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30 Sep 2014

Main Outputs and Significant Results on the WG Repository Audit and Certification DSA–WDS Partnership 24th September 2014

 

4th Plenary Meeting of the Research Data Alliance Organization (RDA), 22- 24 September 2014, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Wednesday 24th Sept 2014
09:00-10:30 a.m.
BREAKOUT 7 RDA WG/IG/BoF/Science Stream
 
WG Repository Audit and Certification DSA–WDS Partnership**
Assigned Program Winner/ RDA- Early Career Program Research Fellow: Eleni Panagou, M.Sc., Dipl., Cultural Informatics and Communication/ Ph.D. Candidate in Web Engineering- Democritus University of Thrace, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
 
The WG took place at the place and date mentioned above and led significant results for the forthcoming decisions will be made under the auspices of Research Data Alliance Organization.
 
It was argued explicitly the relation of wider standards such  as TRAC/ ISO, with relevant scopes and aims of Data Seal Approval (DSA) and World Data System (WDS) Partnership. It is important, as well, to be noticed that more than one year and a half, previously, the WG led through online meetings (teleconferences) discussions in establishing and concretizing the main mapping between the DSA and the WDS. 
 
All the participants, many of them, members themselves of both, the initiatives of DSA and WDS contributed into the maximum effort, solving thus topics that laid either on a conflict of interest inside the disciplines (eg. natural, social, engineering sciences) either on stimulating and constituting the appropriate epistemological parameters, for being accepted and adopted by academia, industries and governmental research bodies.
 
It was also widely accepted that, different disciplines (eg. astronomy, life sciences, natural or social sciences) need per se, different treatment in cataloguing, archiving and preserving, for future generations, raw data or more complex insights on them (eg. a wider conceptual relation and data lifecycle of them).
 
The WG Repository Audit and Certification DSA–WDS Partnership reviewed all the scenarios of use, for the current aim and scope of the DSA- WDS Partnership, and all the mentioned scenarios of use, were thought to be categorized in at least three major categories: the Good Match, the Partial Match and the Gap/ Not a Match.
 
Lightweight certification provided either by DSA or WDS or of the Partnership of both, in the general framework of Research Data Alliance Organization, improves not only the curatorial aspects of the Repositories but it could also play a crucial role for the stability of their interconnection and their long- term viability. Participants of the WG, were critically, concerned for the sustainability, security and scientific integrity led by the DSA- WDS Partnership. The natural characteristics of the Repositories (institutional, or private held) must satisfy the growing needs of Designated Communities, being certified by DSA or WDS Partnership.
 
Thus, the WG had also very extensive discussion and influential results on when and how a certification is provided, especially if it falls in the category of lightweight certification. Specifically on this, data producers, final users, and the training of the internal auditors of the interested bodies, industries or individuals could potentially change/ affect the quality of the audit/ certification. In this WG, all participants were very deeply aware of the dynamic situation takes place, not only inside, the organizational structure of the interested body, but before and after, the audit/ certification, as well.
It was, also, mentioned, the OAIS Model and ISO Certification Standards, which they, undoubtedly lead the international data standardization. WG was given emphasis, as well, on the advantages of lightweight certification in a global world, such as the DSA- WDS Certification.
 
Flexibility, direct curatorial manipulation and participative standardization and establishment were some of the advantages of adopting the lightweight, DSA- WDS Certification, widely.
 
The WG, in the future, it will make available, through Research Data Alliance Organization, more tools (eg. graphical tool) to the members of the WG so as to fulfill its scope, for a better lightweight certification, transparent, dynamic, metric- based and generally, standardized.
 
 

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