No abstract

No abstract

Research Data Management (RDM) practices -spanning the curation, storage, sharing, and reusability of research data -are foundational to the Open Science (OS) agenda. Because of that, many and various funding institutions are increasingly demanding active engagement of researchers in them. Nevertheless, recent studies suggest that RDM practices are not yet properly integrated into daily research work ows, nor supported by any tools researchers typically use. In this paper, we introduce evaluation results of a technological aid for implementing a design concept called 'Data Story', drawing on ideas from digital and data storytelling. This concept has been devised to facilitate the appropriation of RDM practices by researchers working mainly with qualitative data in their daily work ows. It integrates traditional data curation approaches with a more narrative, contextual, and collaborative organizational layer that can be thought of as a 'story'. Our ndings come from a long-term 'embedded' evaluation of the concept and show: (1) the potential bene ts of engaging with a Data Story for RDM; (2) Data Curation issues and learning opportunities; and (3) a broader set of issues and concerns that remain unaddressed in the current state of play. Our contribution, based on lessons learnt, is to provide a new design approach for RDM and for new collaborative research data practices, one grounded in narrative structures, capable to negotiate between top-down policies and bottom-up practices, which supports 're ective' learning opportunities -with and about data -of many kinds.

In this paper, we introduce an innovative design concept for the curation of data, which we call 'Data Story'. We view this as an additional resource for data curation, aimed specifically at supporting the sharing of qualitative and ethnographic data. The Data Story concept is motivated by three elements: 1. the increased attention of funding agencies and academic institutions on Research Data Management and Open Science; 2. our own work with colleagues applying ethnographic research methods; and 3. existing literature that has identified specific challenges in this context. Ongoing issues entailed in dealing with certain contextual factors that are inherent to qualitative research reveal the extent to which we still lack technical design solutions that can support meaningful curation and sharing. Data Story provides a singular way of addressing these issues by integrating traditional data curation approaches, where research data are treated as 'objects' to be curated and preserved according to specific standards, with a more contextual, culturally-nuanced and collaborative organizing layer that can be thought of as a "Story". The concept draws on existing literature on data curation, digital storytelling and Critical Data Studies (CDS). As a possible design solution for Research Data Management and data curation, Data Story offers: 1) a collaborative workflow for data curation; 2) a story-like format that can serve as an organizing principle; 3) a means of enhancing and naturalizing curation practices through storytelling. Data Story is currently being developed for deployment and evaluation.

Research Data Management (RDM) practices – spanning the curation, storage, sharing, and reusability of research data – are foundational to the Open Science (OS) agenda. Because of that, many and various funding institutions are increasingly demanding active engagement of researchers in them. Nevertheless, recent studies suggest that RDM practices are not yet properly integrated into daily research workflows, nor supported by any tools researchers typically use. In this paper, we introduce evaluation results of a technological aid for implementing a design concept called ‘Data Story’, drawing on ideas from digital and data storytelling. This concept has been devised to facilitate the appropriation of RDM practices by researchers working mainly with qualitative data in their daily workflows. It integrates traditional data curation approaches with a more narrative, contextual, and collaborative organizational layer that can be thought of as a ‘story’. Our findings come from a long-term ‘embedded’ evaluation of the concept and show: (1) the potential benefits of engaging with a Data Story for RDM; (2) Data Curation issues and learning opportunities; and (3) a broader set of issues and concerns that remain unaddressed in the current state of play. Our contribution, based on lessons learnt, is to provide a new design approach for RDM and for new collaborative research data practices, one grounded in narrative structures, capable to negotiate between top-down policies and bottom-up practices, which supports ‘reflective’ learning opportunities - with and about data - of many kinds.