The Conceptual Landscape of Digital Curation Assignment

Assignment Task

Purpose

To posit a discussion about digital curation; its definition and description as a developing field in information science.

Related literature

The research explored an extensive 201 literatures. One key issue outlined in the article is the inundation of data in our society and how researchers are grappling with the task of churning the data into scientific output (Gantz, 2008; Haendel, Vasilevsky & Wirz, 2012). Another important concept discussed in the paper is “digital dark age” as referenced in Bollacker (2010). Digital dark age refers to a phenomenon where data is lost due to the evolvement of technology; historical information is lost because file formats, software and hardware are either outdated or corrupted. Digital curation was another broadly explained concept, defined as a terminology that encompasses digital preservation, data curation and assets management all through its life cycle (Lee & Tibbo, 2007; Yakel, 2007). The authors posit that data has several meanings and can be defined by format, origin, degree of processing and its potential reproducibility. Some others define it in terms of its operations akin to OIAS and DDI models (open archival information systems and data documentation initiative) as recorded in Borgam (2015). The author explains how metadata is very vital to digital curation by providing a controlled vocabulary and acting as a “holy grail” for sharing and reusing of data (Harvey, 2010; Edwards, Mayernik, Batcheller, Bowker, & Borgman, 2011). The study touches other pertinent topics such as data reuse and sharing, researchers and researcher behavior and scholarly communication.

Research design or strategy

The strategy adopted was to explore studies done on digital curation so as to proffer ideas on how to improve ROI with regards to work on data.

Results, Discussions, and Conclusions

Pertinent discussions were offered concerning the data originators, sharing and reusing of the data; the fact that the originators seem to do all the job while the researchers who reuse the data reap the benefit. The study illuminates the act of within and across disciplinary use of data and the need for data curation to also follow the pattern of flowing across and within disciplines. This then metamorphoses into new scholarly communication and communities of practice. Scholarly communication may take the form of “cyberscholarship” which has its foundation in the interdisciplinary knowledge discovery in a collaborative manner. It can also take the form of scholarly publication and citation. Citation as noted by Mooney & Newton (2012), promotes scholarly productivity and incentivizes sharing and reuse. The study also discusses the legal implication of intellectual property rights with respect to digital curation since countries’ copyright laws and variance in disciplinary practices exist. The author elaborates on the four infrastructural pillars of digital curation life cycle which are archives, centers and institutional repositories (IRs). The paper talks about the development of “digital curation profiles” (DCPs) by Purdue University which provides information about data creation and/or use and the digital curation requirements by the research community.

The author underscores the need for appropriate standards, governance and policies, sustainability, outreach and risk management, evaluation and metrics as key success factors of digital curation.

Contributions

The paper gives an in-depth exposé of digital and data curation. Though conceptual in nature and focuses on Anglo-America, the study offers a good framework for digital curation which can be used by different stakeholders, sectors and disciplines. The author also offers various possible future research areas for archivists, scholars and digital curators.

Critical Analysis

This paper is very extensive. I particularly like the facets that the author brings with regards to digital curation; its needs, issues and responsibilities. The sub-topics feed into each other and create a nice synergy that makes the paper relatable and easy to read. This being my first exposure to data and digital curation, I must say that the author did a good job and has drawn my interest in the area.

Questions to Discuss

The author touches on the interdisciplinary nature of data and how archivists are tempted to store this data in discipline-specific repositories. How do archivists currently store data for interdisciplinary studies?

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