Author(s):
Data are ubiquitous these days. Researchers across domains are increasingly leveraging data-driven methods to advance scholarship. This leads to an ever increasing need for greater access and organization to a growing body of digital data. A vast gap has opened between the creation, and the sharing and reuse of research data. It is not generating scientific knowledge alone, but the knowledge it yields being shared and reused both widely and properly. For science and technology to deliver full value to society, next generation researchers need to be able to produce research work with outcomes and data that can be easily found, shared, and reused. The overall goal of this IUSE level 2 project is to develop a framework and curricula that guides “data life cycle ethical management” education for undergraduate research in engineering and broadly in STEM. As a result, undergraduate researchers will be equipped to be both competent and ethical data consumers and data producers. From the perspective as data consumers, the aim is to improve students’ ability to locate, use, evaluate, replicate, and cite data produced by other scholars. From the other perspective as data producers, the aim is to apply best practices of data management, so 1) students can find and use data when they need it in the near term and in the long run; 2) peers in the team can find and use data and build upon to move forward research; 3) preserve and share with the community. During the process, we expect to see incremental attainment of data management skills, collect evidence and award exemplar individual and research groups. The broader impacts of this project include supporting diversity in STEM workforce by equipping undergraduate researchers in essential data management skills. For undergraduate researchers, consumers and producers of data who are often fraught with managing excess information, this project offers best practices, strategies, and standards to help achieve proficient and ethical data management. To further broaden the impacts of this project, the team will post open-access training materials (videos, assignments, tests, self-assessment checklist etc.) and disseminate through courses and workshops so that the project could reach out to broader populations such as graduate students, scientists and engineers, expanding the benefits to both Higher Education and scientific communities.
Coauthors
Senay Purzer, Purdue University; Carla Zoltowski, Purdue University
