Curating Data Cultures: Information for Participants

Project lead: Prof Noortje Marres (University of Warwick)
Project team: Timothy Monteath, Iain Emsley, Matías Valderrama Barragan (University of Warwick)

This project is a collaboration between the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies with Research ComputingLink opens in a new window and the LibraryLink opens in a new window at the University of Warwick with support from the University's Enhancing Research Culture Fund.Link opens in a new window

Introduction

You are invited to take part in our enhancing research culture project. Before you decide to participate, you need to understand why this project is being undertaken and what it would involve for you. Please contact us if something is not clear or if you want further information at: curatingdatacultures@livewarwickac.onmicrosoft.com or n.marres@warwick.ac.uk

Who is funding and organising the study?

Curating data practices for open interpretative research is a 6-month research project funded by Warwick University’s Enhancing Research Culture award. The project is conducted by researchers based in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, with additional input and collaboration from Warwick University Library and Warwick University's Research Computing Team.

What is the study about?

Our project seeks to support the further the development of data practices in support of open interpretative research by curating a set of best practice showcases, and enabling collective learning. To this end, we have issued a Call for Data sets, inviting colleagues at the University of Warwick and elsewhere to work with the project team to review, prepare and - where appropriate - publish their interpretative corpi as open data sets, or create alternative formats for open inquiry into interpretative data, and document their methods for open interpretative research. Through evaluating the examples of datasets that researchers at Warwick have used in interpretative research, as well as relevant examples that have inspired them in their research, the project seeks to explore, try out and evaluate the potential, challenges, and practical options for making data-intensive interpretative research open.

What would taking part involve?

In the first stages of the project, we invite researchers at the University of Warwick from across Faculties who use interpretative methods to respond to our call for datasets. At this stage, the only required field on our call for datasets is the title. You can therefore choose to respond in as much or as little detail as you like. We welcome anonymous submissions, as well as those which link to third party datasets. We also welcome direct uploads of research data.

You may also choose whether you would like us to contact you to invite you to take part in further project activities or not. Our Call for Data sets form also invites you to indicate if you would like to be involved in our public activities, such as the open event we will host at the University of Warwick at the end of the project.

In the first instance we will not be publishing any of the data sets submitted.

Consent and Withdrawal

Participation is completely voluntary. If you decide to take part, you are free to withdraw at any time, and you are not required to provide a specific reason. If you decide not to take part, there will be no disadvantage of any kind and we thank you for considering our request. To withdraw from the project, please send an email to: curatingdatacultures@livewarwickac.onmicrosoft.com

Please note that withdrawing participation is separate from withdrawing data that has already been collected during the project. You can also request for any data we hold on you or data that you provided to the project to be deleted up until 4 weeks after you submitted your data set to the project. Please specify this when you contact us.

Please be aware that once 4 weeks have passed after you submitted your data set to the project, it will no longer be possible for us to delete your data from the project, as we will have started the evaluation of data sets. We will, however, still be able to exclude your data set from any detailed consideration in the case study phase of the project.

What are the possible benefits of taking part in this study?

In taking part in this project, you contribute to the development if practices, guidelines and support for data stewardship in interpretative social sciences and humanities research at the University of Warwick.

What are the possible disadvantages, side effects, or risks of taking part in this study?

We do not foresee or anticipate any significant risk to you in taking part in this study. If, however, you feel uncomfortable at any time, you can withdraw your participation and you can withdraw any submitted data set from the project at any time. Only the members of the project team will have access to any identifiable information you submit. The project team are experienced researchers and the call for data set is designed with high confidentiality standards and respect of data protection. If you would like to register a complaint, please see the end of the form for details.

Expenses and payments

There is no reimbursement for expenses or payments for participation in the study.

Will my involvement be confidential?

Yes. All data will be held confidentially in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR. This means that any physical copy of personal information will be stored in a secure location and any electronic data will be stored on a secure, password-protected computer or information processing system. The information collected from your answers will be used to inform the development of further research and may be included in anonymised form in publications. Where appropriate research data will be pseudonymised. This means all direct and indirect identifiers will be removed from the research data and will be replaced with a participant number or pseudonym. In such cases the key to identification will be stored separately and securely from the research data to safeguard your identity. We will make sure that any data that is made accessible to anyone other than the project team during this project will be handled in accordance with relevant data ethics frameworks including the GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act.

What will happen to data collected about me?

As a publicly-funded organisation, we have to ensure that when we use personally identifiable information from people who have agreed to take part in this project is in the public interest. This means that when you agree to take part in a project such as this, we will use your data exclusively in the ways needed to conduct the project. The University of Warwick will keep your responses for 10 years after the study has finished. We will delete data upon request, up to 3 months after your participation. If you prefer to delete your data before the customary 10 years deadline, please inform us before that deadline.

Data sharing

Your rights to access, change or move your information are limited, as we need to manage your information in specific ways in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. The University of Warwick has in place policies and procedures to keep your data safe. Data may also be used for future research, including impact activities following review and approval by an independent Research Ethics Committee and subject to your consent at the outset of this research project.

For further information, please refer to the University of Warwick Research Privacy Notice which is available here:

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/idc/dataprotection/privacynotices/researchprivacynoticeLink opens in a new window or by contacting the Legal and Compliance Team at GDPR@warwick.ac.uk

What will happen to the results of the project?

We will develop a selection of case studies/showcases of open interpretative data and methods to be published on the Open Research pages of the University of Warwick. These case studies will form the starting point for an in person event held in Faculty of Social Sciences and Arts at Warwick. At this event, the case studies will serve as a basis to discuss and explore both the deeper potentials and challenges as well as specific data and scholarly practices that can support making interpretative research more open and/or public. These discussions will also inform the ECR workshop at Warwick, where we will present the open data and open methods debates alongside our showcases and a practical training workshop on how (not) to open up interpretative data and research.

Who has reviewed the project?

The project has been evaluated by the University of Warwick Enhancing Research Culture Fund and the Humanities and Social Science Research Ethics Committee. If you have any queries or concerns, you can contact this Committee directly: at hssrec@warwick.ac.uk

Who should I contact if I want further information?

For any concerns and queries, you can contact the Project Lead Prof Noortje Marres (PI), contact: n.marres@warwick.ac.uk

Who should I contact if I wish to make a complaint?

Any complaint about the way you have been dealt with during the study or any possible harm you might have suffered will be addressed. Please address your complaint to the person below, who is a senior University of Warwick official entirely independent of this study:

Head of Research Governance

Research & Impact Services

University House University of Warwick Coventry

CV4 8UW

Email: researchgovernance@warwick.ac.uk

Tel: 02476 575733

If you wish to raise a complaint about how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer, who will investigate the matter: DPO@warwick.ac.uk

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.