McMaster’s Digital Research Infrastructure Needs White Paper

Abstract

Canada’s current digital research infrastructure (DRI) offerings are in short supply, though the available resources are generally effective. In addition to increasing the availability (scale) of resources, it is critical that researchers be made aware of the digital tools and technologies available to them and that training is provided to ensure researchers and their students are able to make effective use of these tools. People are a critical component of Canada’s DRI ecosystem, and a robust model that includes longer-term financial stability for positions that deliver national services is essential, moving forwards. Research Data Management (RDM) is a fundamental element of modern research so that data is findable, accessible, and reusable. The current Portage Data Management Plan (DMP) Assistant is an effective tool to support funders’ desire to increase the efficiency and accessibility of research data. Although tools like the DMP Assistant and exemplar data management plans are useful, RDM experts, resources, and support are also needed to guide and advise researchers to develop their data management plans. Data repositories and discovery platforms that assign persistent identifiers (PIDs) to digital research assets enable Canadian researchers to steward, archive, and curate research data for discovery and reuse. Repositories and discovery platforms with the aforementioned characteristics are important components in assuring the full value of research projects’ funding is derived by the public. Repositories such as Dataverse and the Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR) need to be instantiated, operated, maintained, and grown according to demand so that the value of the research results can be fully appreciated. Support from research data managers, data archivists, and metadata experts is crucial for the effective and efficient use of these systems, in addition to IT support for appropriate management of the underlying infrastructure. Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) are critical in allowing researchers to concentrate on their projects. A graduate student, for instance, should be concentrating on their field of study while gaining mastery of research tools including ARC, data repositories, and discovery platforms applicable to their work; those same students should not be required to become part-time, under-qualified systems administrators just to accomplish their research. Thus, resources and funding dedicated to supporting and retaining HQP whose sole focus is system administration should be one of NDRIO’s focuses moving forward. As Canada integrates the delivery of all aspects of DRI, the consideration of open science is encouraged. The Government of Canada released a Roadmap for Open Science in February of 2020. As an element of open scholarship, the DRI environment must be designed in alignment with the principles and guidelines outlined within this roadmap. Notably, the principles included in this roadmap emphasize the need for non-commercial archives to enable wide-spread accessibility and ensure all researchers have access to published data.