Findings of the scoping study interviews and the research data management workshop

The project Scoping Digital Repository Services for Research Data Management is a joint effort in between the Office of the Director of IT, the Oxford University Computing Services, the Oxford University Library Services and the Oxford e-Research Centre. The project reports to the Oxford Digital Repositories Steering Group and aims to scope requirements, including underlying infrastructure and interoperability, for services to manage research data generated by Oxford researchers. One of the main activities of the project is the scoping study interviews, a requirement gathering exercise to learn about current data management practices and identify top requirements from researchers for services to help them manage their data more effectively. To complement the findings of the interviews, as well as to raise awareness and encourage discussion, a workshop was organized in June to hear about examples of good and interesting practice with respect to the use of digital repository services at various points in the research life cycle and from the perspective of different disciplines. Findings from the project and the workshop also form the basis for the Oxford case study for the UK Research Data Service (UKRDS) feasibility study for a shared national data service. This document presents the findings of the interviews undertaken during May and June 2008 and the complementary workshop.