We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to Library
This article reports on the transfer of a massive scientific dataset from a national laboratory to a university library, and from one kind of workforce to another. We use the transfer of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) archive to examine the emergence of a new workforce for scientific research...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Edinburgh
2014-10-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Digital Curation |
| Online Access: | http://129.215.67.233:80/ijdc/article/view/336 |
| _version_ | 1797402039854039040 |
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| author | Ashley E. Sands Christine L. Borgman Sharon Traweek Laura A. Wynholds |
| author_facet | Ashley E. Sands Christine L. Borgman Sharon Traweek Laura A. Wynholds |
| author_sort | Ashley E. Sands |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article reports on the transfer of a massive scientific dataset from a national laboratory to a university library, and from one kind of workforce to another. We use the transfer of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) archive to examine the emergence of a new workforce for scientific research data management. Many individuals with diverse educational backgrounds and domain experience are involved in SDSS data management: domain scientists, computer scientists, software and systems engineers, programmers, and librarians. These types of positions have been described using terms such as research technologist, data scientist, e-science professional, data curator, and more. The findings reported here are based on semi-structured interviews, ethnographic participant observation, and archival studies from 2011-2013.
The library staff conducting the data storage and archiving of the SDSS archive faced two performance problems. The preservation specialist and the system administrator worked together closely to discover and implement solutions to the slow data transfer and verification processes. The team overcame these slow-downs by problem solving, working in a team, and writing code. The library team lacked the astronomy domain knowledge necessary to meet some of their preservation and curation goals.
The case study reveals the variety of expertise, experience, and individuals essential to the SDSS data management process. A variety of backgrounds and educational histories emerge in the data managers studied. Teamwork is necessary to bring disparate expertise together, especially between those with technical and domain education. The findings have implications for data management education, policy and relevant stakeholders.
This article is part of continuing research on Knowledge Infrastructures.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:18:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-251c07973eed49d1bd5bd4aa1e738c5d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1746-8256 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:18:38Z |
| publishDate | 2014-10-01 |
| publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Digital Curation |
| spelling | doaj.art-251c07973eed49d1bd5bd4aa1e738c5d2023-12-06T20:02:29ZengUniversity of EdinburghInternational Journal of Digital Curation1746-82562014-10-0192We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to LibraryAshley E. SandsChristine L. BorgmanSharon TraweekLaura A. Wynholds This article reports on the transfer of a massive scientific dataset from a national laboratory to a university library, and from one kind of workforce to another. We use the transfer of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) archive to examine the emergence of a new workforce for scientific research data management. Many individuals with diverse educational backgrounds and domain experience are involved in SDSS data management: domain scientists, computer scientists, software and systems engineers, programmers, and librarians. These types of positions have been described using terms such as research technologist, data scientist, e-science professional, data curator, and more. The findings reported here are based on semi-structured interviews, ethnographic participant observation, and archival studies from 2011-2013. The library staff conducting the data storage and archiving of the SDSS archive faced two performance problems. The preservation specialist and the system administrator worked together closely to discover and implement solutions to the slow data transfer and verification processes. The team overcame these slow-downs by problem solving, working in a team, and writing code. The library team lacked the astronomy domain knowledge necessary to meet some of their preservation and curation goals. The case study reveals the variety of expertise, experience, and individuals essential to the SDSS data management process. A variety of backgrounds and educational histories emerge in the data managers studied. Teamwork is necessary to bring disparate expertise together, especially between those with technical and domain education. The findings have implications for data management education, policy and relevant stakeholders. This article is part of continuing research on Knowledge Infrastructures. http://129.215.67.233:80/ijdc/article/view/336 |
| spellingShingle | Ashley E. Sands Christine L. Borgman Sharon Traweek Laura A. Wynholds We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to Library International Journal of Digital Curation |
| title | We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to Library |
| title_full | We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to Library |
| title_fullStr | We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to Library |
| title_full_unstemmed | We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to Library |
| title_short | We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to Library |
| title_sort | wea€™re working on it transferring the sloan digital sky survey from laboratory to library |
| url | http://129.215.67.233:80/ijdc/article/view/336 |
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