We must all accept that science is data and that data are science, and thus provide for, and justify the need for the support of, much-improved data curation. (Hanson, Sugden, & Alberts) 
 
Researchers are producing an unprecedented deluge of data by using new methods and instrumentation. Others may wish to mine these data for new discoveries and innovations. However, research data are not readily available as sharing is common in only a few fields such as astronomy and genomics. Data sharing practices in other fields vary widely. Moreover, research data take many forms, are handled in many ways, using many approaches, and often are difficult to interpret once removed from their initial context. Data sharing is thus a conundrum. Four rationales for sharing data are examined, drawing examples from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities: (1) to reproduce or to verify research, (2) to make results of publicly funded research available to the public, (3) to enable others to ask new questions of extant data, and (4) to advance the state of research and innovation. These rationales differ by the arguments for sharing, by beneficiaries, and by the motivations and incentives of the many stakeholders involved. The challenges are to understand which data might be shared, by whom, with whom, under what conditions, why, and to what effects. Answers will inform data policy and practice. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

科研数据共享的挑战 (The Conundrum of Sharing Research Data)

PROF. A. N. WHITEHEAD'S latest book consists of eight lectures and a short address as epilogue. Two of the lectures have been published before under the title “Nature and Life”. Any reader who is unfamiliar with the author's philosophy would be well advised to begin with the first of these (Lecture VII). Prof. Whitehead points out there that according to the traditional doctrine of science, which has been taken over by common sense, Nature consists of permanent things, bits of matter, moving about in a space which is otherwise empty. The connexions between such bits of matter are purely spatial, and therefore motion is the only mode of change. Modern physical theory contradicts everything this doctrine asserts, nevertheless it remains as a general presupposition. Modes of Thought By Prof. Alfred North Whitehead. Pp. x + 241. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1938.) 7s. 6d. net.

Modes of Thought

Without Criteria: Kant, Whitehead, Deleuze, and Aesthetics

ASTM and the Federal Geographic Data Committee have developed a content standard for spatial metadata to facilitate documentation, discovery, and retrieval of digital spatial data using vendor-independent terminology Spatial metadata elements are identifiable quality and content characteristics of a data set that can be tied to a geographic location or area Several Office of Management and Budget Circulars and initiatives have been issued that specify improved cataloguing of and accessibility to federal data holdings An Executive Order further requires the use of the metadata content standard to document digital spatial data sets Collection and reporting of spatial metadata for field investigations performed for the federal government is an anticipated requirement This paper provides an overview of the draft spatial metadata content standard and a description of how the standard could be applied to investigations collecting spatially-referenced field data

Interpreting the ASTM “Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata”

The New Yorker recently published a debunking piece on the Parisian cultural scene. The reporter characterized contemporary French thinkers as exhibitionistic, faddish and humorless. Just as ideas have lost all integrity in Paris, so, too, has the Parisian intellectual evolved into a superficial virtuoso. Thinkers construct theories about “reality” while keeping an eye on marketplace fluctuations. The popularizers in the media and the press package and diffuse the product. The French intellectual cultivates his image as glamorous, learned, theoretically dazzling, quotable, one with an instant opinion on any subject. The more outrageous the posturings, the more the public adores him.

Structuralism and Since: From Lévi-Strauss to Derrida

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to observe how undergraduate students approach open-ended searching for a research assignment, specifically as it affected their use of the discovery interface Primo.




Design/methodology/approach




In total, 30 undergraduate students were provided with a sample research assignment and instructed to find resources for it using web tools of their choice, followed by the Primo discovery tool. Students were observed for 30 minutes. A survey was provided at the end to solicit additional feedback. Sources students found were evaluated for relevance and utility.




Findings




Students expressed a high level of satisfaction with Primo despite some difficulty navigating through more complicated tasks. Despite their interest in the tool and previous exposure to it, it was usually not the first discovery tool students used when given the research assignment. Students approached the open-ended search environment much like they would with a commercial search engine.




Originality/value




This paper focused on an open-ended search environment as opposed to a known-item scenario in order to assess students’ preferences for web search tools and how a library discovery layer such as Primo was a part of that situation. Evaluation of the resources students found relevant were also analyzed to determine to what degree the students understood the level of quality they exhibited and from which tool they were obtained.

/pdf/using-primo-for-undergraduate-research-a-usability-study-3ucsaod8cb.pdf

Using Primo for undergraduate research: a usability study

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to investigate the search behavior of institutional repository (IR) users in regard to subjects as a means of estimating the potential impact of applying a controlled subject vocabulary to an IR.




Design/methodology/approach




Google Analytics data were used to record cases where users arrived at an IR item page from an external web search and subsequently downloaded content. Search queries were compared against the Faceted Application of Subject Terminology (FAST) schema to determine the topical nature of the queries. Queries were also compared against the item’s metadata values for title and subject using approximate string matching to determine the alignment of the queries with current metadata values.




Findings




A substantial portion of successful user search queries to an IR appear to be topical in nature. User search queries matched values from FAST at a higher rate than existing subject metadata. Increased attention to subject description in IR records may provide an opportunity to improve the search visibility of the content.




Research limitations/implications




The study is limited to a particular IR. Data from Google Analytics does not provide comprehensive search query data.




Originality/value




The study presents a novel method for analyzing user search behavior to assist IR managers in determining whether to invest in applying controlled subject vocabularies to IR content.

/pdf/user-search-terms-and-controlled-subject-vocabularies-in-an-38syhmx01g.pdf

User Search Terms and Controlled Subject Vocabularies in an Institutional Repository

Language used to describe resources in an institutional repository may benefit from the consistency offered by a controlled vocabulary and an introduction into the larger linked data universe. Transitioning to a linked data vocabulary presents concerns regarding the effectiveness of mapping pre-existing terms and the potential for semantic loss. This paper describes such a transition to OCLC's FAST vocabulary in the University of Kansas institutional repository. It analyzes the outcomes of this transition and its subsequent impact on resource usage when exposed as linked data.

/pdf/measuring-the-impact-and-effectiveness-of-transitioning-to-a-1z9iuyijcg.pdf

Measuring the Impact and Effectiveness of Transitioning to a Linked Data Vocabulary

Brief history of name authority in the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries' Digital Collections, including the development and use of a local name authority database for creators associated with the UNT community. This text was part of the article "Who Is This: Moving from Authority Control to Identity Management" published in the May/June 2018 issue of AALL Spectrum.

/pdf/who-is-this-moving-from-authority-control-to-identity-1xjzwidkf8.pdf

"Who is this?" Moving from Authority Control to Identity Management

Repositories provide a vital infrastructure for an institution to aggregate and disseminate creative output, yet this task is only as successful as the effective organization of its content. The University of Kansas is currently undergoing a systematic review to analyze metadata and content organization in its own repository. This paper argues that for a full assessment to be achieved it is necessary to not view the repository as a fixed item, but as an entity with its own continuity. This temporal approach has a significant impact on establishing resource provenance for metadata policy adjustments, disciplinary migration, and resource extensibility. For any repository it is essential for ensuring long-term viability.

/pdf/information-continuity-a-temporal-approach-to-assessing-1e7t5hcikr.pdf

Erik Radio

Papers

Using Primo for undergraduate research: a usability study

User Search Terms and Controlled Subject Vocabularies in an Institutional Repository

Measuring the Impact and Effectiveness of Transitioning to a Linked Data Vocabulary

"Who is this?" Moving from Authority Control to Identity Management

Information Continuity: A Temporal Approach to Assessing Metadata and Organizational Quality in an Institutional Repository