ISSN 2161-3974 JeSLIB 2017; 6(1): e1104

doi:10.7191/jeslib.2017.1104

Full-Length Paper

An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding

Researchers’ Data Management Practices at UVM: Integrated Findings to
Develop Research Data Services

Elizabeth A. Berman

Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

*Formerly Library Associate Professor, University of Vermont

Abstract

This article reports on the integrated findings of an exploratory sequential mixed methods
research design aimed to understand data management behaviors and challenges of faculty at
the University of Vermont (UVM) in order to develop relevant research data services. The
exploratory sequential mixed methods design is characterized by an initial qualitative phase of
data collection and analysis, followed by a phase of quantitative data collection and analysis,
with a final phase of integration or linking of data from the two separate strands of data. A joint
display was used to integrate data focused on the three primary research questions: How do
faculty at UVM manage their research data, in particular how do they share and preserve data
in the long-term?; What challenges or barriers do UVM faculty face in effectively managing
their research data?; and What institutional data management support or services are UVM
faculty interested in? As a result of the analysis, this study suggests four major areas of
research data services for UVM to address: infrastructure, metadata, data analysis and
statistical support, and informational research data services. The implementation of these
potential areas of research data services is underscored by the need for cross-campus
collaboration and support.

Correspondence: Elizabeth A. Berman: [email protected]

Keywords: data management, mixed methods research, qualitative research, quantitative
research, research data services, academic libraries
Rights and Permissions: Copyright Berman © 2017

All content in Journal of eScience Librarianship, unless otherwise noted, is licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Introduction

In 2014, the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Research Planning and
Review Committee published its biennial review of the top trends in academic libraries. Under
the trend of Data: New Initiatives and Collaborative Opportunities, the authors wrote,
“Increased emphasis on open data, data plan managing, and ‘big data’ research are creating
the impetus for academic institutions from colleges to research universities to develop and
deploy new initiatives, service units, and resources to meet scholarly needs at various stages
of the research process” (2014, 294). Two years later, data remained a top trend, explicitly
highlighting the development of research data services by academic libraries, who are
stepping into the role of service providers for research data management largely as a result of
federal funding agency mandates (ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee 2016).

Research data management (RDM) is defined as, “the organisation of data, from its entry to
the research cycle through to the dissemination and archiving of valuable results” (Whyte and
Tedds 2011, 1), and borrowing from Tenopir et al (2015), “refers to the broad suite of services
or processes involving data, including services that assist with data management planning,
finding repositories for both accessing and depositing data, metadata description, and
preservation” (3). Pinfield, Cox, and Smith (2014) further elaborate, stating that RDM is, “a
highly complex set of activities involving an array of technical challenges as well as a large
number of cultural, managerial, legal and policy issues” (3).

RDM has become a topic of scholarly interest for academic libraries, with numerous published
studies looking at researchers’ current data management practices (Table 1). To date, these
studies clearly align with either qualitative research methods, including interviews, focus
groups, and document analyses, or quantitative research methods, in the form of a survey or
questionnaire. The majority of these studies were conducted prior to government mandates
requiring grant applicants to account for the sharing and long-term preservation of data, a key
stimulus for academic libraries to address RDM (Fearon et al. 2013).

These environmental scans of RDM have provided the impetus for institutional-level decisions
on the development of research data services. Extending beyond RDM, research data services
(RDS), also referred to as research data management services (RDMS), is defined by Fearon
et al (2013) as, “providing information, consulting, training or active involvement in: data
management planning, data management guidance during research (e.g. advice on data
storage or file security), research documentation and metadata, research data sharing and
curation (selection, preservation, archiving, citation) of completed projects and published
data” (12).

Several models have been developed to provide structure to RDS. Jones, Pryor, and Whyte
(2013) of the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) developed the Components of RDM Support
Services model that connects guidance, training, and support services to the different stages
of research, including: support for data management planning, managing active data, data
selection and handover, and sharing and preserving data, including data repositories. Pinfield,
Cox, and Smith (2014) developed a library-oriented model of institutional RDM that focuses on
Institutional Drivers (i.e. Why should institutions engage with RDM?), Stakeholders (i.e. Who is
involved in the institutional RDM program?), Influencing Factors (i.e. How will the program be

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Table 1: Comparison of methods used in data management studies

*Multiple methods used in single study

Method Author(s) Institution Sample Size

Diekmann (2012) The Ohio State University 14 participants
Lage, Losoff, and Maness
University of Colorado Boulder 26 participants
(2011)
Marcus et al (2007)* University of Minnesota 7 participants
Peters and Dryden (2011) University of Houston 10 participants
Interviews Walters (2009) Georgia Institute of Technology 5 participants
Westra (2010) University of Oregon 25 participants
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Williams (2013) 7 participants
Champaign
Purdue University
Witt et al (2009) University of Illinois at Urbana- 19 participants
Champaign

Bardyn, Resnick, and Camina University of California Los 2 groups

(2012) Angeles 8 participants
18 groups
Marcus et al (2007)* University of Minnesota
Focus Groups 65 participants
2 groups
Mattern et al (2015) University of Pittsburgh
8 participants
5 groups
McLure et al (2014) Colorado State University
31 participants

Mischo, Schlembach, and University of Illinois at Urbana-

1,260 documents
O’Donnell (2014) Champaign
Document Analysis Parham et al (2016) multi-institution 500 documents

Parham and Doty (2012) Georgia Institute of Technology 181 documents

13 questions
Akers and Doty (2013) Emory University
330 respondents
SUNY College of Environmental
---
D’Ignazio and Qin (2008) Science & Forestry
111 respondents
Syracuse University
Diekema, Wesolek, and 16 questions
multi-institution
Walters (2014) 196 respondents
Parham, Bodnar, and Fuchs ---
Georgia Institute of Technology
(2012) 63 respondents
Survey Scaramozzino, Ramírez, and California Polytechnic State Uni- 18 questions
McGaughey (2012) versity, San Luis Obispo 82 respondents
43 questions
Steinhart et al (2012) Cornell University
86 respondents
23 questions
Tenopir et al (2011) multi-institution
1,329 respondents
Weller and Monroe-Gulick ---
University of Kansas
(2014) 415 respondents
Whitmire, Boock, and Sutton 29 questions
Oregon State University
(2015) 443 respondents

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shaped?), and Programme Components (i.e. What strategies, policies, guidelines, processes,
technologies, and services does an RDM program consist of?).

Beyond the theoretical, numerous articles have been published either detailing the status of
RDS implementation across institutions or case studies highlighting RDS within an institution.
The plethora of research studies on this topic establish that RDS has been a library-driven
initiative to date. Recent studies have provided a somewhat contradictory perspective on the
adoption of RDS at colleges and universities. A recent study of ACRL library directors shows
that almost 75% of survey respondents were not involved in RDS (Tenopir et al. 2015). These
numbers changed little from an earlier study, completed in 2011, that assessed the percentage
of libraries that currently offer, plan to offer, or do not plan to offer RDS, and which revealed
that there was little or no demand for RDS from patrons at many institutions (Tenopir, Birch,
and Allard 2012). Conversely, a separate study of science librarians affiliated with ARL libraries
found that approximately 60% of respondents indicated that their university provided data
management assistance, and approximately 20% were planning such services (Antell et al.
2014).

Despite the conflicting accounts reported, library directors in Tenopir et al’s 2015 study agree
that the issues of RDM are important, and that directors at research institutions in particular
see that the library needs to participate in RDS in order to remain relevant within their
academic institution. In one study, it was suggested that, “the absence of RDS would
adversely affect the institution's perception of the library in terms of relevance and prestige,
that provision of RDS would augment the institution's research impact, and that the absence of
RDS would put the institution at a disadvantage for grants” (Tenopir et al. 2014, 86). MacColl
(2010) wrote that, “Without the assistance of the library to curate, advise on and preserve the
manifold outputs of [scholarly] activity, while individual scholars may still manage to thrive and
build their reputations, they will do so within an impoverished infrastructure for scholarship,
using a compromised archive, and their legacy to future scholars will be insecure” (167).

Case studies of current RDS illuminate the role academic libraries have been playing in RDM.
Raboin, Reznik-Zellen, and Salo (2012) write about the experiences, challenges, and
opportunities of developing institutional RDS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the
University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Tufts University. Two articles highlight RDS at the
Johns Hopkins University: the development of data management services encompassing data
storage, data archiving, data preservation, and data curation, and the development of data
management consultation services (Varvel and Shen 2013). Rice and Haywood (2011) discuss
the University of Edinburgh’s process of drafting a university policy related to RDM, while
Wilson et al (2011) highlight the implementation of data management infrastructure at the
University of Oxford. Fearon et al (2013) include a list of detailed case studies and selected
resources in their ARL SPEC Kit 334: Research Data Management Services.

What becomes clear through the breadth of articles and case studies published on this topic is
that there is no prescriptive, out-of-the-box approach to RDS for institutions to adopt, and that
any service developed needs to be relevant to each institution’s population. The 2010 ARL
report findings state, “There is great diversity in the strategies employed by institutions to
address the needs of their researchers. Current strategies range from a decentralized series of
data support services in a variety of departments or units to the creation of committees to
discuss campus data needs and services along with the creation of centralized data centers to

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provide that support. The diversity of response reflects the needs and culture of the
institutions, which is to be expected” (Soehner, Steeves, and Ward 2010, 20). Weller and
Monroe-Gulick (2014) write, “Rather than adopt a blanket, ‘one-size fits’ all model, these
research data services should be provided with a detailed and nuanced understanding of their
users” (467), and Raboin, Reznik-Zellen, and Salo (2012) concur, noting “there is no single
foolproof template that will produce a successful service everywhere” (138).

Study Design

Qualitative research methodologies are used to explore why or how a phenomenon occurs, to
develop a theory, or describe the nature of an individual’s experience, while quantitative
methodologies address questions about causality, generalizability, or magnitude of effect
(Fetters, Curry, and Creswell 2013). Mixed methods research, frequently referred to as the
‘third methodological orientation’ (Teddlie and Tashakkori 2008), draws on the strengths of
both qualitative and quantitative research. While there is no universal definition of mixed
methods research, Creswell and Plano Clark (2011) outline its core characteristics: In a single
research study, both qualitative and quantitative strands of data are collected and analyzed
separately, and integrated – either concurrently or sequentially – to address the research
question. Onwuegbuzie and Combs (2010) concur, writing, “mixed analyses involve the use of
at least one qualitative analysis and at least one quantitative analysis – meaning that both
analysis types are needed to conduct a mixed analysis” (414). Instead of approaching a
research question using the binary lens of quantitative or qualitative research, the mixed
methods research approach has the ability to advance the scholarly conversation by drawing
on the strengths of both methodologies.

In this study, an exploratory sequential mixed method research (MMR) design was selected in
order to broadly explore and understand data management practices, behaviors, and
preferences of faculty at the University of Vermont (Figure 1). This research was guided by
four research questions:

RQ1: How do faculty at UVM manage their research data, in particular how do
they share and preserve data in the long-term? (qualitative and quantitative)

RQ2: What challenges or barriers do UVM faculty face in effectively managing

their research data? (qualitative and quantitative)

RQ3: What institutional data management support or services are UVM faculty
interested in? (quantitative)

RQ4: How do researchers’ attitudes and beliefs towards the data management
planning process influence their data management behaviors, in particular, how
do they intend to share and preserve their data? (quantitative)

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Figure 1: Exploratory sequential mixed methods research design

In an exploratory design, qualitative data is first collected and analyzed, and themes are used
to drive the development of a quantitative instrument to further explore the research problem
(Creswell and Plano Clark 2011; Teddlie and Tashakkori 2008; Onwuegbuzie, Bustamante,
and Nelson 2010). As a result of this design, three stages of analyses are conducted: after the
primary qualitative phase, after the secondary quantitative phase, and at the integration phase
that connects the two strands of data and extends the initial qualitative exploratory findings
(Creswell and Plano Clark 2011). This article reports on the final integration phase of the
research.

The primary objective of this research study is to understand researchers’ current behaviors
and challenges related to data management in order to guide the development of research
data services at the University of Vermont. As a result, the analysis of RQ4 is not addressed in
this article as it proposes the development of a bipolar adjective scale to assess attitudes and
beliefs towards the data management planning process in order to measure intention of
implementing formal data management plans.

Qualitative Data Collection & Analysis

In the first phase of this MMR study, data was collected from UVM faculty who received
National Science Foundation (NSF) grants between 2011-2014, and who had submitted a data
management plan (DMP). Primary qualitative data included textual analysis of DMPs (N=35)
and semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample (N=6), reflective of a diversity of
academic disciplines and NSF Directorates. An interview protocol was used to guide the semi-
structured interviews, using the Data Lifecycle Model as a conceptual model (DDI Alliance
Structural Reform Group 2004). The focus of the interviews was on data management
planning, including data management activities (e.g. creation and use of metadata; short-term
storage of data; long-term data storage and preservation; data sharing practices) and related
challenges; and issues of institutional support. Transcripts and data management plans were
entered into HyperRESEARCH 3.5 qualitative data analysis software for coding. The
qualitative data was then coded using a constant comparative method (Charmaz 2006; Glaser

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and Strauss 1967) to elicit themes. A complete description of the qualitative collection and
analysis strategies has been described elsewhere (Berman 2017a).

Quantitative Data Collection & Analysis

Data from the qualitative phase were used to develop a survey instrument for the second
quantitative phase of the MMR study. The survey measured the following dimensions: data
management activities; data management plans; data management challenges; data
management support; attitudes and behaviors towards data management planning; and
demographics. Questions were built from the salient themes that emerged from the qualitative
data analysis, and used the theory of planned behavior (TBP) (Ajzen and Fishbein 2000; Ajzen
2005; Ajzen 1991) as a conceptual underpinning to evaluate attitudes and beliefs towards data
management planning. The survey was deployed to all current UVM faculty and researchers in
an attempt to generalize the findings from the initial qualitative research, which focused only on
successful NSF grantees. A total of 319 respondents completed the survey for a 26.8%
response rate. Survey data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 for descriptive and inferential
statistics. A complete description of the quantitative data collection and analysis strategies
utilized has been described elsewhere (Berman 2017b).

Mixed Methods Data Analysis

The use of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods in a single study is not
sufficient enough to categorize a study as ‘mixed methods.’ It is in the integration or linking of
the two strands of data that defines mixed methods research and highlights its value.
Integration can happen at multiple levels of a study – design-level, methods-level, or
interpretation-level – and can happen in a variety of different ways – connecting, building,
merging, or embedding (Fetters, Curry, and Creswell 2013; Creswell and Plano Clark 2011). In
this study, the first linking of data happened at the design-level with the use of a sequential
design, where the results from the first phase of the research were used to build the second
stage of the research design.

In order to more fully address the research questions interpretation-level integration occurred,
connecting the qualitative data from phase one of the study with the quantitative data from
phase two of the study using a joint display (Table 2). A joint display allows data to be visually
brought together to “draw out new insights beyond the information gained from the separate
quantitative and qualitative results” (Fetters, Curry, and Creswell 2013, 2143). As seen in
Table 2, sample quotes from the qualitative interviews were compared and contrasted to
results from the statistical analyses of the survey data. Points of contention and areas of
convergence between the qualitative and quantitative phases were dissected in the final
analysis phase in order to form meta-interferences, or an overall understanding developed
through integration of data strands (Teddlie and Tashakkori 2008). The connected data was
interpreted within the scope of the study’s purpose: to understand researchers’ current data
management behaviors, challenges, and preferences, in order to guide the development of
RDS at UVM.

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Table 2: Joint display comparison of data from qualitative and quantitative strands
DMP Document
Theme In-Person Interviews1 Survey2
Analysis1
RQ1a. Data “Metadata? I have written  25.7% (N=35) of DMPs  28.1% of survey respondents
Management some things to help the mentioned specific (N= 178) generate metadata
Activities: grad students work with the metadata standards  3.9% (N=178) use known
Metadata data more efficiently. Like, metadata standards
‘Here’s a standard and
here’s a script that checks
to make sure that your files
are conforming to that
standard.’ It’s not very
formalized.”

RQ1b. Data “I like sharing data when it’s  20.0% (N=35) of DMPs  4.0% of survey respondents
Management possible. Sometimes there do not share data (N=208) ‘always’ or ‘often’ do
Activities: are NDAs [non-disclosure because of specific not share data
Data Sharing agreements] on these data sharing restrictions  25.6% (N=199) are
things. It would be nice to  94.3% (N=35) of DMPs ‘significantly limited’ in sharing
make available once we are share data via data because of confidentiality
able to get some papers publications or concerns
out, because there is a presentations  23.8% (N=199) are
notion of being scooped.”
‘significantly limited’ in sharing
data because of lack of time,
personnel, or available
infrastructure
 15.6% (N=199) are
‘significantly limited’ in sharing
data because of intellectual
property concerns
 50.0% of survey respondents
‘always’ or ‘often’ share data
via publications or
presentations

RQ1c. Data “We want to keep [the data]  48.6% of DMPs (N=35)  7.7% of survey respondents
Management around [on external hard deposit data into (N=208) deposit data into
Activities: drives], but it’s not going to repositories repositories
Long-Term Data be updated.”  91.4% of DMPs (N=35)  64.7% of survey respondents
Preservation use hard drives or (N=208) use external hard
external media to store drives or media to store data
data long-term long-term

1 Berman, E. A. (2017a). An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Researchers’

Data Management Practices at UVM: Findings from the Qualitative Phase.
2 Berman, E. A. (2017b). An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Researchers’
Data Management Practices at UVM: Findings from the Quantitative Phase.

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Table 2 (continued): Joint display comparison of data from qualitative and quantitative strands
DMP Document
Theme In-Person Interviews1 Survey2
Analysis1
RQ2. “What do you really get in terms n/a  68.6% of survey respondents
Challenges/ of research support? One of the (N=191) found it ‘easy’ or
Barriers to things I always wonder when I ‘somewhat easy’ to store data
Data get these big grants and I see the short term (5 years or less)
Management overhead taken off is, ‘What does  44.5% (N=191) found it ‘easy’
my overhead fee go towards, or ‘somewhat easy’ to store data
exactly?’ It’s not my desk. It’s not long term (more than 5 years)
these computers. It’s not a fancy
 45.0% (N=191) found it ‘difficult’
mahogany locker at the gym.
or ‘somewhat difficult’ to track
And it’s not for storage, right? So
updates to data (i.e. versioning)
what infrastructure and support
do we get from ETS?”  42.4% (N=191) found it ‘difficult’
or ‘somewhat difficult’ to describe
data
 18.0% of respondents who
have submitted a DMP (N=50)
experience no challenges
with data management

RQ3. Interest “Is it expensive to [deposit data in n/a  69.6% of survey respondents
in Data a data repository]? Because I’m (N=188) found it ‘very important’
Management riding high on these grants now, for UVM to spend resources on
Support & Ser- but ten years from now? Is there statistical/data analysis support
vices a permanent fee? If it’s free, of  55.9% (N=188) found it ‘very
course that would be great.” important’ for UVM to spend
resources on long-term data
“I think the challenge of all these storage
data repositories is your chances
 53.7% (N=188) found it ‘very
of making everyone happy are
important’ for UVM to spend
slim. Slim to none.”
resources on short-term data
storage
 51.6% of survey respondents
(N=192) are interested in DMP
tools and templates
 36.5% (N=192) interested in
institutional data repository

RQ4. "I’ve been on review panels, and n/a  Bipolar adjective scale data to be
Perceptions nobody says anything about the analyzed in future
of/Attitudes data management plan. publications
towards DMPs Everybody reads it to check that
they’re there, but nobody makes
any comment.”
1 Berman, E. A. (2017a). An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Researchers’
Data Management Practices at UVM: Findings from the Qualitative Phase.
2 Berman, E. A. (2017b). An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Researchers’
Data Management Practices at UVM: Findings from the Quantitative Phase.

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Results

Institutional and Study Demographics

The University of Vermont is a public land-grant institution with a student enrollment of 12,000
undergraduate and graduate students and a faculty of 1,200 (University of Vermont 2017).
UVM is a higher research activity Research University (The Carnegie Classification of
Institutions of Higher Education 2017), regionally comparable to Boston College, Drexel
University, Northeastern University, University of Maine, and University of New Hampshire.
UVM Libraries is comprised of two libraries – the Bailey/Howe Library and the Dana Medical
Library – with a FTE of 81.70 and an annual collection budget of approximately $7 million
(UVM Libraries 2015).

Qualitative interview participants were drawn from fields connected to the NSF Directorates or
disciplinary areas that support science and engineering research: Biological Sciences;
Computer & Information Science & Engineering; Education & Human Resources; Engineering;
Geosciences; Mathematical & Physical Sciences; and Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences
(National Science Foundation 2017). Faculty in the sciences represented 80% of the document
analyses (N=35) and 66.7% of the interviews (N=6); the remaining faculty were from the social
sciences. Quantitative survey participants were drawn from across the campus, with STEM
faculty representing 68% of the survey respondents and social sciences and humanities each
representing 16% (N=319). Descriptive statistics comparing these samples can be found in
Table 3.

RQ1. How do faculty at UVM manage their research data, in particular how do they share and
preserve data in the long-term?

Research data management, structured around the Data Lifecycle Model (DDI Alliance
Structural Reform Group 2004), focuses on a variety of activities, including: types of data
collected, data file size, generation and use of metadata, short-term (five years or less) data
storage, long-term (more than five years) data storage and preservation, data retention, and
data sharing practices and limitations. Combining the results from both the qualitative and the
quantitative phases provide a detailed understanding of researcher behaviors at UVM, most
notably that there is no ‘typical’ researcher. Because quantitative and qualitative research
methods are “not inherently linked to any particular inquiry paradigm” (Greene, Caracelli, and
Graham 1989, 256), researchers collect a variety of data sources and demonstrate a variety of
behaviors in managing it, and this diversity has been documented in similar research studies
(Weller and Monroe-Gulick 2014; Whitmire, Boock, and Sutton 2015). For the purposes of this
study, it is worthwhile to focus on three RDM behaviors that are central to federal data sharing
mandates, a prime driver for RDS: the creation and use of metadata; data sharing; and long-
term data preservation.

Evidence from both the qualitative and quantitative strands confirm a general lack of metadata
creation to describe the primary data, very much in line with findings from other published
research (Akers and Doty 2013; Diekema, Wesolek, and Walters 2014; Qin and D’Ignazio
2010; Scaramozzino, Ramírez, and McGaughey 2012; Steinhart et al. 2012; Tenopir et al.
2011; Whitmire, Boock, and Sutton 2015). While approximately half of the data management
plans mentioned metadata, only one-quarter of those directly referenced a known standard,

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Table 3: Descriptive statistics of participants in MMR research study

QUAL QUAL QUAN

Population
Sample: DMP Sample: Interview Sample
Discipline
177 0 0 38
Arts & Humanities 14.9% 0.0% 0.0% 16.0%
236 8 2 38
Social Sciences & Business 19.8% 22.9% 33.3% 16.0%
777 27 4 162
STEM 65.3% 77.1% 66.7% 68.0%
TOTAL 1,190 35 6 238
College3
31 0 0 5
BSAD 2.6% 0.0% 0.0% 2.0%
60 4 1 14
CALS 5.0% 11.4% 16.7% 5.6%
314 15 2 85
CAS 26.4% 42.9% 33.3% 34.1%
77 12 2 18
CEMS 6.5% 34.3% 33.3% 7.2%
64 0 0 19
CESS 5.4% 0.0% 0.0% 7.6%
54 0 0 12
CNHS 4.5% 0.0% 0.0% 4.8%
551 0 0 86
COM 46.3% 0.0% 0.0% 34.5%
39 4 1 10
RSNER 3.3% 11.4% 16.7% 4.0%
TOTAL 1,190 35 6 249
4
Rank
308 n/a 2 59
Full professor 25.9% 33.3% 23.4%
364 n/a 2 81
Associate professor 30.6% 33.3% 32.1%
298 n/a 2 80
Assistant professor 25.0% 33.3% 31.7%
220 n/a 0 32
Other 18.5% 0.0% 12.7%
TOTAL 1,190 35 6 252

Gender
493 6 2 129
Female 41.5% 17.1% 33.3% 51.2%
697 29 4 123
Male 58.5% 82.9% 66.7% 48.8%
TOTAL 1,190 35 6 252
3 BSAD = Business Administration; CALS = Agriculture & Life Science; CAS = Arts & Science;
CEMS = Engineering & Mathematical Sciences; CESS = Education & Social Services;
CNHS = Nursing & Health Sciences; COM = Medicine; RSENR = Environment & Natural Resources.
4 Rank at time of DMP submission was not available.

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such as Darwin Core (DC) or Ecological Metadata Language (EML). These numbers were
even lower in the survey results, with only seven out of 319 total respondents indicating that
they use known metadata standards; these seven respondents had all successfully submitted
DMPs for grant funding. The remaining study participants who used metadata described their
data using standards individually developed, often in the form of ReadMe files or codebooks.

Independently, both strands of data indicate that respondents are willing to share their data
with others outside of their research groups. Despite this willingness to share data, both
phases of the study demonstrate particular obstacles – internal and external – that limit the
sharing of data. For researchers who have submitted DMPs, the issues focused around fear of
misinterpretation, intellectual property concerns, and a variety of legal issues, including
confidential, proprietary, or classified information. The major limitations from the quantitative
phase of the study focused on the ability to maintain confidentiality, the lack of time, personnel,
and tools/infrastructure to make data available, and intellectual property concerns.

The most common data sharing method in both phases of the study were via publications and
presentations; almost one-third of the DMPs were exclusively sharing research data via these
scholarly pathways. Data repositories, which serve a dual function for data sharing and data
preservation, were an infrequent response in both phases of the study. Seventeen out of 218
survey respondents and 17 out of 35 DMPs mentioned depositing data into specific
repositories, such as GenBank or the Long-Term Ecological Research Network (LTER). More
common methods for long-term preservation of data included external hard drives or other
media and campus network servers.

RQ2. What challenges or barriers do UVM faculty face in effectively managing their research
data?

The quantitative research respondents were directly asked to rate their level of difficulty with
specific data management activities, while qualitative participants were prompted to indirectly
discuss challenges they have faced with managing research data more generally. Qualitative
research participants were more likely to focus outward on the lack of University-level support
and infrastructure available for preservation of their data – in particular, storage – while
quantitative survey respondents were more likely to focus inward on organizational issues,
such as tracking updates to data (i.e. versioning), describing data, and ensuring the data were
secure. One discordant finding when integrating the data is that, while interview participants
focused on the lack of short-term storage options for their data, the majority of the survey
respondents (68.6%, N=191) found short-term data storage easy or somewhat easy. In line
with the findings related to use of metadata, approximately 12% of the survey respondents
(N=191) found it easy or somewhat easy to describe data.

Focusing on researchers who have submitted a DMP, the quantitative results expand upon the
results of the qualitative phase. The top challenge identified via the interviews was a lack of
institutional research support, while survey results were more nuanced, showing that a lack of
guidance from the institution on data management and lack of appropriate infrastructure for
long-term data storage were the top challenges. It is also worth noting that of those who have
submitted a DMP, 18% of survey respondents (N=50) indicated they experienced no
challenges managing their data.

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RQ3. What institutional data management support or services are UVM faculty interested in?

While the questions in the qualitative interviews focused more on an institutional data
repository, the survey instrument was used to expand on potential institutional RDS. Using a
structure proposed by Tenopir et al (2014), RDS can be categorized into either informational/
consulting services, such as identifying data repositories or providing DMP templates, or
technical/hands-on services, such as building an institutional data repository or providing
metadata. Table 4 organizes the quantitative data into these two categories.

Table 4: Support for and interest in RDS

Q39 How important do you think it is Q40 Would you be interested in
for UVM to spend resources on any of the following data man-
providing the following services agement support activities? (Yes)
(Very Important)? (N=191) (N=192)
Guidance on privacy/confidentiality Data management plan templates
(46.3%) and tools (51.6%)
Informational website with best
Guidance on writing data management
practices and campus resources
plans (38.9%)
(46.9%)
Guidance on depositing data into data Data management consultation
repository (37.8%) (33.9%)
Guidance on intellectual property Data management plan workshops
issues (36.8%) (27.1%)

Informational/Consulting Guidance on how to use appropriate Tools for sharing research data
metadata standards (36.1%) (26.0%)
Compliance with policies, legal
requires, and ethical standards
(24.0%)
Help identifying repositories to
submit data to (9.9%)
Assistance finding and accessing
secondary data (6.8%)
Information about citing data
resources (3.5%)

Provision of statistical and other data Data storage and preservation

analysis support (69.6%) (50.0%)

Data security support (58.7%) Institutional data repository (36.5%)

Assistance meeting data sharing
Long-term data storage (more than 5 and/or data management
years) (56.8%) requirements of funding agencies
Technical/Hands-On (28.1%)
Short-term data storage (5 years or
Producing metadata (13.5%)
less) (55.2%)
Provision of advanced computing
Data set purchasing (9.4%)
options (41.5%)
Acquiring unique identifiers for data Assistance in selecting data to
sets (26.5%) preserve for the long-term (7.8%)

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Combining qualitative and quantitative results, faculty at UVM show high levels of interest in
and support for technical RDS. The need for storage infrastructure has been enumerated
above, and is confirmed with 50.0% of survey respondents showing interest in “data storage
and preservation.” For services that the institution should devote resources to, more than
two-thirds of the respondents mentioned “provision of statistical and other data analysis
support,” followed by “data security support,” “long-term data storage,” and “short-term data
storage.” Approximately one-third of survey respondents showed interest in the creation of an
institutional data repository; this neither confirms nor contradicts the attitudes expressed during
the interviews regarding data repositories, but provides a complicated view of the data to
consider in the development of RDS. And while metadata has proven challenging for
participants in the study, there was little interest in guidance on metadata creation or in
services that produce metadata.

The survey also elicited data on informational RDS. Approximately half of the survey
respondents indicated interest in both “data management plan templates and tools” and an
“informational website with best practices and campus resources.” While these do-it-yourself
tools were rated highly by respondents, educational opportunities – including consultations and
workshops – yielded far less interest. Likewise, assistance identifying data repositories, finding
secondary data, and citing data prompted negligible interest as well.

Discussion

In line with the pragmatic impetus for this research study, it is useful to discuss the significance
of findings in relation to the ultimate aim of the study: to develop research data management
services at UVM. RDS includes a wide range services from informational, including data
management plan support and data management best practices, to technical, including
metadata, data sharing and access, data storage and backup, data security, research file
organization and naming, and data citation. Martin (2015) writes, “[Research data] services
need to go beyond helping researchers and grant writers develop required Data Management
Plans. Services must extend beyond the planning phase to ongoing education about how to
organize and manage the data, and offering services for preserving and archiving, as well as
analytical and other statistical consultation services” (3). As a result of the integrated analysis,
there are four major research data services to be considered by UVM: infrastructure,
metadata, statistical support, and informational services.

Infrastructure

Uncertainty and confusion were pervasive in the qualitative and quantitative results as to what
storage infrastructure is available to UVM faculty. The volume of data being created by
researchers for a single project is typically quite small, with the majority of projects averaging
less than 100 gigabytes; only a small subset of researchers routinely handle more than 1
terabyte of data. A particular outcome of this ‘small data’ research is an over-reliance on
computer, laptop, or external hard drives both for short- and long-term storage solutions, a
concern noted elsewhere in the literature (Pinfield, Cox, and Smith 2014; Whitmire, Boock, and
Sutton 2015). The cost of data storage, for any length of time, appears to be a driving factor
when considering data storage options. The qualitative interviews demonstrated concerns
about costs of data repositories and confusion about the amount of ‘free’ storage campus IT
provides. One respondent from the survey commented, “Data is stored on laboratory

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computers. This is indefinite storage and doesn’t require any funds.” This is a naïve, but
common, belief that doesn’t account for data expiration or technical failure.

Storage is seen as both a high priority that UVM needs to address, but also a relatively easy
activity for the majority of researchers to manage. This contradiction has several potential
causes: the blanket use of the term ‘storage’ by researchers represents both short-term and
long-term storage (preservation), conflating the issue; the relatively common practice of
researchers to buy additional storage space using personal funds; and confusion as to what
infrastructure resources are currently available through UVM. It could also suggest that, while
storage is easy to manage, compromises are being made in how data is stored and that
researchers are envisioning a system that better meets their needs.

For grant-funded researchers, the issue of storage becomes more acute. As one survey
respondent wrote, “We as researchers are the stewards of the data on NIH grants but in fact
the University owns the data and is responsible for its backup, storage, and maintenance for
the length of time required by federal regulations,” while another directly stated, “I believe the
university should pay for the data storage if they want to associate their name or claim co-
ownership of the data. They like when the UVM affiliation appears on a high profile paper but
they do not currently contribute to the preservation of that data or research.” Underlying these
statements is a key question: What infrastructure needs should be guaranteed to researchers
at UVM?

Based on the mixed responses in both strands of data, developing an institutional data
repository – which would help account for long-term data preservation as well as data sharing
– is not a priority solution for UVM at this time. UVM’s institutional repository, ScholarWorks @
UVM, was launched in 2013 and is still gaining traction within the academic community; the
lukewarm support for a data repository observed in the integrated analysis suggests that
creating a data repository would have a negligible effect towards addressing researchers’
challenges and concerns. Yet it should remain an area for the University to pay particular
attention to; several interview participants who had submitted DMPs were excited by the idea
of an institutional data repository, and as more faculty are required to submit formal data
management plans, the scales may continue to tip in this direction.

A more pressing matter seen in the two strands of data is the overall state of UVM’s
technological infrastructure. The qualitative interviews highlighted how “woefully understaffed”
campus IT was, which parallels a comment from the survey: “The fragmented and
understaffed nature of UVM IT offices is another major hurdle to research and data
management. I think UVM would do well to work on improving its basic technology
infrastructure and IT staffing before, or at least in conjunction with, more specialized
opportunities.” Multiple survey respondents commented on the difficulty of sharing files and
research data within research groups due to inadequate infrastructure – a sentiment also
expressed during the interviews – noting it would be near impossible to share the same files
externally. While there are no easy or immediate solutions for UVM, addressing infrastructure
and storage issues has proved to be a major leverage point at other institutions to garner
support and action around RDM activity (Pinfield, Cox, and Smith 2014; Raboin,
Reznik-Zellen, and Salo 2012).

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Metadata

Metadata proved to be a significant challenge for researchers in both phases of the study,
whether directly acknowledged or not. In particular, there is a notable discordance between
direct questions about researchers’ use – or disregard – of metadata standards, challenges
researchers face in describing data, and researchers’ desire for metadata support or services.
In looking at the connected results for RQ1, it is worthwhile to note that the requirement of
DMPs as part of the grant proposal process has raised the awareness of the need for
describing data and available metadata schema; as more granting agencies require formal
DMPs, it is reasonable to assume that awareness will continue to grow.

At the same time, it is clear that the ‘why’ of metadata – not just the ‘what’ of metadata – needs
to be further contextualized and supported for researchers to understand that structured
metadata is essential to helping others find, access, and make sense of data. This study’s
ambiguous understanding of metadata suggests that researchers are either unfamiliar with the
term ‘metadata’ or are unable to adhere to the protocols of metadata schema for any number
of reasons. This latter point, in particular, may be better understood by further analysis of the
bipolar adjective scale measuring attitudes and intentions towards data management.

The issue of unfamiliarity with metadata generally or metadata schema specifically has
provided opportunity for outreach and engagement for some institutions (Whitmire, Boock, and
Sutton 2015), yet it’s notable that a study at Cornell University found that nearly two-thirds of
survey respondents would not use a metadata service, regardless of cost (Steinhart et al.
2012). Given personnel constraints within the UVM Libraries, the low levels of interest
demonstrated in the survey, and a lack of RDS at even the most basic level, this would not be
a productive area for UVM to address in the near-term. Survey respondents indicated that
funding agency websites were their main source of guidance when they had questions about
creating DMPs; it is fair to suggest that these agencies bear greater responsibility in providing
sufficient information so that researchers can successfully meet funding requirements. And, as
study participants indicated, the RDM needs of researchers are so different across – and even
within – disciplines that a top-down approach to metadata education and support may be a
moot point if metadata is not being addressed in a meaningful way from the bottom-up within
communities of practice.

Data Analysis and Statistical Support

An unexpected finding of this research was the high level of importance survey respondents
gave for the University providing data analysis and statistical support. UVM currently offers a
free Statistical Consulting Clinic (SCC) for faculty and students, providing a range of services
across all stages of research. For ‘big data’ users, the institution also established the Vermont
Advanced Computing Core (VACC), a research facility offering high-performance computing
for complex data sets, with three tiers of service that move from free to fee-based. While the
latter is promoted by the Office of the Vice President for Research and is heavily utilized by
specific disciplines, including complex systems, computer science, physics, and health
sciences, it is unclear the extent to which campus constituents are aware of the SCC. In an
informal interview with the director of the SCC in the first phase of this study, he said: “For the
most part, I depend on word of mouth. Since it’s just me and I’m really very busy anyway, if I
were to advertise… I’m afraid I would go crazy.”

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While not explicitly addressed in the interview protocol, during the qualitative phase several
researchers mentioned their use of external statistical consultants, paid for by their grant; the
expectation of external funds covering such auxiliary services was likewise reiterated in
conversations with UVM’s Vice President for Research. Yet this expectation is not a reality for
many researchers. During the interview with the director of the SCC, he shared that he works
with faculty across a broad spectrum of disciplines - psychology, social work, geography,
agriculture, natural resources, and engineering were all mentioned – who conduct research
without grants or newer faculty who haven’t secured grant funding yet.

Separately but interconnected, institutional support of high performance computing, potentially

to the detriment of more basic support and infrastructure, was critiqued by one survey
respondent who wrote, “We shouldn’t forget that Humanities, Arts, and Social Scientists have
technology needs, too, and they should, arguably, be more easily supported because their
needs are more modest.” This is a fair critique: the director of the SCC said, “I’d love to have
some help, but I don’t see that happening. But I could really use more assistance.” They
continued by stating that when they retire in a few years, they are concerned that their
positions will not be replaced, leaving a noticeable void in statistical support on campus. As
UVM grapples with RDS now and into the future, it will be important to address and serve the
needs of all faculty researchers, and it is clear from the survey data that data analysis and
statistical support is an area to pay particular attention to.

Informational Research Data Services

Demand for informational RDS, typically provided by academic libraries, was notably lower
than demand for technical RDS, as outlined above. While data management consultations and
workshops had lukewarm support, do-it-yourself services such as an informational website or
data management (DMP) templates and tools were popular. In particular, the latter could be
addressed by a local installation of DMPTool, a software solution that would provide UVM-
specific sample documents and language that allow researchers to create high-quality DMPs
to meet funder requirements. While the Office of Sponsored Programs website offers some
information related to data management, the Biology researcher noted the difficulty in locating
relevant information during their interview:

There’s no coordination, and there’s no information about who to go to when you

have [questions about data management]. If you go to the UVM web page about
research it’s all about the money. How to get the money. How to get the patent.
How to spend the money. It’s not about the support that people need once they’re
doing the research or to do what they need to do after they get the money.

The development of an informational website specifically geared towards data management,

that pulls together information from these disparate stakeholders and focuses on support,
could prove an effective foundation for establishing future RDS. This same website could
serve as a portal to educate researchers on relevant federal data sharing mandates, as well as
available disciplinary or other data repositories.

At UVM, there is a strong possibility that the library is not currently perceived as a key
stakeholder in RDS. A top challenge reported in Fearon et al’s 2013 multi-institutional study
showed faculty non-engagement in data management activities was due to a lack of

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awareness of library RDS. Similarly, Whitmire, Boock, and Sutton (2015) noted that one of the
biggest challenges at Oregon State University has been a lack of visibility on campus of library
-provided research data services, such as reviewing data management plans. In a study at Cal
Poly, San Luis Obispo, Scaramozzino, Ramírez, and McGaughey (2012) found that faculty
were interested in RDS but the library was not perceived as the resource to provide such
services. One survey respondent wrote in this study, “It definitely would be helpful to have
[data management] resources available. I wrote my DMP unsure of what support UVM could
offer in writing the plan and ultimately storing and sharing the data. If any support or guidance
is available, it should be accessible through SPA and/or IRB where researchers need to go
anyway for funded research.”

This evidence builds towards the necessity of outreach in RDS, and particularly engaging with
administration and faculty researchers about the role libraries can play in data management,
as well as the need for collaboration with more ‘visible’ stakeholders on campus. Any
successful endeavor at UVM would need to be the result of strategic collaboration between
various stakeholders, including the Office of the Vice President for Research, campus IT, legal
counsel, sponsored projects administration, and the libraries. This need for collaboration is
underscored by the literature. Fearon et al (2013) reports on potential challenges with
collaboration: “In order to provide comprehensive RDM services and to support scientists
throughout the data lifecycle, libraries need to collaborate, either formally or informally, with
other units at the institution… Forming these partnerships is listed as the biggest challenge by
respondents, and in some cases has led to uncertain roles at the institution-level over which
units have primacy over RDM” (20). Tenopir et al (2014) present such work in a more positive
light: “Working with others on campus, as both teachers and joint learners of research data
service specifics, will help the library play a shared role in building the future of research data
at their universities” (89).

This collaboration is key for a pragmatic reason: limited available resources, be it personnel,
time, skills, money, or institutional support (Tenopir et al. 2015). Raboin, Reznik-Zellen, and
Salo (2012) discuss how limited RDS can be without funding, administrative champions, or
appropriate IT infrastructure, while Pinfield, Cox, and Smith (2014) suggest that a lack of
institutional support may be a key reason RDS hasn’t been adopted faster, especially by
academic libraries. Because libraries tend to be the initiators of RDS at higher-education
institutions, Fearon et al (2013) found that academic libraries are absorbing the costs of most
RDM services overall. The key challenges facing many research libraries are both tangible and
social in nature: lack of money and resources, lack of faculty interest, lack of shared campus
values, and the unwillingness of library staff to be retrained to manage data (Scaramozzino,
Ramírez, and McGaughey 2012).

It perhaps is to the institution’s benefit that there is minimal demand for informational RDS at
this time because it begs the question, Who would be providing such services? Like the
majority of academic libraries (Steinhart et al. 2008; Cheek and Bradigan 2010; Fearon et al.
2013; Raboin, Reznik-Zellen, and Salo 2012; Soehner, Steeves, and Ward 2010; Tenopir et al.
2015), UVM Libraries does not have a dedicated data librarian to provide RDS. Instead, any
services would be provided by individual subject librarians, who may or may not have the
specific skills to meaningfully assist with data management. To this end, the breadth and depth
of services offered will be significantly influenced by the available technical skills, advocacy
skills, and research expertise of the librarian. Heidorn (2011) underscores this point: Because

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RDM is heterogeneous in nature, it is very difficult for any single individual to have all the
required knowledge and skills to provide RDS. While the role of outreach – educating faculty
about available RDS – is important, equally important is the notion of ‘inreach,’ educating
librarians about data management (Hswe and Holt 2011). Any consideration of future
informational RDS would therefore need to be accompanied by opportunities for professional
development, both within the libraries but also among campus stakeholders.

Conclusion

The need for data management support and services will continue to grow, especially as more
faculty are being required to directly address RDM in grant applications. While there remains a
question as to whether DMPs are taken seriously within the grant application process – either
in actuality or in perception – there is some evidence to suggest that DMPs are being critically
evaluated on some level: one survey respondent wrote, “I recently submitted an NSF proposal
and was told my data management plan was inadequate but it was the one UVM provided.
The institution needs to catch up as it was a factor in my rejection.” While not all researchers
will be required to submit data management plans, attending to the needs of this subset of the
population will benefit the entire institution. But it remains equally important to not focus
myopically on just federally funded researchers, and stay attuned to the needs of all
researchers, in particular those who do not have funding to support the range of their data
management activities.

The development of research data services at the University of Vermont will requires both a
top-down and bottom-up approach: it needs to respond to need and demand by the
researchers at the institution, but also needs to have leadership and resources provided by
top-level administration in order to be successful. Hopefully, this research will also prove to be
a tipping point internally, clearly demonstrating the need at UVM, not just for collaboration, but
for support of research data management at every level and for every researcher.

The study is not without its limitations. The samples for both strands of data were not fully
representative of the populations of study, and there was potential confusion about key terms
in the study, namely the conflation of data storage and data preservation/curation. Additionally,
one of the more interesting themes to arise from the qualitative phase of the study was the
perception of data management plans and attitudes towards data management planning. This
theme resulted in the creation of a bipolar adjective scale, based on the Theory of Planned
Behavior, to assess attitudes and beliefs towards the data management planning process in
order to measure intention of implementing data management plans. This data has yet to be
fully analyzed, and may uncover new understandings of the impact of DMPs and research
data services, and provide interesting directions for future research studies.

By using an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design to uncover UVM

researchers’ data management practices and the challenges they face in managing digital
data, this study allows for a deeper understanding of UVM researcher needs and to develop a
robust plan to implement research data services that meet these needs. In particular, the
strength of the mixed methods approach allowed for a deep dive into understanding the lived
experiences of researchers’ data management practices via qualitative methods, while using
the results of the qualitative analysis to build a survey instrument to more accurately measure
data management activities at UVM, including behaviors and attitudes toward data

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management planning. The integration of these two strands of data has been crucial to unpack
the salient themes UVM should address through research data services. To date, related
published studies have reflected either a qualitative or quantitative research orientation; this
study successfully provides a model to strategically and systematically link qualitative and
quantitative data into a truly mixed methods research design.

Supplemental Content

An online supplement to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.2017.1104

under “Additional Files”.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks UVM faculty colleague Bernice Garnett, assistant professor, Department of
Education, for her advice and feedback at multiple stages of this study.

Disclosure

The author reports no conflict of interest.

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