re3data.org receives another two year grant #Update

Posted: March 20th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Projects | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on re3data.org receives another two year grant #Update

re3data The project re3data.org has received another grant: The German Research Foundation (DFG) has extended the funding of re3data.org – a registry of research data repositories – for another two years. Congrats!

Until the end of 2015 re3data.org aims to implement new functionalities and to integrate more research data repositories. These repositories will be indexed to offer researchers, funding organizations and libraries all over the world an easy-to-use overview of the heterogeneous research data repository landscape.

Currently the re3data registry lists 634 research data repositories from around the world covering all academic disciplines. 586 of these are described in detail. An icon system helps researchers to easily identify an adequate research data repository for the storage of their own research data.

At first glance the approach of re3data.org sounds akin to the approach of databib (another tool for helping people identify and locate online repositories of research data) – but according to a post written by Natsuko Nicholls and John Kratz and there are several differences between the two projects.

Contrary to expectation, there is little overlap between the databases.  At least 1,037 disciplinary data repositories currently exist, and only 18% (191) are listed in both databases.

So their recommendation is that anyone looking for a disciplinary repository should check both DataBib and re3data. Against this setting it is more than welcome that both databases seem to be in ongoing consultation.

For more information on re3data.org I suggest reading the article “Making Research Data Repositories Visible: The re3data.org Registry. PLoS ONE 8(11): e78080. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078080“

# Update 2014-03-26 #

Good news: Yesterday evening I read that DataCite, re3data.org and Databib are going to collaborate!
Below you’ll find the text of the joint press release:

DataCite, re3data.org, and Databib Announce Collaboration

Databib and “re3data.org – Registry of Research Data Repositories” are pleased to announce their plan to merge their two projects into one service that will be managed under the auspices of DataCite by the end of 2015. Their joint proposal to the DataCite General Assembly was approved today, in advance of the 3rd Plenary Meeting of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) in Dublin, Ireland.

The aim of this merger is to reduce duplication of effort and to better serve the research community with a single, sustainable registry of research data repositories that incorporates the best features of both projects.

re3data.org and Databib have agreed to the following five principles for successful cooperation:

1. Openness: the metadata and the interfaces of the joint registry will be openly accessible. Metadata records will be made accessible under terms of the Creative Commons CC0 protocol;

2. Optimal quality assurance: a two-stage workflow, with a first review of submissions by an international editorial board plus a second one for consistency, will guarantee the quality and currency of records;

3. Development of innovative functionalities: cooperative development of new functionality for the joint registry and further integration with a global ecosystem of infrastructures that meet the needs of data-driven research and open science;

4. Shared leadership: the joint registry will be lead by two representatives (one from each project) as equal partners;

5. Sustainability: both projects will work together on a sustainable governance structure and a permanent infrastructure for the joint registry.

The joint registry will be operated under the name “re3data.org – Registry of Research Data Repositories” with its editorial board retaining the name of Databib. Both registries have posted a Memorandum of Understanding on their respective websites and have exchanged metadata records in advance of fully merging their platforms and processes.

By the end of 2015, the merged registry will become an imprint of DataCite and be included in its suite of services

March 25, 2014 –  Dublin, Ireland; Karlsruhe, Germany; and West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

 Graphic: by re3data.org

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