeology Data ServiceWhite Rose IR AstronomySuperCOSMOS Science Archive Edinburgh Research Archive; arXiv BiochemistryProtein Structures DatabaseUCL Eprints BiosciencesUniProt; GenbankPubMed Central ChemistryNational Crystallography Service Imperial Eprints PhysicsBrookhaven; CERNBirmingham Eprints Social Policy/Political Science UK Data ArchiveLSE Research Articles Online

Project Deliverables Published user surveys of researchers that identify: –workflows and norms in their use of source and output repositories; –common attributes across disciplines; –functional enhancements that they consider to be desirable; –their perceived problems in the use of repositories. A generic technical specification of the functional enhancements to source and output repositories that were identified from the surveys of researchers. A pilot system built using the generic technical specification that demonstrates the linking of holdings in the UK Data Archive (source repository) to research papers stored in ePrints (and potentially DSpace) - compatible output repositories. Published independent evaluations of 1) the pilot system and 2) the project itself, including recommendations to the JISC for future development work.

Current Focus Survey phase, February – June 2006 Survey team in place Questionnaire launched 13 th March Questionnaire closes 14 th April Interviews from May Reports by end July Business Analysis phase commences June

Recent Observations - 1 Don’t assume the academic community knows about the JISC, digital repositories and information management that libraries are regarded universally as the natural sources of expertise or owners of all things repository that your survey is special and exciting (there is survey fatigue lurking out there)

Recent Observations - 2 Do acknowledge a broad spectrum of facility with the terminology we use as common currency – data, metadata, repository – eh? a general suspicion that surveys may be the stalking horse for commercial interests that clarity in explaining the purpose and the benefits of our projects is a make or break factor

Perceived Benefits (Selling the Survey) Improvements in opportunities for information discovery and in the curation of valuable research data, leading to the ability more conclusively to track the use and influence of one's published research; a structured means of surveying research publications and their associated source data across an entire discipline or within a specific research theme; an environment with added value: output repositories that link to their sources and source repositories that link to their outputs will expand the opportunities for dissemination of research and scholarship.

Recent Observations - 3 Do respect local cultures Working through established hierarchies and communication routes Navigating diverse levels of bureaucracy Organising around diverse timetables

Recent Observations - 4 Most JISC projects are collaborations Make sure your collaborators contribute – they should be the strength of the project Carrots work better with the academic community than sticks, but your carrots have to be the finest The lure of an iPOD may not be enough!