Data For Life: Digital Preservation for Health Sciences

Part of the DATUM for Health project; conducted by Northumbria University and funded by JISC

26/05/2011

Room 204, Lipman Building, Northumbria University,

Flexible and timely access to information has the potential to transform professional practice and research in health studies and related disciplines, but the promise can only be delivered if we can overcome the threats of obsolescence. A decade of research and development has begun to make available the sorts of robust tools, techniques and services which our generation will need to ensure that our digital memory is accessible tomorrow. But the capacity to deliver long term access remains focussed in the hands of a small number of information specialists. This skills shortage presents a key strategic challenge to the delivery of fundamental services for medicine, health, wellbeing, and related sectors where research data is highly confidential and may need to be retained for long periods of time. Ethical, legislative and economic imperatives mean that thoughtful but rapid development in robust research data management policies and services will be required over the next decade. Research data management skills are badly needed so that new entrants into the health and medical professions are prepared for the rapidly changing requirements of the information age.

This DPC briefing day is intended to introduce key concepts of digital preservation to students and information managers working in the health and wellbeing sectors. It will provide a forum to review and debate the latest development in the preservation of digital qualitative research data in the health field and it will initiate a discussion on how the necessary skills can most effectively be developed. Based on commentary and case studies from leaders in the field, participants will be presented with emerging tools and technologies and will be encouraged to propose and debate the future for these developments. The day will include a discussion of:

• Effective management of qualitative data in health
• Emerging tools and services for long term access to research data
• Research data management: policy and practice
• Practical research data management skills for health professionals

Who should come?

• Research and taught postgraduate students in health and related disciplines
• Managers and funders of research projects in health and related disciplines
• Repository managers providing access to publications and data in health
• Tools developers and policy makers in digital preservation
• Innovators and researchers that provide digital services to the health sector
• Vendors and providers of information management services

Where and when?

26th May 2011 (10:30-16:30), Room 204, Lipman Building, Northumbria University, City Campus West, Newcastle upon Tyne. Map:

http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/brochure/visit/campus_branch/ncle_cmp/city_campus/

Following the event on Twitter

Participants were encouraged to tweet using the #data4life hashtag to create a lively twitter feed from the event. There were 126 tweets at or about this workshop and you can now see the archive of the twitter feed from this event courtesy of TwapperKeeper.

How do I register?

This event is sponsored. Places are FREE but are strictly limited and should be booked at the latest before WEDNESDAY 18th May 2011. Priority will be given to DPC members and to post graduate research students at the Universitry of Northumbria. For details on how to become a DPC member see here. Note that there will be a £50:00 no show/cancellation fee if you do not notify us within one full week of the event date.

REGISTRATION WILL BE CLOSED FROM NOON 18th MAY 2011

The registration is closed

Finalized Programme

(download programme for the day - pdf 269kb)

1030 Registration and Coffee

1100 Welcome and Introductions: Prof Julie McLeod, Northumbria University (Datum for Health Project)

1110 Digital preservation and long term access: challenges, opportunities, approaches and tools, William Kilbride, DPC

1135 Managing qualitative data, Louise Corti, UK Data Archive, University of Essex

1200 Managing qualitative data for health research: A researcher’s experiences, John Given, Researcher in narrative studies in health

1225 The challenges of digital preservation at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Victoria Cranna, London School of Hygience and Tropical Medicine

1250 Questions

1300 Lunch

1345 Data - manage it, make the most of it! Prof Charlotte Clarke, Associate Dean (Research), School of Health, Community and Education Studies, Northumbria University

1400 Strategic view of research data management for Higher Education, Dr Simon Hodson, JISC

14.25 Managing qualitative data for health research: A case study, Ruth Sanders, The Health Experiences Research Group, University of Oxford

1450 Tea and coffee

1505 The Challenges of Digital Preservation in a Changing Environment, Andrew Pitt, Pfizer

1530 Roundtable: what is to be done, why and by whom? Chair by Julie McLeod with Charlotte Clarke, Louise Corti, Simon Hodson, William Kilbride, other speakers, etc.

1600 Close

Following the event on Twitter

Participants will be encouraged to tweet using the #data4life hashtag to create a live twitter feed from the event.