Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Research Data Services In Academic Libraries: Data Intensive Roles For The Future?, Carol Tenopir, Dane Hughes, Suzie Allard, Mike Frame, Ben Birch, Lynn Baird, Robert J. Sandusky, Madison Langseth, Andrew Lundeen

DataONE Sociocultural and Usability & Assessment Working Groups

Objectives: The primary objectives of this study are to gauge the various levels of Research Data Service academic libraries provide based on demographic factors, gauging RDS growth since 2011, and what obstacles may prevent expansion or growth of services.

Methods: Survey of academic institutions through stratified random sample of ACRL library directors across the U.S. and Canada. Frequencies and chi-square analysis were applied, with some responses grouped into broader categories for analysis.

Results: Minimal to no change for what services were offered between survey years, and interviews with library directors were conducted to help explain this lack …

“Personas” To Support Development Of Cyberinfrastructure For Scientific Data Sharing, Kevin Crowston

DataONE Sociocultural and Usability & Assessment Working Groups

Objective: To ensure that cyberinfrastructure for sharing scientific data is useful, system developers need to understand what scientists and other intended users do as well as the attitudes and beliefs that shape their behaviours. This paper introduces personas — detailed descriptions of an “archetypical user of a system” — as an approach for capturing and sharing knowledge about potential system users.

Setting: Personas were developed to support development of the ‘DataONE’ (Data Observation Network for Earth) project, which has developed and deployed a sustainable long-term data preservation and access network to ensure the preservation and access to multi-scale, multi-discipline, and …

Perceived Discontinuities And Continuities In Transdisciplinary Scientific Working Groups, Kevin Crowston, Alison Specht, Carol Hoover, Katherine M. Chudoba, Mary Beth Watson-Manheim

DataONE Sociocultural and Usability & Assessment Working Groups

We examine the DataONE (Data Observation Network for Earth) project, a transdisciplinary organization tasked with creating a cyberinfrastructure platform to ensure preservation of and access to environmental science and biological science data. Its objective was a difficult one to achieve, requiring innovative solutions. The DataONE project used a working group structure to organize its members. We use organizational discontinuity theory as our lens to understand the factors associated with success in such projects. Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected from DataONE members, we offer recommendations for the use of working groups in transdisciplinary synthesis. Recommendations include welcome diverse opinions …