Research Data Management in India: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Data is a by-product of the research process where published results are the output. More and more research institutes are getting interested in this by-product. Data could be in the form of statistics, experimental results, observational data, interview recordings, etc. Organizing the varied forms of data is a challenge for any institute. This is particularly so in the present scenario of constantly changing technologies for data storage and retrieval. The funding agencies are making it mandatory to archive these datasets so that these can be preserved for the posterity and / or re-used by others. Libraries, as a part of the research institutes, seem to be well equipped to organize and manage these datasets. The author undertook the present study to find the level of involvement of libraries in ‘data management’ in India. A survey was done to assess the awareness about data curation, data archival policies, infrastructure required, technologies used, etc. The survey sample consisted of 15 national research / academic institutes in India. The study showed that libraries’ role in data management in research / academic institutes was still at a very early stage of development in India.