Liz Lyon, Dealing with Data: Roles, Rights, Responsibilities and Relationships Consultancy Report, JISC, June 19, 2007. In addition to recommending OA for research data, the report summarizes the public statements supporting OA policies (Section 4.1, pp. 13-14) and the data access policies for major research funders, data centers, and repositories in the UK (Section 5, pp. 16-43). Excerpt:
This Report explores the roles, rights, responsibilities and relationships of institutions, data centres and other key stakeholders who work with data. It concentrates primarily on the UK scene with some reference to other relevant experience and opinion, and is framed as “a snapshot” of a relatively fast-moving field....
It is set within the context of the burgeoning “data deluge” emanating from e-Science applications, increasing momentum behind open access policy drivers for data, and developments to define requirements for a co-ordinated e-infrastructure for the UK....
[Recommendation] 7. All relevant stakeholders should identify and promote incentives to encourage the routine deposit of research data by researchers in an appropriate open access data repository....
[Recommendation] 10. Each higher education institution should implement an institutional Data Management, Preservation and Sharing Policy, which recommends data deposit in an appropriate open access data repository and/or data centre where these exist....
[Recommendation] 17. JISC should commission work to investigate the effectiveness and applicability of different mechanisms for managing access and data-sharing across disciplines....
Some higher education institutions have also adopted a clear policy regarding self-archiving of research outputs, and these policies are gathered at the ROARMAP service. However the majority have not, and the degree of awareness of open access issues, preceding the adoption of a mandate to promote the approach, is at best, patchy....
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
