Are you approaching data management and curation with reuse in mind? Do you know what kinds of contextual information data reusers need, where they get it, and why they need it?  What are the practical approaches and tradeoffs to data curation given the needs of reusers, and repositories? Register to attend this free, interactive workshop sponsored by OCLC Research to learn how a context-driven approach developed can be used to inform data curation.

Background

Our context-driven approach was developed during the Dissemination of Information Packages for Information Reuse (DIPIR) project and rooted in researchers' data reuse experiences.

The DIPIR Project was made possible by a National Leadership Grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, LG-06-10-0140-10, "Dissemination Information Packages for Information Reuse."

Workshop Format

Findings from the project will be drawn upon to present a cross-disciplinary context model showing the different types of contextual information reusers need, where they seek it and the reasons they say they require it.

• We will compare our model to current data deposit requirements gathered and actual metadata displayed in select repositories.
• We will begin with a hands-on activity to get workshop participants thinking about contextual information. Working in groups of 2-3, participants will perform a card-sorting exercise to rank order different types of context information identified during the DIPIR project. All groups will be given a set of cards with one context type written on each. The rank ordering will be based on the different types of context information needed for the repository during data deposit. After a quick tally, we will engage participants in a discussion about their rankings, such as what is important for different
• A presentation of our cross-disciplinary context model will follow.
• The model is based on interviews with over 100 archaeologists, zoologists, and quantitative social scientists, so we will include a discussion of the similarities and differences across the three disciplines.
• If time permits, we will have the groups re-sort their cards with their designated community of reusers in mind before initiating a conversation with participants. Otherwise, we will proceed directly to the conversation about why some context types are important from a reuser versus a repository standpoint.
• Next, we will compare our findings to current data deposit requirements we have gathered and actual metadata displayed in select repositories.
• A data publisher and a data librarian, both responsible for data curation will react to our findings and include a discussion about the impact our approach has on their practices and the content they collect around the data lifecycle, including any trade-offs made during data curation and potential implications for data sharing and reuse.  

Workshop organizers include:

• Ixchel M. Faniel, Ph.D., Research Scientist, OCLC, Principal Investigator on the DIPIR project
• Elizabeth Yakel, Ph.D. Professor, School of Information, University of Michigan, Co-Principal Investigator on the DIPIR project,
• Kathleen Fear, Ph.D., Data Librarian, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester, and
  
• Eric Kansa, Ph.D. Data Publisher, Open Context.

This half-day interactive workshop takes place during the 11th International Digital Curation Conference at the Mövenpick Hotel, Amsterdam City Centre. The theme of this year's conference is "Visible data, invisible infrastructure."