Topic: Research practices
Blog Post
February 2, 2023
Building Campus Strategies for Data Support Services Project Kicks Off
With 2023 coined the “year of data” by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and data-intensive research methods growing across disciplines, campuses throughout the US and Canada are recognizing the strategic need to build a centralized approach to providing data support services to researchers. These services are often provided by the library, in addition to other campus units scattered across the university. Developed over time and with minimal coordination, data support services tend to exist in silos,…
Blog Post
December 16, 2022
Reflecting on the Ithaka S+R Fellowship Program
A Conversation with Two Former Fellows
Each year, Ithaka S+R welcomes a cohort of early-career researchers to join our team as fellows. Over the course of 12-16 weeks, the program immerses the fellows in our projects and partnerships, providing the opportunity to make real contributions to research that tackles critical challenges in higher education, advances equity, and fosters innovation.
Blog Post
December 5, 2022
Coordinating Research Data Support Services Across Campus
Announcing a Second Cohort
This fall, Ithaka S+R announced a new cohort-based research and consulting project to help universities coordinate research data support services across campus. Demand for the first cohort has been overwhelming, making it clear just how timely and important this topic is to university leaders. For this reason, we are pleased to announce that we are organizing a second cohort so that more universities can participate in this project.
Blog Post
October 12, 2022
The Library Director Survey 2022 is Live!
We are excited to announce the launch of the 2022 Ithaka S+R Library Director Survey. In order to track high-level strategic and leadership perspectives across the field, we conduct a national survey of academic library deans and directors every three years. Consistent with previous survey cycles, this iteration of the study will provide insights into issues of strategic priorities, budgeting, staffing, and collections, as well as introduce new questions designed to track emerging trends in the field.
Past Event
November 4, 2022
Aligning the Research Library with the University’s Organizational Strategy
2022 Charleston Conference Panel
On Friday, November 4 at 12:15 – 1:00 pm, Ithaka S+R Vice President of Organizational Strategy and Libraries, Scholarly Communication, and Museums Roger Schonfeld will chair a Charleston Conference session discussing an Ithaka S+R research report co-published with ARL and CARL, on aligning the research library with the university’s organizational strategy. The panel will feature perspectives from leaders at academic libraries about their institutional strategy and more, with K. Matthew Dames, Anne Houston, and Jennifer Fabbi. Learn more about the…
Blog Post
September 6, 2022
Coordinating Research Data Support Services Across Campus
Announcing the Launch of a New Cohort-Based Research and Consulting Project
Data-intensive research methods are used by researchers in a wide and growing number of disciplines and are now central to the research enterprise. As these methods spread, universities are making significant investments in developing campus services to provide critical support for big data research. We are excited to announce a project that will bring together a select cohort of librarians and campus representatives to develop strategies for coordinating campus data support services.
Research Report
August 9, 2022
Leveraging Data Communities to Advance Open Science
Findings from an Incubation Workshop Series
Several recent studies have indicated that large numbers of researchers in many STEM fields now accept the value of openly sharing research data. Yet, the actual practice of sharing data—especially in forms that comply with FAIR principles—remains a challenge for many researchers to integrate into their workflows and prioritize among the demands on their time. In many disciplines and subfields, data sharing is still mostly an ideal, honored more in the breach than in practice.
Blog Post
July 21, 2022
Gearing Up for the Ithaka S+R National Library Director Survey
This fall, Ithaka S+R will be fielding the sixth iteration of our Library Director Survey. While we ran a special cycle of the survey in 2020 to track pandemic-related decision-making among academic libraries, as well as changing perspectives on diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and anti-racism, this upcoming survey marks the return to our triennial cycle, established in 2010. The Library Director Survey 2022 examines the strategic and leadership perspectives of…
Blog Post
July 14, 2022
Tracking the Research, Teaching, and Publishing Practices of Faculty Members Nationally
US Faculty Survey
We are excited to announce the publication of the US Faculty Survey 2021. Through this national survey, we have been able to track the changing research, teaching, and publishing practices of faculty members within higher education triennially since early digital transformation at the turn of the century. Against the backdrop of the global pandemic and its numerous impacts on many different facets of higher education, this eighth cycle of the survey illuminates how earlier research and instructional trends…
Research Report
July 14, 2022
Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2021
The Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey has tracked the changing research, teaching, and publishing practices of faculty members within higher education triennially since early digital transformation at the turn of the century. This project has aimed to provide actionable findings to help colleges and universities, among other relevant stakeholders such as academic libraries, learned societies, and scholarly publishers, make evidence-based decisions for their planning and strategy.
Blog Post
June 13, 2022
The Library’s Role in Facilitating Users’ Experiences Navigating Computing and Data Services
An Interview with Susan Ivey, Director of the Research Facilitation Service at North Carolina State University
Since 2012, when Ithaka S+R began systematic exploration of the changing needs and practices of researchers, the stunning growth in the accessibility of large datasets and the computing power necessary to work with them has transformed research practices across disciplines. As big data methods have spread, universities have responded by expanding their research support service offerings. Libraries have been the most active players in this space, but many campus units—including information technology offices, research computing centers, and academic…
Past Event
June 23, 2022
Dylan Ruediger at RBMS 2022
On June 23, Dylan Ruediger will join panelists to discuss the findings from the Teaching with Primary Sources Project and its impact “post”-pandemic. For more information see abstract below. For more information on the conference, please visit this link. Session Title: Does it still fit? Engaging with the Ithaka S+R Teaching with Primary Sources Project “Post”-Pandemic Date: June 23, 2022 Time: 3:00 PM EST Remember that report from Ithaka S+R last spring about supporting the needs of instructors…
Blog Post
April 14, 2022
The Importance of Alignment for the Research Library
Academic libraries exist to serve the needs, over the long-run, of their parent institutions. To be successful, then, it is imperative that each research library regularly works to ensure its ongoing alignment with its parent university. Institutional alignment is, however, a complicated endeavor. In a project Ithaka S+R co-published with ARL and CARL, my colleagues Danielle Cooper, Catharine Bond Hill and I examined the strategic directions of research universities in North America to determine how…
Research Report
April 12, 2022
Aligning the Research Library to Organizational Strategy
Ithaka S+R was commissioned by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) to examine the strategic directions of research universities with the objective of identifying common themes that research libraries can consider in aligning to advance the research and learning mission both individually and collectively. This project draws on interviews and other forms of engagement conducted in 2021 with more than 60 university leaders across research libraries in the US and Canada.
Past Event
March 28, 2022
Aligning Data Support Services to Researchers’ Needs
Danielle Cooper and Dylan Ruediger at CNI Spring 2022 Membership Meeting
Danielle Cooper and Dylan Ruediger will present on “Aligning Data Support Services to Researchers’ Needs” at the CNI Spring 2022 Membership Meeting in San Diego. About the session As data-intensive research has become the norm in an expanding number of academic fields, universities have adapted by offering a wider range of data support services. Previous research by Ithaka S+R has demonstrated that university libraries have been especially active in this space and are now the largest single…
Past Event
March 17, 2022
Data Support Services Needs in the DIY Era
Dylan Ruediger at the RDAP Summit
On March 17th, from 12:45 – 1:45 PM, Dylan Ruediger will moderate a panel on “Data Support Services in the DYI Era” at the RDAP Summit. For more information about the Summit, please see the RDAP website. Abstract This panel will highlight findings from a recent national study of the research practices of fresearchers working with big data. Our findings suggest that many researchers prefer to learn new skills and tools using internet resources and tutorials rather than…
Blog Post
January 18, 2022
Ithaka S+R is Growing: Join Us!
Over the past few years, the scope and breadth of Ithaka S+R’s work has grown substantially. The Libraries, Scholarly Communication, and Museums program has seen increases in cohort projects that explore critical issues facing libraries; grant funded initiatives focused on digital preservation, higher education in prison, student success, and museum leadership; national surveys of faculty, community college administrators, and archivists; and sponsored work on topics including the health of the research enterprise and diversifying collections. To…
Blog Post
January 12, 2022
Preprints: Their Evolving Role in Science Communication
New Publication
We are pleased to announce the publication of Preprints: Their Evolving Role in Science Communication by Iratxe Puebla and Jessica Polka, both of ASAPbio, and Ithaka S+R’s Oya Y. Rieger. It is part of the Charleston Briefings: Trending Topics for Information Professionals series. This briefing discusses the history and role of preprints—scholarly manuscripts posted by the author(s) to a repository or platform to facilitate open and broad sharing of early work without any limitations…
Blog Post
December 15, 2021
Building Sustainable Data Sharing Communities
Announcing the Participants in an NSF-Funded Incubation Workshop
Across the country and around the world, communities of researchers are voluntarily sharing data across disciplinary and institutional borders. Understanding the motivations, practices, and challenges faced by members of these communities is important to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funders seeking to promote and normalize data sharing and reuse. However, questions remain about how to best support data communities as they emerge and mature. Some of the most urgent issues involve documentation,…
Past Event
December 14, 2021
Understanding Research Cores: An Overview of a Critical Component of Research Infrastructure
Roger Schonfeld at CNI Fall 2021 Membership Meeting
On December 14, Roger Schonfeld will present at the CNI Fall 2021 Membership Meeting on Ithaka S + R’s new report, “What is a Research Core? A Primer on a Critical Component of the Research Enterprise” that illuminates the research core landscape. Research cores, sometimes also referred to as core instrumentation facilities, are shared research enablement facilities that are used on a cross-department if not institutional basis. Notwithstanding pandemic disruptions, trends to improve research support for academic science are taking…