Data expertise and service development in geoscience data centers and academic libraries

eScience brings the promise of advancements in scientific knowledge as well as new demands on staff who need to manage large and complex data, design user services, and enable open access. One ramification is that research institutions are extending their services and staffing to address data management concerns. As more organizations extend their operations to research data, an understanding of how to develop and support research data expertise and services is needed. How can an organization build data expertise into their staff? This study examines how organizations develop their own data expertise and services, comparing approaches in geoscience data centers and academic libraries. Case studies of two exemplar sites are presented based on evidence from qualitative interviews and artifact collection. The case studies are extended and further informed through qualitative interviews conducted with personnel at other data centers and libraries. The study addresses how to cultivate research data expertise and staffing to support data management services. Key products include a set of expertise categories, data roles, and learning strategies. The results draw attention to the contributions that data professionals make to research projects and to ways research institutions can support data professionals and data work.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Library & Information Science

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2018

Author dc:creator

• Thompson, Cheryl A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Palmer, Carole L.
• Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Joel E
• Mayernik, Matthew S.
• Smith, Linda C.

• Data curation
• Data services
• Expertise

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Cheryl A. Thompson

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/99182

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/99182