We Need a Research Data Census
The increasing volume of research data highlights the need for
reliable, cost-effective data storage and preservation at the national
scale.
Francine Berman
Communications of the ACM
Vol. 53 No. 12, Pages 39-41
10.1145/1859204.1859220
http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2010/12/102121-we-need-a-research-data-census/fulltext"However, to make economic decisions that can drive the cost-effective
development and deployment of the cyberinfrastructure needed to
support long-lived digital data, we need more resolution. This is
particularly important in the research arena, where federal R&D
agencies apportion funding between the competing priorities of
conducting basic research, and creating and supporting the
cyberinfrastructure that enables that research. Just as the U.S.
Census drives planning for infrastructure in the physical world, a
Research Data Census would inform cost-effective planning for
stewardship of federally funded, shared cyberinfrastructure in the
Digital World."
Suggested questions for this census, from the article:
- Number and size distribution of federally funded research data sets
- Type and area distribution of federally funded research data sets
- Needs for preservation
- Common services and tools
- Useful estimates of the storage capacity required for data
stewardship, and a lower bound on data that must be preserved for
future timeframes
- The types of data services most important for research efforts.
- Estimates of the size, training, and skill sets that will be needed
for today’s and tomorrow’s data work force.
Glen Newton
@glennewton
http://zzzoot.blogspot.com/-
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