Data Management & Curation Services: Exploring Stakeholders Opinions (Fall 2012)

The purpose of the research study was to explore stakeholders’ opinions on select data management and curation services issues that currently affect all disciplines. A data management and curation services 10-questions survey questionnaire was developed and administered to select data management and curation promoters (funders), stakeholders (institutions), and users (evaluators) from November 5, 2012 to December 5, 2012. The survey was approved by the Florida State University Institutional Review Board (IRB) and assigned the HSC No. 2012.9198 on November 2, 2012. The survey was started by 64 participants, completed by 53, and garnered an 83% completion rate. The survey’s findings from the data management and curation key concepts category lead to the development of the data management and curation (DMC) framework. Select data results are included for reproducibility. 67% selected pragmatism as top theoretical perspective followed by ethnography with 64% 55% disagree that data curation is the same as digital curation 61% disagree digital curation is the same as digital preservation 80% agree data curation, digital curation, and digital preservation are independent yet interrelated concepts 77% agree data management and curation services include data curation, digital curation, and digital preservation 59% agree there is a need to develop data curation theory from similarities, differences, and interrelationships from multiple competing models or frameworks 70% agree there is a need to develop interdisciplinary undergraduate data management and curation services programs