Introducing Kay Bjornen: The New Research Data Initiatives Librarian

A Library Future Series post from February 13, 2017, highlighted the work done to establish data management services on the Oklahoma State campus. The post explained the survey and data collection process that was used to identify needs and target services that were most needed by researchers here at OSU. Since then there have been several important developments.

One of them is that I was hired to serve as a full-time data services librarian. My name is Kay Bjornen, and I joined the library as a Research Data Initiatives Librarian in February. I bring a Ph.D. in chemistry and a long career in research and data management with me. Since research support and data management are my sole responsibilities (at least for now), I have had the opportunity to knock on doors and introduce myself to many of the departments on campus that carry on data intensive research. I want to make sure that faculty and students know I am here, and I am anxious to assist with any needs they may have. If I haven’t made it to your department yet, feel free to reach out. Or just hold tight, I plan to get there as soon as possible.

One of the questions I have been asked is "Why is the library doing this?" The answer is research is changing and so are libraries. Researchers have access to a wealth of information resources and need less assistance to conduct their literature searches, chase down interlibrary loan items and answer reference questions. Information is increasingly online and digital so librarians are comfortable with electronic information sources of all kinds. It is also true that in the era of "Big Data," there are more and more challenges in managing research outputs. These include describing, storing, securing, organizing and sharing data. The library is a natural partner in these things. That’s why we are working to get the word out about the services we offer.

I am excited to be here at OSU and anxious to contribute to the research community. Do you have any questions about how the library can help you with your research? Feel free to post them here or check out the research data services we offer on the library website. My contact information is there and so is a consultation form you can fill out with the information I need to help you with your research data dilemma.

Post by Kay Bjornen, Research Data Initiatives Librarian

Data Management Research

In 2016, the Research & Learning Services department took on a campuswide research project. The goal of this project was to determine how new, tenure-track faculty manage their data. We recently spoke with Cinthya Ippoliti, Associate Dean for Research & Learning Services, about this research into data management and how to better the management process across the Oklahoma State campus.

For this research, the group interviewed 31 faculty across campus. They were pleased to receive feedback from 12 percent of those who received an invitation.

Participants were asked questions like:

• Do any of your funding sources require you to draft a management plan?
• What type of data do you generate?
• How often and how do you share your data with others?
• What happens to your data after the research project has concluded?

Once all the feedback was collected, the faculty responses were divided among RLS librarians, examined and condensed to a spreadsheet for ease of access. Upon its completion, the group met to discuss the results that surfaced during the interview process. They found that most of the participants did not have a data management plan in place and mainly stored their data on hard drives.

From this, the group discovered several needs. These included data storage solutions for smaller data sets; training on creating data management plans, file naming conventions and file organization schemas; and answers to questions about data sharing and re-purposing methods and tools.

Using a design-thinking process, the group developed ideas to better the Research Data Services program and provide data management solutions for researchers. There is now an outlet of resources for managing data and developing the skills necessary to increase impact of research findings.

The services offered by the Research Data Services are data information literacy, data storage and management support; metadata & documentation, institutional repository and data visualization; research impact, workshops and consultations.

Cinthya Ippoliti specializes in the workshops, consultations and data management plans, and Nicole Sump-Crethar works with metadata, institutional repository and data curation. Both can be contacted through Research Data Services.

Post by Jennifer Barnett, E-Communications Intern for OSU Library Communications