Towards best practice in research data management in the humanities

Abstract

Research problem: This investigation examined research data management (RDM) in the humanities in UK and Australian institutions to assist academic librarians in New Zealand to develop RDM services that match humanities researchers' needs. The study identified transferable international policies and practices in an under-researched knowledge domain to better support humanities data curation.

Methodology: This investigation adopted a domain analytic approach, and selected information-rich policies, data curation profiles, project reports and technical plans from the UK and Australia for a qualitative document analysis and evaluation. The study was conceived as a systematic review of evidence towards best practice.

Results: Humanities data or “primary materials” consist mainly of collections of digital images, texts, audio and visual recordings, although non-digital (analogue) data are common, especially in the creative arts. Humanities researchers tend to keep their primary materials on their own digital devices, in cloud storage or in physical folders and avoid using networked systems. They are generally prepared to share their data with a plurality of audiences. Humanities data curation benefits from consideration of copyright and intellectual property, curation for very long-term storage and access in a federated system, and digitisation of selected analogue data. Effective humanities RDM begins upstream in the data lifecycle with targeted training, active partnerships, and liaison on the data management plan (DMP), and requires strategic cooperation between researchers, the library and institutional/data repository, and IT services.

Implications: Understanding domain-specific policies and practices in the UK and Australia for curating humanities research data will help New Zealand institutions provide normative and strategic humanities data curation. Further research might include widening the investigation to institutions in the United States and/or Europe, or ascertaining the degree of traction of domain-specific RDM in New Zealand.