Topic: Digital scholarship and data management
Blog Post
January 15, 2025
Reflections on Creating a Cross-Campus Collaboration for Reproducibility
Challenges in reproducible research The ability to reproduce results is a cornerstone of scientific integrity in academic research. Reproducibility in research ensures that results can be independently verified, thereby enhancing the credibility and reliability of findings. However, achieving reproducibility is not without its challenges. Researchers often grapple with organizing their analyses, learning new computational tools, and diligently documenting their data and methodologies. These were some of the challenges raised during interviews with faculty at the University of Victoria (UVic) conducted…
Past Event
October 15, 2024
Public Goods to Support Use of Education Data
The DXtera Institute and the Massive Data Institute (MDI) at Georgetown University host an annual forum focused on the opportunities, challenges, and emerging best practices in the use of education data. This year’s forum will focus on the development of open source solutions and public goods to support responsible use of learner data. Join to explore current initiatives and consider what the future could look like. Imagine a public infrastructure that removes friction points throughout the lifecycle of education…
Blog Post
September 11, 2024
From Drawing to Doing
The Implementation of Cross-Campus Research Data Services Solutions
In February 2023, Ithaka S+R launched Building Campus Strategies for Coordinated Data Support, a project designed to help universities create viable strategies for delivering and sustaining research data service across campus. Following workshops to conceptualize new approaches or solutions to service delivery, cohort teams revisited some of the design thinking activities on their own campuses and honed in on a tangible idea or solution to implement.
Past Event
October 8, 2024
Digital Commons International Conference 2024
Ithaka S+R’s Roger Schonfeld will be the keynote speaker for this year’s Digital Commons International Conference, on Tuesday, October 8. Learn more about the conference and register to gain insights from leading experts in libraries, scholarly communication, and digital preservation.
Blog Post
May 14, 2024
Drawing New Directions for Research Data Services
In response to universities’ strategic need to provide effective data support services to researchers, Ithaka S+R launched the Building Campus Strategies for Coordinated Data Support project in February 2023. In the first two phases of the project, participants conducted an inventory of data services on their campus and interviewed researchers about their research data services support needs. Spring 2024 marked the beginning of phase three during which participants will implement innovative strategies to assist researchers in navigating support services…
Past Event
April 29, 2024
Generative AI and the Information Economy
At the University of Calgary’s Libraries and Cultural Resources Staff Development day on April 29, Ithaka S+R’s Dylan Ruediger will give a keynote talk on Generative AI and the Information Economy and join a panel discussion on the use of AI in higher education, alongside Mohammad Keyhani, Paul Pival, and Soroush Sabbaghan. Learn more about the panel and the full schedule of events.
Blog Post
March 14, 2024
An Emerging Framework for Data Services for Indigenous Data
As part of our ongoing project, Building Campus Strategies for Coordinated Data Support, we completed a national inventory of research data services offered at higher education institutions across the US and Canada. While conducting the inventory, we observed an uneven approach to the topic of Indigenous research data sovereignty and governance at libraries and other units involved in research support and facilitation. Some schools provided robust information about the imperative for Indigenous groups and scholars to have control over…
Blog Post
March 14, 2024
Mapping Research Data Support Services
A New Report from Ithaka S+R Shares Findings from an International Inventory
The complexity of contemporary research practices have created significant demand for a wide range of support services within university research communities. Libraries and other campus units have responded by developing an array of research data support services to help researchers learn new tools, improve their skill sets, and manage their data across the research lifecycle. Because these services often evolved without central oversight or cross-unit coordination, it can be difficult for users to understand exactly what is available to them…
Research Report
March 14, 2024
The Research Data Services Landscape at US and Canadian Higher Education Institutions
While many universities have made substantial investments in research data services and are likely to continue to make further investments, obstacles such as decentralization and inefficiency, insufficient staffing, lack of technical expertise, and ambiguity about the needs of researchers continue to limit the impact of these investments. In light of these persistent challenges, Ithaka S+R revisited our 2020 inventory of data services and expanded our scope to include Canadian universities. Our findings presented here are based on a comprehensive review…
Blog Post
January 29, 2024
Shared Infrastructure for the Second Digital Transformation of Scholarly Publishing
The scholarly publishing sector is undergoing its second digital transformation. In the first, we saw a massive shift from paper to digital, but otherwise publishing retained many of the characteristics of the print era. In this current second digital transformation, many of these structures, workflows, incentives, and outputs are being revamped in favor of new approaches that bring tremendous opportunities, and also non-trivial risks, to scholarly communication. In a report published today, with funding from…
Research Report
January 29, 2024
The Second Digital Transformation of Scholarly Publishing
Strategic Context and Shared Infrastructure
The scholarly publishing sector is undergoing its second digital transformation. The first saw a massive shift from paper to digital, but otherwise publishing retained many of the characteristics of the print era. In this current second digital transformation, many of the structures, workflows, incentives, and outputs that characterized the print era are being revamped in favor of new approaches that bring tremendous opportunities, and also non-trivial risks, to scholarly communication. It is our objective with this paper to examine the…
Blog Post
January 16, 2024
Open Source Program Offices
Options for Housing OSPOs within a University
Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) have become a familiar concept in large technology firms and technology-forward companies in a variety of other industries. Across the past couple of decades, companies have used OSPOs as centralized hubs for their open source software-related activities. OSPOs have been useful for establishing frameworks for how companies use and contribute to open source software, as well as making sure their engagement aligns with their broader business objectives.
Past Event
December 11, 2023
The Research Data Support Landscape
Findings from a National Inventory of University Services
Research universities often offer a range of support services to researchers who conduct data-intensive research, though these services are often so dispersed that neither researchers nor administrators fully understand what services are offered and how to access them. The national distribution of research data support services is even more opaque. At the CNI Fall 2023 Membership Meeting on December 11 at 5:20-6:10 pm ET, Dylan Ruediger will participate in a lightning session on “The Research Data…
Past Event
November 14, 2023
Adapting to Innovation: Perspectives from Across Sectors
Texas Digital Learning Week
At Texas Digital Learning Week on November 14, held by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board OERTX, Ithaka S+R’s Dylan Ruediger will participate in a roundtable discussion on “Adapting to Innovation: Perspectives from Across Sectors.” The session will feature a distinguished panel of professionals who have successfully navigated the ever- evolving landscape of their respective sectors, and they’ll discuss how the integration of AI has become a pivotal driver of innovation in their areas. This panel can inform educators,…
Past Event
October 12, 2023
The American Prison, a Site of Digital Exclusion
Digital Inclusion Research Forum
Mass incarceration impacts millions of Americans and its toll on families and communities of color is exacerbated by the digital exclusion of people in prison. When the digital divide is the prison wall, there are special challenges in conducting research that might inform effective interventions. Nonetheless, highlighting existing research and the opportunities for advancing digital inclusion at this critical moment has the potential to unlock opportunity for people in prison nationwide. At a session at the…
Past Event
August 24, 2023
Generative AI for Library and Information Professionals
North American Voices in Developing an IFLA Resource
Generative AI is one of the most pertinent topics in any information setting nowadays. In response to the rise of generative AI, IFLA’s AI Special Interest Group has compiled a guide for library and information professionals. On Thursday, August 24 at 1-2:30pm ET, Ithaka S+R’s Dylan Ruediger will participate in a session at IFLA’s 88th World Library and Information Congress that will explore the opportunities, challenges…
Past Event
August 14, 2023
Embracing Digital Transformation in Higher Education
Shaping the Future of Teaching & Learning
Ithaka S+R’s Mark McBride will deliver the keynote address at Fredonia’s 17th Annual Teaching & Learning Conference, Digital Transformation: Leveraging Technology for Student Success, on Monday, August 14. The keynotes session will reflect on the steps higher education has taken in adopting digital technology into the campus ecosystem, including the affordances of digital learning and the increasing demand from students for higher education to take a digital-first approach to teaching and learning. Largely due to previous exposure…
Blog Post
August 1, 2023
Assessing Open Source Program Offices’ Role in the Academic Research Enterprise
Open source software is the backbone of the digital economy and is critical to the development and maintenance of transparent, inclusive, and secure digital infrastructures. Universities and their employees rely on it daily for everything from basic communication to advanced research, and in turn make substantial contributions to the open source resources used within and beyond higher education. Over the past several decades, major corporations have created centralized offices, often known as Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs), to coordinate and…
Past Event
August 24, 2023
Book Talk: Moving Theory Into Practice
As the digital library field emerged in the mid- to late-1990s, librarians faced numerous challenges in building the skills necessary to provide digital access to their collections. That changed in the summer of 2000, when Anne R. Kenney and Oya Y. Rieger produced “Moving Theory Into Practice,” a groundbreaking week-long workshop & digitization guide that offered hands-on, immersive training in digitization and preservation. On August 24 at 1:00 pm ET, Ithaka S+R’s Oya Y. Rieger will join Internet Archive’s Chris Freeland…
Past Event
July 27, 2023
Librarians’ Role in Cultivating Data-Literate Citizens
National Forum on Libraries and Quantitative Data
In a session at the National Forum on Libraries and Quantitative Data, experts will share what we can do to cultivate citizens who understand and use data wisely. On Thursday, July 27 at 2:00-3:30 pm ET, professor Julia Bauder (Grinnell College), Lynette Hoelter (ICPSR), Steve Pierson (American Statistical Association), and Dylan Ruediger (Ithaka S+R) will provide practical advice and tools we can utilize and offer what they see for the future. Learn more and register for the session.