Comments on: On the Harvard Dataverse Network Project (and why it’s awesome)

By: Maria Silva

Maria Silva — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 21:23:14 +0000

I recently deposited data with the Dataverse Network and I made sure to deposit all of my data files in subsettable format, exactly for the reason Libbie mentions above: preservation. So I'm a bit confused.

Libbie, are you saying the files in this format are not in preservable format? I was also informed all my files would be accessible with any changes in file format...Is this also incorrect?

Libbie-how should one check metadata? Do you have an example? I tried to use as many field as possible that Dataverse provided with their DDI codebook so that all questions relevant to my data set were answered.

I personally enjoyed the easy of going in, having my own space, and being able to share my data so easily.

By: Samuel Moore

Samuel Moore — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 20:06:34 +0000

Thanks, Libbie and Ann. It's interesting that you both (correctly) pick up on the same point.

It was certainly naive of me to imply that the Dataverses are a long-term solution for managing research data, though they do have value for at least getting researchers to approach these issues for themselves, as in many fields data simply isn't being shared. As you know, proper data curation can take time to administer, so perhaps the Dataverses can be seen as an intermediate solution here.

Thanks again.

By: Libbie Stephenson

Libbie Stephenson — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 19:27:33 +0000

I am a big user of Dataverse as a tool for providing public access to faculty-generated data. I was struck by the comment that Dataverse "empowers individual communities to manage their own research data". I am a data archivist and I have found that researchers are not managing their data for the long term. Dataverse does not (yet) provide the kind of curatiorial processes that are necessary to maintain usability. I would be hesitant to suggest that it is a tool for preservation because there is no way to check metadata, verify that the data and documentation match, ensure the file formats are usable over time. etc.. Most researchers do not have the resources to do this work; it is important to work with curators or archivists and not rely solely on Dataverse. Otherwise it does offer some options for collaboration and for short term sharing of data.

By: Ann Green

Ann Green — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:40:08 +0000

Researchers who submit to and repurpose content from data repositories like Dataverse and Dryad, as opposed to ICPSR and other data archives, need to remember that there is no curatorial review in terms of checking documentation, code, and data for things like disclosure avoidance, missing or inadequate data, proprietary file formats, or documentation required for transparency compliance. That means it falls in the hands of researchers to take on the responsibility for preparing data for sharing, with the data, documentation and code properly vetted prior to submission. This is not a small commitment. For self archiving, it is important to get a data curator on board and, as much as possible, follow the guidelines from archives like ICPSR to produce high quality content that can stand the test of time and be independently usable for as long as possible.