From Passive to Active, From Generic to Focused: How Can an Institutional Data Archive Remain Relevant in a Rapidly Evolving Landscape?

Cruz, María Jesús; Böhmer, Jasmin; Gramsbergen, Egbert; Teperek, Marta; Smaele, Madeleine de; Dunning, Alastair

doi:10.31219/osf.io/jgrkb

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“…The 4TU archive was originally built "as a data curation facility to meet the diverse needs of heterogeneous research communities" (Rombouts & Princic 2010). Although it contains, and still attracts, heterogeneous data types, 90% of the data stored in the 4TU archive are environmental research data coded in netCDF (Cruz et al 2018). Therefore, the 4TU.Centre for Research Data has a special interest in this area and it offers specific services and tools to enhance the access to and the use of netCDF datasets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adding Value and Facilitating Data Reuse: the Case of the 4TU.Centre for Research Data

Cruz¹,

Gramsbergen²

2018

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The history of the 4TU.Centre for Research Data goes back to 2008, when it started as a project of the libraries of three technical universities in the Netherlands. The aim was to serve the data curation needs of heterogeneous research communities. Fast forward ten years, and over 90% of the data stored in the 4TU archive are geoscientific datasets coded in netCDF (Network Common Data Form). This is a data format and model that, although generic, is mostly and widely used in atmospheric sciences and oceanography. As an endeavour to ensure that the 4TU.Centre for Research Data remains relevant and successful in the long term, we are exploring options for expanding the services related to netCDF data and potentially build a community of netCDF data depositors and users. Here we present the results of semi-structured, qualitative interviews with eleven researchers, all based in the Netherlands, who use and produce netCDF data; nine of them deposited netCDF data in the 4TU archive. These researchers represent heterogeneous research communities within the Earth sciences, with different views and attitudes to data archiving and publishing. Any new services or community building attempts will need to take this diversity into account. A common need for training and advice may guide the way forward for the 4TU.Centre for Research Data.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%