Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
11-22-2022
Citation
Kindling, M and Strecker, D. 2022. Data Quality Assurance at Research Data Repositories. Data Science Journal, 21: 18, pp. 1–17. DOI: https://doi. org/10.5334/dsj-2022-018
Abstract
This paper presents findings from a survey on the status quo of data quality assurance practices at research data repositories.
The personalised online survey was conducted among repositories indexed in re3data in 2021. It covered the scope of the repository, types of data quality assessment, quality criteria, responsibilities, details of the review process, and data quality information and yielded 332 complete responses.
The results demonstrate that most repositories perform data quality assurance measures, and overall, research data repositories significantly contribute to data quality. Quality assurance at research data repositories is multifaceted and nonlinear, and although there are some common patterns, individual approaches to ensuring data quality are diverse. The survey showed that data quality assurance sets high expectations for repositories and requires a lot of resources. Several challenges were discovered: for example, the adequate recognition of the contribution of data reviewers and repositories, the path dependence of data review on review processes for text publications, and the lack of data quality information. The study could not confirm that the certification status of a repository is a clear indicator of whether a repository conducts in-depth quality assurance.
Included in
Intellectual Property Law Commons, Scholarly Communication Commons, Scholarly Publishing Commons
Comments
Open access.