Research projects

The Deakin Metadata Store Project began in June 2012 and will conclude in June 2013. Funded by the Australian National Data Service, the project will implement a solution to enable Deakin researchers to describe their research data collections and make these descriptions available to a wider audience.

While the Seeding the Commons Project developed manual processes to capture descriptions of data collections, the Deakin Metadata Store Project will take this to the next level by automating the capture of information wherever possible and developing sustainable processes for the capture of research data collection descriptions.

The Project Board is made up of representatives from eSolutions, Deakin Research, the Library and the Faculties. This partnership is crucial to the success of the project.

The intended benefits of the project are to:

• increase the impact of the research that Deakin's researchers are undertaking improve opportunities for research collaboration enable Deakin's researchers to gain citations for sharing their data (where appropriate)
• raise the profile of Deakin's researchers
• assist Deakin's researchers to fulfil obligations as outlined in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

The internally funded Research Data Management Project began in August 2012 and will conclude in August 2013.

While the Deakin Metadata Store Project will deliver the technology and processes to enable descriptions of research data collections to be developed and shared, the Research Data Management Project will deliver technology and processes to assist the researcher to effectively manage their research data by using central services that will ensure the security and longevity of their data.

This project will deliver:

• A Data Management Planning Tool to assist researchers to plan for the management of their research data.
• An enhanced research data store that automates the creation of share spaces for research data collections, integrates with the Data Management Planning Tool, has archiving capabilities, has built in file management tools, and allows the researcher to share their research data with a broader audience (where appropriate).
• A documented business process that clearly shows activities to be undertaken to manage research data at relevant stages of the research lifecycle.
• An online research data management guide.
• A communication and awareness program for researchers to encourage them and empower them to manage their research data effectively.

As with the Deakin Metadata Store Project, the Research Data Management Project Board is made up of representatives from eSolutions, Deakin Research, the Library and the Faculties. This partnership is crucial to the success of the project.

Concluding in May 2012, the Seeding the Commons project (funded by the Australian National Data Service) contributed to ongoing improvement in the capture, management and discovery of research data at Deakin University.