Much of the discussion on data management sensibly focuses on machine-actionable, computer data. But, that’s far from the only data around in need of management (or care and feeding). One recent example from a faculty member in sociology comes with the great photos in this post.
The faculty member had research data in the form of printouts, organized together with staples, notes, and clips, and organized together in groups in folders and in a drawer. The need for research data management became a priority when the big-ness of the data (with the weight of the materials) broke the drawer, which then allowed bugs to get at the papers. With bugs and with fading notes and print, action was needed to retain the materials.
The first photo in this post shows the full research collection, the second shows the drawer, the third shows the papers out on a table after being prepared for scanning, and the fourth is of the all-in-one printer, copier, fax, and scanner that was used to scan the materials together into a PDF for a more manageable research data collection.
These photos tell a great story of the many needs associated with and part of the need for research data management. Research data management includes the management of research data findings, and of the research materials used in developing theories and findings, including the management of source materials with annotations, notes, and organizational methods. Managing research data–whether digital or analog, findings or source materials–requires effort and often includes work to manage research data into digital formats to prevent loss from fading print, from bugs, and more.
2014-07-31