Editorial
Setting new standards
Although the context of research data and software is described and analysed in a (printed) scientific publication, the raw dataset or software often has no place in such publications. As a consequence, data and software require other platforms and mechanisms for publication, as well as guidelines to ensure they are understandable without the researcher’s presence. These principles have been formulated to ensure that research data and software are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR). This forms the foundation of research data and software management, with the goal of achieving open, trust-worthy, and reproducible research.
Although it is widely accepted by researchers that open practices in science are necessary to achieve trustworthy and reproducible outcomes, this does not come without additional effort. Barriers can be caused by a lack of knowledge, lack of resources, and lack of recognition. Despite these challenges, there are already scientists who are going the extra mile to implement open practices. These practitioners are working to provide people outside their working groups access to their results, implementing principles in services and infrastructure to enable others to be as open as possible, and developing policies to establish a foundation for decision-making at institutions. These individuals are making research better.
This publication introduces you to some of these enthusiastic pioneers and their paths. These paths often involve a lot of excitement, misunderstandings, discussions, collaborations, and very hard work. We want to take you with us on this journey from a deeply personal perspective—the perspective of people dedicated to research data, research software, or research data and software management.
Initially, our goal was to create learning materials for a research data and software management course at the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Potsdam, funded by the Faculty of Science. For this purpose, we conducted interviews with individuals from the University of Potsdam, as well as national and international researchers. To show that research software and data are relevant beyond computer science, we invited participants not only from the computer science community but also from other disciplines. After talking to all these people and hearing their stories and takes on the subject, we realized that these interviews on their own can be great ways of providing a better understanding of the current challenges and success stories in research focusing on research data and software.
This led us to create this project which was funded by the Project NFDIxCS and was molded together with the German Informatics Society (Gesellschaft für Informatik e. V.). A Coffee Table Book, as we envisioned it, is a publication that can be easily accessed by a diverse audience, with an appealing design – not very common in the scientific community. Our collaborative goal was to use this approach to allow our readers to get to know some of the people behind data and software management on a more personal level.
This publication is designed not just to be viewed but to be deeply engaged with. It presents stories of people who contribute to a larger narrative, who play a vital part in telling the story of a successful initiative on a global scale. The content is inspired by interviews with project leaders, seasoned experts, and young researchers who are implementing best practices in research data and software management. These insights provide tangible examples of research data and software management strategies across various fields, serving as brilliant illustrations of promoting Open Science and envisioning the future of research.
As you read the conversations, you will discover the power of RDSM as the backbone of future research endeavours.
We hope to inspire you – and to spark many more conversations!
The authors:
Jan Bernoth
Firas Al Laban
Ulrike Lucke
Alexandra Resch
Greta Leßmann
Julia Meisner-Dieffendahl
Elena Müller
Paul Reinelt
Thanks to:
Funders
Participants
People who are with us
