Source: Own Illustration
In today’s digital research landscape, it is crucial to ensure that research data management and use are clear and transparent. For this reason, the Service Management Team, in cooperation with RDM staff from other universities, has drafted several policy documents related to Coscine and DataStorage.nrw over the past few months. In this blog post, we take a closer look at these documents and their significance for review processes in North Rhine-Westphalia and beyond.
Navigating the Application Process
Coscine is the go-to platform for research data management because it enables researchers to manage research (meta)data in a FAIR manner and also provides access to storage space on DataStorage.nrw. Currently, Coscine is available to all participating universities in the DH.NRW consortium as well as NFDI consortia.
Researchers can submit storage space requests, which are then reviewed by RDM staff. To ensure a fair distribution of storage space among researchers at participating universities, there are established criteria for both the application and the review process. Among other things, the process involves a review of the storage space request by RDM staff at the researcher’s home institution, followed by a review by RDM staff at another university. In the event of questions, contact with researchers is always handled by RDM staff at the home institution, enabling targeted and close support.
Researchers can use the Coscine Selection Policy as a guide when applying for storage space. The Selection Policy is structured to follow the questions in the storage space application, thereby covering all aspects of the application and addressing any potential questions that may arise while filling it out as effectively as possible.
Training and Support for Reviewers
Reviewers of storage space applications are trained by Coscine Service Management in a full-day session. In addition, there are review guidelines as well as a guide for consultation meetings. The review guidelines contain detailed information on the criteria that must be considered. The integrated text modules also make it easier to contact researchers if questions arise. A checklist at the end of the document provides an additional overview. Furthermore, the guide for consultation meetings serves as a reference in specific consultation situations to best advise researchers on using Coscine and applying for storage space.
All of the documents mentioned result from the implementation of the RDM-Storage.nrw management concept.
Feedback Welcome
The numerous views and downloads of the documents demonstrate that they are well-received by both reviewers and researchers. We are very pleased that the review guidelines have already been downloaded approximately 400 times and the Selection Policy approximately 250 times. If you have any feedback or general comments on the policy documents presented here, please feel free to send us an email.
Responsible for the content of this article are Katja Jansen and Arlinda Ujkani.
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