Engaging Researchers
Contacting Researchers
After we populated the metadata forms as much as possible with publicly available information, we contacted the researchers.We sent researchers a targeted REDCap survey. The survey is very simple and basically asks if a) The researcher is willing to share research documents with us and b) if they are able to meet with us.
Here are the types of responses and how we have and will respond to them.
Documentation
If the researcher is willing to share documentation, we will use information from the documents to complete a more robust record in REDCap. After the researcher approves it, a rich study record will also be created in Dataverse. The record will be accompanied by research records and possibly deidentified datasets, if available and approved.Although we have had a few researchers who have declined to share documents, because of time constraints, the typical response so far has been that researchers are willing to both share research documents and to meet. So we’re happy about that!
The documents include protocols, ethics submissions, consent forms, data collection forms, like questionnaires, case report forms, code sheets, information sheets, data dictionaries, grant applications, and publications. We use information from these documents to help us describe the studies.
Meeting
One of the aims of the University of Alberta side of this “Bridging” project is to include researchers as much as possible as guiding elements throughout the process. Obviously these are very busy people. Which is one reason we are testing techniques to semi-automate the process of metadata creation. And so, when we come to the researcher with the metadata record for their study, it is already as filled out as possible.If the researcher agrees to meet, I arrange a meeting, go through the completed metadata form with them, and update the study record in REDCap. Again, a rich study record with research documents and possibly data will be created in Dataverse.
During these meetings, I also engage in a broader discussion of metadata with researchers. Information gleaned from these talks will be analysed and incorporated into recommendations for the final metadata. But we also want their help to define the appropriate boundaries and level of granularity we should aim for when providing metadata for these types of research studies and data.
Some of the things we want to find out from researchers are
- what information would help them find or understand data?
- when they need data where do they go? where would they look?
- Are they using any standards already?
- Will Dataverse work for their type of research?
- What’s missing?
- Also, what’s not necessary or irrelevant? We’re starting out with a pretty long and extensive study-level metadata, and want researchers to help us whittle it down into something meaningful, that could realistically be sustained.