A framework for contextual information in digital collections

Factors affecting the adoption of integrated semantic digital libraries (SDLs): a systematic review

Purpose

Major objective of the instant study was to investigate the factors affecting the adoption of integrated semantic digital libraries (SDLs). It attempted to find out the challenges faced in implementing semantic technologies in digital libraries. This study also aimed to develop a framework to provide practical solutions to efficiently adopt semantic digital library systems to offer richer data and services.

Design/methodology/approach

To meet the formulated objectives of the study, a systematic literature review was conducted. The authors adhered to the “Preferred Reporting Items for the Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” (PRISMA) guidelines as a research method. The data were retrieved from different tools and databases. In total, 35 key studies were included for systematic review after having applied standard procedures.

Findings

The findings of the study indicated that SDLs are highly significant as they offered context-based information resources. Interoperability of the systems, advancement in bilateral transfer modules, machine-controlled indexing, and folksonomy were key factors in developing semantic digital libraries. The study identified five different types of challenges to build an integrated semantic digital library system. These challenges included ontologies and interoperability, development of a suitable model, diversity in language, lack of skilled human resources, and other technical issues.

Originality/value

This paper provided a framework that is based on practical solutions as a benchmark for policymakers to devise formal standards for the initiation to develop integrated semantic digital libraries.

Improving the usefulness of research data with better paradata

Considerable investments have been made in Europe and worldwide for developing research data infrastructures. Instead of a general lack of data about data, it has become apparent that a pivotal factor that drastically constrains data use is the absence of contextual knowledge about how data was created and how it has been curated and used. This applies especially to many branches of social science and humanities research, where data is highly heterogeneous, both by its kind (e.g. being qualitative, quantitative, naturalistic, purposefully created) and origins (e.g. being historical/contemporary, from different contexts and geographical places). The problem is that there may be enough metadata (data about data) but there is too little paradata (data on the processes of its creation, curation and use). The aim of this position paper is to draw attention 1) to the need for a better and more systematic understanding and documentation of the contexts of creation, curation and use of research data to make it useful and usable for researchers and other potential users in the future, and 2) to specific obstacles that make the capturing of this particular type of metadata, known as paradata, especially difficult. Failing to understand what information about the creation, curation and use of research data is needed and how to capture enough of that information risks that the currently collected vast amounts of research data become useless in the future.

Modelling users’ perceptions of video information seeking, learning through added value and use of curated digital collections

Information seeking research has provided models of users in the search for information across many different contexts and situations. Digital content curation has emerged as a means for managing information and facilitating user learning by adding ‘value’ to digital content in different ways, enhancing the user experience. Using digital video and K–12 education as the context, this study examined factors representing video information seeking, user learning and use of curated video collections both individually and together as user-centred constructs. Two hundred and fifty-two K–12 teachers provided perceptions of their own information seeking processes and for different qualities of curated content and collections within the context of searching digital video for applied purposes. Results extracted underlying factors of these concepts and demonstrated significant relationships between them. Findings enabled the expansion of a model to incorporate both users’ perceptions of information seeking together with user-centred constructs of learning through added value content and use of curated digital collections. Practical implications of the study help establish baselines for future studies for formulating, incorporating and emphasising added value and video curation qualities based on users’ information seeking within the process.

Context from the data reuser’s point of view

Purpose

Taking the researchers’ perspective, the purpose of this paper is to examine the types of context information needed to preserve data’s meaning in ways that support data reuse.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a qualitative study of 105 researchers from three disciplinary communities: quantitative social science, archaeology and zoology. The study focused on researchers’ most recent data reuse experience, particularly what they needed when deciding whether to reuse data.

Findings

Findings show that researchers mentioned 12 types of context information across three broad categories: data production information (data collection, specimen and artifact, data producer, data analysis, missing data, and research objectives); repository information (provenance, reputation and history, curation and digitization); and data reuse information (prior reuse, advice on reuse and terms of use).

Originality/value

This paper extends digital curation conversations to include the preservation of context as well as content to facilitate data reuse. When compared to prior research, findings show that there is some generalizability with respect to the types of context needed across different disciplines and data sharing and reuse environments. It also introduces several new context types. Relying on the perspective of researchers offers a more nuanced view that shows the importance of the different context types for each discipline and the ways disciplinary members thought about them. Both data producers and curators can benefit from knowing what to capture and manage during data collection and deposit into a repository.

Linking historical collections in an event-based ontology

Purpose

This study aims to explore a way of representing historical collections by examining the features of an event in historical documents and building an event-based ontology model.

Design/methodology/approach

To align with a domain-specific and upper ontology, the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) model is adopted. Based on BFO, an event-based ontology for historical description (EOHD) is designed. To define events, event-related vocabularies are taken from the Library of Congress’ event types (2012). The three types of history and six kinds of changes are defined.

Findings

The EOHD model demonstrates how to apply the event ontology to biographical sketches of a creator history to link event types.

Research limitations/implications

The EOHD model has great potential to be further expanded to specific events and entities through different types of history in a full set of historical documents.

Originality/value

The EOHD provides a framework for modeling and semantically reforming the relationships of historical documents, which can make historical collections more explicitly connected in Web environments.

Provenance description of metadata application profiles for long-term maintenance of metadata schemas

Purpose

Provenance information is crucial for consistent maintenance of metadata schemas over time. The purpose of this paper is to propose a provenance model named DSP-PROV to keep track of structural changes of metadata schemas.

Design/methodology/approach

The DSP-PROV model is developed through applying the general provenance description standard PROV of the World Wide Web Consortium to the Dublin Core Application Profile. Metadata Application Profile of Digital Public Library of America is selected as a case study to apply the DSP-PROV model. Finally, this paper evaluates the proposed model by comparison between formal provenance description in DSP-PROV and semi-formal change log description in English.

Findings

Formal provenance description in the DSP-PROV model has advantages over semi-formal provenance description in English to keep metadata schemas consistent over time.

Research limitations/implications

The DSP-PROV model is applicable to keep track of the structural changes of metadata schema over time. Provenance description of other features of metadata schema such as vocabulary and encoding syntax are not covered.

Originality/value

This study proposes a simple model for provenance description of structural features of metadata schemas based on a few standards widely accepted on the Web and shows the advantage of the proposed model to conventional semi-formal provenance description.

Research data management in Switzerland

In this article, the authors report on an ongoing data life cycle management national project realized in Switzerland, with a major focus on long-term preservation. Based on an extensive document analysis as well as semi-structured interviews, the project aims at providing national services to respond to the most relevant researchers’ data life cycle management needs, which include: guidelines for establishing a data management plan, active data management solutions, long-term preservation storage options, training, and a single point of access and contact to get support. In addition to presenting the different working axes of the project, the authors describe a strategic management and lean startup template for developing new business models, which is key for building viable services.

Co-construction of meaning, creative processes and digital curation

Purpose

– The preservation and curation of music with real-time or live electronics is challenging. The goal is not to preserve a recording of the performance but to keep the work alive by providing the means to re-perform them. The purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical and practical outcomes of the documentation, dissemination and preservation of compositions with real-time electronics (DiP-CoRE) project.

Design/methodology/approach

– The methodology combines methods stemming from work psychology and ergonomics with conceptual frameworks constructed according to grounded theory. Data were collected during a six months’ creative process. Subsequent interviews were conducted during confrontations with documents, including observational recordings, sketches and technical specifications.

Findings

– This paper demonstrates the relevance of the proposed documentation methodology for the preservation of contemporary music with live electronics, focussing on the notion of intelligibility. It brings into light the multiple perspective of the documentation of the activity in a multi-agent creative process, which encompasses what was done but also what could have been done.

Research limitations/implications

– The DiP-CoRE project bring to light connections between the notion of intelligibility, the thickness of the activity and boundary objects. The paper proposes further directions of research in order to embed the designed framework within digital repositories.

Practical implications

– The documentation methodology, designed and tested in this paper, proposes a framework for practitioners, building on video-stimulated recall as well as documents produced during the creative process. This framework requires less expertise (but a more important technical setup) than a traditional interview-based documentation framework. It thus provides opportunities for various size organizations to build methodical documentation processes and to further build on distributed expertise with computer-supported collaborative work.

Originality/value

– This paper proposes a new interdisciplinary documentation methodology relevant in the artistic domain, which brings together transmission with objects and by practice. It specifically defines the relation between this proposal and a high-level model for digital curation, namely, the mixed methods digital curation model. It further creates a link between documentation best practice and the ongoing research in the tracking of creative processes.

A conceptual framework for managing very diverse data for complex, interdisciplinary science

Much attention has been given to the challenges of handling massive data volumes in modern data-intensive science. This paper examines an equally daunting challenge – the diversity of interdisciplinary data, notably research data, and the need to interrelate these data to understand complex systemic problems such as environmental change and its impact. We use the experience of the International Polar Year 2007–8 (IPY) as a case study to examine data management approaches seeking to address issues around complex interdisciplinary science. We find that, while technology is a critical factor in addressing the interdisciplinary dimension of the data intensive science, the technologies developing for exa-scale data volumes differ from those that are needed for extremely distributed and heterogeneous data. Research data will continue to be highly heterogeneous and distributed and will require technologies to be much simpler and more flexible. More importantly, there is a need for both technical and cultural adaptation. We describe a vision of discoverable, open, linked, useful, and safe collections of data, organized and curated using the best principles and practices of information and library science. This vision provides a framework for our discussion and leads us to suggest several short- and long-term strategies to facilitate a socio-technical evolution in the overall science data ecosystem.