Webinar on Social Science Data Management and Curation

Date: January 13, 2014

Time: 2:00-3:30pm US Central (8.00-8.30pm GMT)

Speakers:
Jared Lyle, Director of Curation Services, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

Jared Lyle directs the Curation Services Unit, which is responsible for Metadata, Bibliography of Data-Related Literature, and Digital Preservation. His work includes developing and maintaining a comprehensive approach to data management and digital preservation policy at ICPSR.

Amy Pienta, Director of Data Acquisitions, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

Amy Mehraban Pienta is Acquisitions Director at ICPSR. She is also a research affiliate of the University of Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging and the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan. At ICPSR, she oversees new data acquisitions. Major responsibilities include identifying new data collections in the social sciences, negotiating with potential data depositors, strategic planning for new data acquisitions, and developing appraisal standards for data.

Description:

The speakers will discuss resources and tools for social science data management and curation, including data management planning, preparing data for sharing and preservation, and supporting access. They will highlight examples from ICPSR.

Registration:

IMPORTANT: The webinar is free but in order to participate, please make sure that you register at http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e471pdbc64z/event/registration.html.

Learn how to set up and run a data service

There are still places available on the UK Data Archive's two-day event on How to Set up and Run a Data Service: The Challenges of Social Science Data.

Held on 28 and 29 November 2013 at the University of Essex (Colchester), this is a once-a-year opportunity to go behind the scenes and learn first-hand from specialists at the UK Data Archive. The Archive has over 40 years’ experience in selecting, ingesting, curating and providing access to data. UKDA are a designated Place of Deposit for The National Archives and are internationally acknowledged experts in this field.

Over the two days participants will learn about the strategies and practices used in the Archive's daily work, with a focus on storing and sharing social science data, including microdata, aggregate, qualitative and historical data.

Both days will include optional specialist surgeries which will give participants the opportunity to engage with Archive experts about specific needs and interests.

The workshop is best suited for those who are actively working with storing and sharing data for use in social science research, or plan to in the near future. This course is unlikely to be suitable for undergraduate or postgraduate students unless working specifically in a data archiving environment.

The course fee is £250, which includes all workshop materials plus coffee, lunch, drinks reception and evening meal on Day 1.

For a full programme and booking information: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/news-events/events.aspx?id=3543

How to set up and run a data service

Title: How to set up and run a data service: the challenges of social science data Date: 8-9 November 2012
Location: UK Data Archive, University of Essex, Colchester

Applications are now being accepted for this once-a-year opportunity to go behind the scenes at the UK Data Archive and learn first hand from its social science data specialists. This year's event is scheduled for 8-9 November 2012.

Over one and a half days participants will learn about the strategies and practices used in the Archive's daily work with a focus on storing and sharing social science data, including microdata, aggregate, qualitative and historical data. Activities range from presentations to a hands on workshop on research data management to small-group discussions on key specialist areas. Participants will also be invited to tour the Archive's newly built secure data centre, a £2.4 million scalable facility designed to expand access and computational capability for sensitive and disclosive data.

Founded at the University of Essex in 1967, the Archive has 45 years' experience in selecting, ingesting, curating and providing access to data. We are a designated Place of Deposit for The National Archives and are internationally acknowledged experts in this field.

In addition, the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) will be supporting a few fully funded scholarships to attend this workshop.

For the complete programme and details on fees and application procedures see http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/news-events/events.aspx?id=3295

Report on Academic Data Management and Curation Practices and Needs: The Problem of Data

Two new reports on research funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have been published by CLIR (Council on Library and Information Resources)

The Problem of Data: Data Management and Curation Practices Among University Researchers, by Lori Jahnke and Andrew Asher,

and

Data Curation Education: A Snapshot, by Spencer Keralis

Jahnke and Asher explore workflows and methodologies at a variety of academic data curation sites, and Keralis delves into the academic milieu of library and information schools that offer instruction in data curation. Their conclusions point to the urgent need for a reliable and increasingly sophisticated professional cohort to support data-intensive research in our colleges, universities, and research centers.

See: http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub154