Sheehy K1
1Western Sydney University, Kingswood, Australia
Biography:
Karen Sheehy was the Research Data Consultant at Western Sydney University for three years, leading initiatives that enhance the visibility, stewardship, and strategic management of research datasets across the institution. Her work focuses on integrating research information systems, strengthening metadata quality, and improving national and international discoverability of research outputs.
She played a central role in Western’s 2024–2025 implementation of the PURE research management system, a project that transformed the university’s dataset landscape through automation, persistent identifiers and large‑scale metadata curation. Whilst this work focussed primarily on replacing aging repository infrastructure for publications, it resulted in a more than 300% increase in indexed datasets and significantly expanded Western’s presence in Research Data Australia.
With a background spanning research data management, digital infrastructure and researcher support, Karen is committed to building sustainable, researcher‑friendly systems that elevate institutional visibility and long‑term data stewardship. Her current focus includes advancing discovery workflows, refining repository policy and supporting the evolving needs of the research community.
Karen is currently the Research Engagement Manager at the Western Sydney University library, leading a team of dedicated research librarians to support the greater description, discovery and impact of Western Sydney University's researchers and research outputs.
Abstract:
Western Sydney University’s 2024 implementation of the PURE research management system marked a major shift in the visibility, stewardship and discoverability of its research datasets. While the project’s primary objective was to modernise researcher profiles and publications management, it also addressed longstanding challenges in research data management, including fragmented repository practices, limited metadata quality and low institutional representation in national discovery services.
Using PURE’s Datamonitor tool and a targeted curation workflow, Western increased its indexed datasets in Research Data Australia (RDA) from 249 to 429, while its internal dataset repository expanded from 249 to 811 records in nine months (300% growth). This uplift significantly improved institutional compliance, strengthened researcher profiles and enhanced the discoverability of Western affiliated datasets across platforms.
The project demonstrated the value of automation, persistent identifiers and metadata enrichment in surfacing research outputs with minimal burden on academics. Systematic validation ensured that only datasets with a clear institutional connection were included, while enriched metadata and cross linking to related projects, grants and publications created a more complete and interconnected research ecosystem.
Early engagement metrics indicate strong impact through engagement with the published datasets. The initiative also led to formalised repository inclusion policies and laid the foundation for future improvements.
This work represents a strategic evolution of the Library’s Research Data Consultancy Service—from a storage focused model to an active facilitator of research visibility, stewardship, and engagement.
