Mrs. Jude Channon1, Dr. Nathan Robinson, Dr. Xiaodi Huang3, Mr. John Friend, Dr. Simon Clarendon
1Federation University, Ballarat, Australia, 2Federation University, Ballarat, Australia, 3Charles Sturt University, Melbourne, Australia, 4NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange, Australia, 5Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development WA, South Perth, Australia
Biography:
Jude has a background in healthcare management crossing over to data management in 2017. Jude completed a Masters in Education at RMIT University in 1999 and is undertaking a PhD in operationalising data management in research institutions. Jude is currently based at the Centre for e-Research and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) at Federation University and worked on Online Farm Trials and Enabling Soils data. Jude also serves as a consultant for Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research NZ where she consults on RDM assessment and RDM strategy development. Jude is currently seconded as a Project Manager with ARDC, with the People RDC.
Nathan completed his PhD at Federation University in 2016 with his research focused on digital soil mapping, for which he was awarded the CG Stephens Medal by Soil Science Australia for best thesis. Nathan has served in advisory roles to Soil Science Australia (Smart Soils CoP), Catchment Management Authorities, as an active member of the Geomorphology Reference Group of Victoria, the NCST Advisory Group on Digital Soil Assessment, and serves on the Victorian Committee of Soil Science Australia. Nathan combines his academic research with practice in managing Linwood Grange Enterprises, a family partnership livestock and grain production system.
Dr. Xiaodi Huang is an Associate Professor at Charles Sturt University's School of Computing, Mathematics, and Engineering. He earned his PhD in 2004. His research focuses on applied machine learning, visualization, and data analysis. Dr. Huang has published over 140 papers in international journals and conferences. He also serves as an editor for various journals and participates as a chair and committee member in numerous conferences. Dr. Huang is a member of ACM and a Senior Member of the IEEE Computer Society. His ORCID is 0000-0002-6084-1851.
Abstract:
Background: The Co-operative Research Centre for High Performance Soils (Soil CRC) brings together over 200 participants with a stated goal of finding practical solutions for Australia’s underperforming soils. Over 75 research projects have been commissioned so far, generating large amounts of varied data. The Managing and Enabling Soil Data project aimed to resolve data governance, licensing, standards and protocols within and across key data provision for current and future projects. The objective of this presentation is to share valuable learnings including proposed value propositions, adoption methodologies and strategies to embed good research data management (RDM) practices into researcher workflows.
Method: This project explored researchers’ understanding and related practices of RDM within a collaborative ‘small science’ research setting. One on one interviews, focus group and a survey were conducted to ascertain researchers’ current understanding and undertaking of RDM practices.
Results: It was clear from interviews, focus group and survey results that many were unfamiliar with RDM terminology, most projects did not have a data management plan and respondents failed to see the value of data management apart from risk of data loss. Concerns were raised over licensing, security and privacy of research data. There was also a clear desire for formal training in RDM. Consequently, training material on RDM was developed and made available to Soil CRC participants.
Conclusion: RDM practices should not be an assumed skill, even amongst experienced researchers. Establishing best practice in RDM and its related infrastructure requires a coordinated effort from researchers, institutions, funding agencies and policymakers.