Theory Article

Developing and Improving the Capability of Scientific Communities in Open Research Data: A Maturity Continuum Model: Concepts, Elements, and Applications

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Abstract

This article presents a new tool developed to assess and increase the maturity level of a research community in terms of Open Research Data (ORD) practices and culture. This model, called the Maturity Continuum Model, is divided into four successive steps, starting from the awareness and initiation of the community to its full maturity in ORD, through the building and strengthening of this community. Each step has its own intermediate objectives, and each benefits from tools and means to support the process of gaining maturity. The steps are separated by evaluation boundaries that are used to assess whether the process can move to the next step. Key stakeholders are diverse and contribute at different stages of the process. The Maturity Continuum Model was inspired by the Data Curation Continuum Model (Treloar et al., 2007; Treloar and Klump, 2019). Considering the aspects in which these two tools differ, they can be seen as complementary tools in the broad field of research data management. Our model may be used at the level of a specific research community, with several possible purposes, such as assessing, developing, and monitoring its maturity. It can also be used to compare the maturity level of several communities at the same time and to identify the success factors of more advanced research communities in order to transfer them to less advanced ones. We have designed and created this model primarily to get an overview of a complicated topic, to find a common language, to provide a common basis for discussion, and to enable implementation over a long period of time. Successful implementation of the model would also allow for consolidation of scientific communities in terms of ORD, provide standards, and allow for evaluation.

Keywords: Open Science, Open Research Data, data sharing, Research Data Management, FAIR principles, (meta)data standards, scientific communities, research communities, data stewards, data librarians, Data Curation Continuum, Maturity Continuum Model

How to Cite:

Guirlet, M. & Schneider, R. (2024). Developing and Improving the Capability of Scientific Communities in Open Research Data: A Maturity Continuum Model: Concepts, Elements, and Applications. Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication, 12(1), eP16320. https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.16320

Rights:

© 2024 The Author(s). License: CC BY 4.0