UCSB Library, in partnership with the Earth Research Institute (ERI), announces the launch of a joint pilot project, The Data Collective, to develop an on-campus repository for faculty research data.
UCSB Library is looking for UCSB faculty who would like to participate in The Data Collective. Participating faculty should be willing to share their data and provide feedback on a variety of platforms as they are evaluated for possible future use by the UCSB community. Library data curators will meet with you to discuss your data and needs; work with you to upload your data into the test repository systems; and then solicit your feedback on those systems and the criteria and best practices for determining long-term retention of UCSB faculty research data.
Once completed, the new UCSB data repository will allow campus faculty and researchers to self-deposit data of all types, with curatorial assistance and overview provided by UCSB Library. After the data is uploaded in the repository, researchers will be able to continue to use their data; to share and co-manage data with collaborators; to search their data and others' data; and to obtain Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) that will allow their data to be published and cited. This data repository will satisfy journal and funder requirements, giving grant applicants a new option when creating data management plans.
This effort represents the latest step in the UCSB Library's increasing investment in supporting the research data lifecycle. In 2016 the Library launched the Data Curation Program, a consultation service that researchers can use to obtain help with managing and preserving their data. The addition of a UCSB option for storing research data would address a critical need expressed by many UCSB faculty across the disciplines.
UCSB faculty interested in participating in The Data Collective pilot project should send a brief (one paragraph) description of their data to datacuration@library.ucsb.edu. A representative sample of faculty datasets will be selected from the responses and those selected will be notified of their participation by the Library.
