An Environmental Scan for Data Services Trends that are shaping today’s environment for data services

Data Providers Ever increasing number of data providers, which means greater data availability More providers but harder to find, harder to choose from, more poor online interfaces, more duplication of sources The existence of producers that do not disseminate their data (or do it poorly or apply controls too tightly) Producers who treat data as commodity

Data Providers Movement to data-sharing and preservation – Open data, e-science, policies at NIH, NSF, UNESCO preservation declaration, OECD access to publicly funded research data Data archives recognizing need to collaborate and to form partnerships between data archives (e.g., Data-PASS) Emerging national digital information strategies shaping principles for digital access Berlin 2003 declaration of open access to knowledge & shaping open access publishing

Data Providers National statistical offices making statistics more abundantly & easily available online (e.g., Statistics Canada, Eurostat) Funding agencies learning more about the value of data beyond their original intent – Movement to educate funders about data – Funders becoming better informed e-Science is generating awareness and funding for data sharing, data preservation, data access, data infrastructure

Data Providers Trends in dissemination – More online services; varying quality of interfaces; mix of open & proprietary formats; lack of standardized metadata; lack of services behind dissemination Policies – Intellectual property claims over data and copyright continue to create an unsettled state – Funder requirements for open access forcing the hands of some data producers

Technology IT obsolescence continues to be around the 36th month mark Emergence of Institutional Repository systems Significant investment in visualization Open access publishing systems Migration from desktop to network computing, from one computer to the cloud Digital curation systems being developed

Technology Changing nature of data in the social sciences – mixed methods producing text, audio & visual data, too Open data and metadata formats Collaborative computing environments (Web 2.0 social networking, collaborative computing, etc.) The gap between haves and have-nots of technology is not narrowing; continue to have extremes Face issues of control over local workstations in the workplace (IT system admin control)

Technology Training is essential, continuing and expensive DDI Alliance tool development projects

Data Profession Still more accidental than intentional data librarians Profession is shifting to the life cycle management of data There are more opportunities for training emerging, yet no standard curriculum or professional track Geographic differences in the distribution of data professions and in data cultures

Data Profession Approaching a major generational shift among data professionals Big disparity in training, background, experience among professionals Big disparity in part time/full time positions Split between specialists expected to know a lot about data and generalists expected to know a little about data The ICPSR’s support in training data professionals

Educational Sector Recent trend of IRs and trusted, certified digital repositories Consumer-driven post secondary education – distance ed., emphasis on undergraduates and continuing ed, competition for students, etc. Emergence of quantitative reasoning and literacy in undergrad curriculum An emphasis on undergraduate research

Educational Sector Confront student expectation of instant delivery of information Interdisciplinary studies: challenges by students and administrators over traditional disciplinary boundaries Administrators embracing cyberinfrastructure Technology-driven teaching

External/International factors Current level of public mistrust – Fear, privacy, confidentiality, abuse of power – Who can be trusted with your personal data? Emergence of international standards – DDI for data documentation Discussions occurring internationally about sharing data (e.g, the International Data Forum, CODATA, e-Science initiatives, IHSN)

External/International factors Emergence of new data archives in Africa and Asia The leadership of CESSDA in Europe shaping the international agenda for data archives, standards, tools and data professionals