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August 9, 2017

Managing and Preserving Complex Digital Objects Workshop

In a 2014 survey of 795 graduate students across nine U.S. universities conducted by the ETDplus project team, more than a third of respondents reported that non-PDF files created in their thesis and dissertation research process – including research data, video, digital art, and software code – are either as important or more important than the PDF as research outputs and evidence. Only 20% of these respondents reported that they were not

Recent reports, workshop evaluations, projects, surveys, and focus groups have indicated that internationally, colleges, universities and ETD/IR programs of all sizes are requesting and in need of generalized yet adaptable guidance documentation, shared curation technologies, and corresponding training materials to bridge the preservation and curation gap for these valued scholarly assets.

This three-hour workshop will help ETD program administrators and the libraries that support them to understand and address students’ needs to ensure the longevity of their research outputs. Together in the workshop, we’ll discuss current and near-future needs and ways that ETD programs can help to narrow the gaps in knowledge, expertise, and infrastructure for our students.

The workshop will draw upon research and content produced in the IMLS-funded “ETDplus” project (Educopia, 2014-17) including its openly reusable and adaptable, student-oriented Guidance Documents and workshop series, and also a prototype tool built in Hydra Sufia that is designed to support student ETD supplementary materials submission.

Workshop schedule:
09:00-09:20 – Welcome, Introductions
09:20-09:30 – ETD Hands-on Activity
09:30-10:00 – Managing Data and Complex Digital Objects
10:00-11:00 – Data Organization, File Formats, and Storage
11:00-12:00 – Connecting Student Needs to University Needs

Learning Objectives include:
Broaden and deepen familiarity with emerging methods and tools to support students’ digital object management.
Anticipate the impact of expanding research formats and materials on lifecycle management practices for ETD programs.
Understand what other institutions are doing to support students in managing (or learning how to manage) their research outputs.
Practice using a prototype tool designed to support student ETD supplementary materials submission.