RESOURCE: Librarians’ Perspectives on the Factors Influencing Research Data Management Programs

College & Research Libraries has made available a pre-print of Ixchel M. Faniel and Lynn Silipigni Connaway’s (both OCLC) article, “Librarians’ Perspectives on the Factors Influencing Research Data Management Programs.” Faniel and Connaway’s article details a qualitative research study they conducted, examining librarians’ experiences with research data management (RDM) and identifying factors that “facilitate or constrain RDM activity”:

Findings from interviews with 36 academic library professionals in the United States identify 5 factors of influence: 1) technical resources, 2) human resources, 3) researchers’ perceptions about the library, 4) leadership support, and 5) communication, coordination, and collaboration.

The five factors of influence come from patterns within the interview data, and reflect what practitioners are encountering as they attempt to support RDM in their institutions. In particular, dh+lib readers might find the sections on technical resource preservation challenges, as well as labor and staffing of especial note. Faniel and Connaway conclude that there are many successful RDM programs established by librarians, but there “still are opportunities to more efficiently and effectively support the broad range of activities throughout the data lifecycle.”