Academic libraries and research data management: a case study of Dataverse global adoption
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IDD-04-2022-0028 |
| Published date | 14 October 2022 |
| Date | 14 October 2022 |
| Pages | 166-178 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Library & information services,Lending,Document delivery,Collection building & management,Stock revision,Consortia |
| Author | Hsin-liang Chen,Tzu-Heng Chiu,Ellen Cline |
Academic libraries and research data
management: a case study of Dataverse
global adoption
Hsin-liang Chen
O. J. Snyder Memorial Library, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Tzu-Heng Chiu
Library, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, and
Ellen Cline
Carol Grotnes Belk Library, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to examine the development of Dataverse, a global research data management consortium. The authors
examine specifically the institutional characteristics, the utilization of the associated data sets and the relevant research data manag ement services
at its participating university libraries. This evidence-based approach is essential for understanding the current state of research data management
practices in the global context.
Design/methodology/approach –The data was collected from 67 participants’data portals between December 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021.
Findings –Over 80% of its current participants joined the group in the past five years, 2016–2020. Thirty-three Dataverse portals hav e had less
than 10,000 total downloads since their inception. Twenty-nine participating universities are included in three major global universi ty ranking
systems, and 18 of those university libraries offer research data services.
Originality/value –This project is an explorative study on Dataverse, an international research data management consortium. The findings
contribute to the understanding of the current development of the Dataverse project as well as the practices at the participating institutions.
Moreover, they offer insights to other global higher education institutions and research organizations regarding research da ta management. While
this study is practical, its findings and observations could be of use to future researchers interested in developing a framework for data work in
academic libraries.
Keywords Research data management, Dataverse, Open science, Open data, Scholarly communication, Academic libraries
Paper type Case study
Introduction
Research data managementhas become increasingly important
to researchers, as major fundingagencies have started requiring
data sharing and managementplans for funded projects (Zhang
and Chen, 2015). Accompanying this, academic libraries are
seen as curatorial liaisonsof data because of their long-standing
history, credentials and commitments (Fox, 2013;Heidorn,
2011;Lyon, 2012;Schubertet al., 2013); academic institutions
as well as government agencies are increasingly making their
data repositoriesavailable to the public.
Many academic libraries have developed research data
management services to meet these new needs (Buys and Shaw,
2015;Kellam and Thompson, 2017). Due in part to such
demands, new data management systems have been developed to
support data management on campus (e.g. Purdue University
Research Repository). Several open-source data portals are also
available (e.g. Dataverse, Mendeley Data, Open Data Repository,
Open Science Frameworkand Zenodo).
Darch et al. (2020) discovered that different curatorial
practicesand related services in datamanagement systems have
an impact on the possibilities for data reuse. Their discovery led
the authors of this case study to survey 13 top US research
universities to see whichdata portals are used bytheir university
libraries. In August 2020, the authors selected top ten US
research universities from two categories: 2017 total R&D
expenditures and 2016 total federal obli gations, based on the
latest datafrom the National Science Foundation (NSF, 2022).
A total of 13 universities were selected: Columbia University,
Duke University, Harvard University, John Hopkins University,
Stanford University, the University of California-Los Angeles,
the University of California-San Diego, the University of
California-San Francisco, the University of Michigan, the
University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, the
The current issue and full text archiveof this journal is available on Emerald
Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-6247.htm
Information Discovery and Delivery
51/2 (2023) 166–178
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2398-6247]
[DOI 10.1108/IDD-04-2022-0028]
The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive
recommendations.
Received 11 April 2022
Revised 6 June 2022
11 July 2022
Accepted 21 September 2022
166
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