Data labs
In data labs research data can be stored and edited during one's research. In a data lab temporary files are stored of which it still remains to be seen whether and if so, which part of the research data will be transferred to a data portal for longevity. At the moment that research data are moved from a data lab to a public data repository like 3TU.Datacentrum, a data publication is made. At this moment the data become publicly accessible.
Data labs may be a part of so called Virtual Research Environments (VRE’s) or collaboratories. They are web based working environments, supporting the scientific collaboration between researchers.
What does 3TU do?
OpenEarth is the data lab by Deltares, an open source initiative to store data, models and tools in the field of marine and coastal engineering. It is a successful data lab which was born within the research community itself and which is used worldwide. Because of the worldwide adoption of this data lab it has begun to serve other purposes than Deltares' interests alone. Because of its success, Deltares has asked DANS and 3TU.Datacentrum to take over the management of OpenEarth. Deltares wants to help spread the principle and 3TU.Datacentrum wants to offer to data labs to its customer. Because OpenEarth already has ambassadors who are themselves researchers, a win-win situation seems at hand. At this moment 3TU.Datacentrum mirrors the data at OpenEarth. A mirror site is a copy of the main website with a different URL. When many requests are being made, such mirrors help to spread the traffic thereby ensuring access.
§At TU/e researchers can use the data lab SHARE. At this moment 3TU.Datacentrum offers server capacity to SHARE. It is to be expected that the SHARE platform will be adopted as a whole.
Since September 1st 2010, scientists of Twente University and Eindhoven University may store, manage and make their datasets accessible through the tool Dataverse Network (DVN). This tool can already be deployed during their research as a cooperational tool. Apart from this a link is made between DVN and 3TU.Datacentrum to ensure sustainable storage, management and access.
In the Podium Plus project the possible nationwide cooperation in storing research data has been given the object of study1. Utrecht University states that the Dataverse network, hosted in Utrecht, may serve as a main portal for channeling research data to long term repositories such as those supported by DANS and 3TU.Datacentrum. Abroad, these kind of conclusions are also being made2.
Overall, 3TU.Datacentrum works on the coupling of data labs and data archives (data portals). The message 3TU.Datacentrum wants to broadcast is that researchers and research group can also use their own data platform during their research. It is in the interest of 3TU.Datacentrum thát researchers are already using a data lab during their research. The better research data are managed during the course of a research project, the better the quality of the data will be, making it easier to subsequently forward them to a public data portal. All efforts on 3TU.Datacentrum's side are focused on minimizing any barriers for publishing research data.
Examples
Below you find some examples of data labs/virtual environments outside 3TU:
FigShare is an organisation which encourages researcher to publish all their data, also the negative results and unpublished figures.
1. SURFfoundation. (2011). Podium Plus: onderzoek naar de mogelijkheden tot landelijke samenwerking bij de opslag van onderzoeksdata. Retrieved 10-12-2011 from http://www.surffoundation.nl/nl/publicaties/Pages/PodiumPlus.aspx (management summary in English only)
2. National Research Council of the National Academies. (2011). Communicating Science and Engineering Data in the Information Age. Retrieved 10-12-2011 from http://www.gwu.edu/~gwipp/Reamer%20-%20NAS%20NSF%20Data%20Dissemination%20Report%20Pre-Pub.pdf
