Guide to Ensuring Access to the Publications and Data of Federally Funded Transportation Research (2020)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

CHAPTER 10. Learning and Training Learning Strategies for the Research Organization Merely developing a strategy for addressing the requirements of making publications and data accessible and archived is not enough. Instead, all stakeholders must be equipped to understand and be prepared to carry out their responsibilities. To that end, all stakeholders need training appropriate to their organizational roles, which, in turn, requires that the state DOT or other transportation research institution has well-defined stakeholder roles and clear identification of the expertise, knowledge, and skills each role needs for success. Following good practice in data management involves more than the introduction of new tools; it also requires a cultural shift in how research is practiced. Training should go beyond introducing the products and tools used to support data management, sharing, and curation; it should also explain how they fit within the larger context. Prioritize learning within the research organization by doing the following: • Spell out goals and objectives for the research organization as a whole to form a culture of practice around learning in the organization. • Provide resources and support for staff (both trainers and trainees). • For trainers: Ensure that adequate time is provided to teach and that teaching is recognized as a valuable contribution to the organization. • For trainees: Ensure that time is provided to learn and that learning is recognized as a requirement of the position and an expectation of the organization. 10. LE A R N IN G & T R A IN IN G In This Section » Learning Strategies for the Research Organization » Training Design and Delivery » Developing Training for Essential Requirements » Developing Training for Going Beyond » Baseline Awareness Training for Everyone » Training for Researchers » Training for Executive and Management Roles » Training for Research Support Roles » Lab Managers/Data Curators » Compliance Personnel » Information Technology Personnel » Chapter Checklist ? ? ? Different people learn in different ways. Multiple learning options should be provided. 81

82 10. Learning and Training ? ? ? USGS life cycle: https://www2. usgs.gov/ datamanagement/ • Offer training materials to anyone in the research organization. Connections are made between stakeholders in training programs so that they understand how their roles are connected to other stakeholders and to the organization as a whole. • Recognize that different people learn in different ways, and provide multiple learning options and opportunities, not just face-to-face, in-person instruction. Educational offerings and delivery should also consider the available time and capacity of the target audiences. Educational programs need to include best practices and guidelines of relevant research disciplines as well as of the open access and data cura- tion community. They also should include the expectations and require- ments of external actors such as publishers, funding agencies, and off-site repositories. Programs also need to consider the current culture of practice around research within the organization and its goals and objectives as well as the organization’s needs surrounding the management, sharing, and preservation of research materials and data. These external and internal elements should be in alignment for training to be successful. Training Design and Delivery Although multiple training programs and resources exist, there are gaps in what is available and what is needed for researchers at research institutions. Training programs in these areas are often developed by agencies that support the research activities of a particular discipline. The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), for example, has educational programming for social scientists; DataONE has programs for environmental scientists; and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) supports geologists and others doing earth science research. At a high level, the content provided by these sources addresses similar topics and provides general guidance that would be applicable for most types of research being conducted. However, there are disciplinary and other differences in how research is practiced. Any effective training program must: (1) account for the tools, software, and equipment used to generate and analyze data; (2) address how findings are published and shared; (3) speak to the cultures and practices of researchers at research institutions; and (4) specifically convey the requirements of the U.S. DOT policy. That said, existing programs can still serve as potential models for the structure and content in developing training programs for research institutions. The USGS, in particular, is an example in providing useful resources and guidance, particularly in its use of a defined research life cycle as a means to ground its educational programs, its ability to break down concepts to make them easier to understand, and its assistance to researchers in making connections between these concepts. Whether from the USGS or other organizations, life-cycle models and other concepts can be appropriated and modified to serve the needs of researchers in research institutions.

83 10. Learning and Training Developing Training for Essential Requirements Training programs should be based on the U.S. DOT Public Access Plan with a focus on making the essential requirements understandable and actionable by researchers and their support staff. Among other things, the Public Access Plan requires researchers to do the following: þ Make publications available after 12 months (unless an embargo is enacted); þ Submit publications to the U.S. DOT National Transportation Library’s digital repository; þ Ensure public access to final research data, subject to necessary restrictions such as security, individual privacy, or confidentiality; þ Make their data accessible for search, retrieval, and analysis; þ Develop data management plans (DMPs) that describe their strategies for making their data publicly available; and þ Ensure that research project descriptions are submitted to TRB’s Research-in-Progress (RiP) database and are updated throughout the project. A possible curriculum for training programs that are focused on meeting essential requirements is described in the “Baseline Awareness Training for Everyone” and “Training for Researchers” sections below. Developing Training for Going Beyond Even if researchers are familiar with these and other requirements, it is unlikely they will possess an innate understanding of them to identify the necessary considerations or steps to take to satisfy these requirements. Beyond training programs for the researchers themselves, additional programs will be needed to help research managers, compliance officers, and others who provide support for research understand and respond to these requirements. As with researchers, a more targeted training program informed by the culture and practice of U.S. DOT research will be needed for all stakeholders within state DOTs and other transportation research institutions. Over time the foundations of the training programs created or adopted by state DOTs and other transportation research institutions should extend beyond satisfying the U.S. DOT to addressing the needs and goals of the research organization itself. It may take some time for a research organization to consider and articulate fully what its goals and needs are in managing, sharing, curating, and preserving data, as these areas may not have been directly explored prior to the requirements of federal agencies for managing and sharing articles and data. Developing training programs concurrently with developing the goals of the organization can provide opportunities to discuss stakeholder assumptions, confirm understandings of goals, and explore what is needed to ensure that the goals of the organization will be achieved. ? ? ? Checklist of training program contents required by the Public Access Plan ? ? ? Beyond minimum Addressing the needs and goals of the organization ? ? ? Essential Training Programs

84 10. Learning and Training The Collaborative Assessment of Research Data Infrastructure and Objectives (CARDIO) tool can help research organizations identify specific training needs of researchers and staff on the basis of an assessment of current knowledge and practice (see page 87 for more information). A possible curriculum for training programs that are focused on going beyond essential requirements is described in the “Training for Researchers,” “Training for Executive and Management Roles,” and “Training for Research Support Roles” sections below. Baseline Awareness Training for Everyone Everyone in the state DOT or other research organization needs to have a baseline understanding of the organization’s expectations for the management, sharing, and preservation of research materials, data, and publications. To see the big picture of the research life cycle, all stakeholders need instruction in what research and data management are and why they are important. This general training helps stakeholders to develop a common vocabulary, a shared understanding of stakeholder roles, and an understanding of how they are all connected. Baseline curricula could include the following: þ Introduction to the importance of public access. þ State of research/data in the 21st century: general goals and benefits to managing, sharing, curation, and preservation. þ Introduction to external requirements and expectations. Resources to Inform Training Programs USGS Data Life-Cycle Overview: The website consolidates data management resources into a single point of access and helps users understand best practices for various aspects of data management. https://www2.usgs.gov/datamanagement/ DataONE Education Modules: A series of slides on data management topics that can be enhanced and reused for training purposes (based in earth and environmental sciences, but adaptable/reusable by other disciplines). https://www.dataone.org/education-modules ICPSR — Guide to Social Science Data Preparation and Archiving: A detailed, step-by- step manual for social science researchers interested in developing a data set that can be deposited into the ICPSR repository or simply understood and used by others. https://www. icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/deposit/guide/ Checklist: Baseline Curricula ? ? ?

85 10. Learning and Training þ Introduction to article and data management/sharing plan requirements for þ Funding agencies: What is being asked/required? þ Important journals in the field: What is being asked/ required? þ Introduction to local needs, expectations, and practices. þ Goals/benefits for the research organization. þ Local culture(s) of practice in working with data (current and/or evolving). þ Defining stakeholders in managing, sharing, curating, and preserving data: Who has what role in the organization, who can support you, and who will you need to support? þ Tools/resources — communication. Training for Researchers As the producers of the data, researchers will require training in how to develop data sets that can be discovered, understood, and used by others outside of their immediate research team. This includes developing a DMP when applying for a grant, to satisfy the requirements of the U.S. DOT or other funding agency, and developing longer plans that articulate how the data will be managed throughout their life cycle. Researchers will require more detail than the baseline courses will cover. At minimum they will need the following: þ In-depth training on publication and DMP requirements for funding agencies — how to address in the application, during the project, and reporting at end? þ U.S. DOT essential requirements. þ Tools/resources. þ In-depth training on publication and DMP requirements for important journals in the field — þ How to identify the journals. þ What the journals’ open-access policies are and how they comply with funding agency requirements. þ What the journals’ data-sharing policies are. þ Common elements of data-sharing policies. þ Guidance on complying. þ Tools/resources. Checklist: Baseline Curricula (continued)? ? ? ? ? ? Checklist: Minimum Researcher Curricula

86 10. Learning and Training More advanced information that builds on the DMP requirement should be added to training programs as quickly as possible. This includes þ Introduction to a data life-cycle model that best suits the data and organizational culture of the state DOT (or other research institution) — þ Use of a life cycle to plan for managing, sharing, and preserving. þ Overview on managing and organizing data. þ How to educate others on how the different elements of the data relate to one another. þ How to document and describe data through metadata. þ How to share data — þ Selecting a data repository, þ Connecting data to publications, þ Handling presentations and other outputs, and þ Giving data rights to those using their data. þ How to support curation and preservation of data beyond the life of the project. þ How to use data generated by others effectively and ethically. þ How to cite data. This training will also help researchers and other stakeholders further connect with each other, as areas where support is provided or needed will likely be made more clearly visible. Training for Executive and Management Roles In addition to the basic training for everyone, research administrators will need to devote time and energy into learning. þ A broad overview of the data life-cycle models used by researchers in the research organization and what should happen at each stage — þ What support is needed? þ Who provides the support? þ When is the support provided? þ In-depth training on compliance with þ Publisher requirements, þ Funding agency requirements, and þ Other external actor requirements. þ In-depth training on how compliance needs to be demonstrated. þ How to set requirements and expectations internally. þ How to create a culture of data management. Checklist: Advanced Researcher Curricula? ? ? Checklist: Executive and Management Curricula? ? ?

87 10. Learning and Training Training for Research Support Roles Within a research organization, there are multiple roles that provide support to researchers and the research process. Each type of role will require specialized training directly relevant to its areas of responsibility, particularly as it pertains to making data and materials accessible. Ideally, researchers and those who support research should engage in shared training. The training required will naturally vary by role, but some specialized training areas could include those below. Lab Managers/Data Curators These individuals will need to work closely with researchers to help them develop and manage materials and data in ways that enable the resulting publications and data sets to be easily discovered, understood, trusted, and used by others in their field. This work is carried out in conjunction with researchers; however, managers’/ curators’ training may need to go beyond the broad training researchers receive and should involve additional training on best practices. Tools and Resources: CARDIO The Collaborative Assessment of Research Data Infrastructure and Objectives (CARDIO) tool is designed to help departments, research groups, or organizations within institutions of higher education assess their infrastructure, staff skill levels, support of management, and other resources in assuring that data are adequately managed. The tool is administered by gathering information to determine a maturity rating in 30 relevant areas covering the organization, technology, and resources aspects of managing and curating data. http://dcc.ac.uk/resources/ tools/cardio ? ? ? Ideally, researchers and those who support research should engage in shared training.

88 10. Learning and Training Training topics beyond basic courses would depend on the nature of the work being performed but could include the following: • Documentation/metadata for sharing and preservation; • Techniques for organizing/managing data; • Quality control practices for sharing and preservation; and • Policies of funders, publishers, and/or repositories and how to prepare publications/data for submission to repositories. Compliance Personnel Depending on the nature and commercial value of the research being done, intellectual property issues may arise. Legal staff may require training on navigating federal and other requirements in sharing and preserving data, in light of commercialization and other intellectual property issues. Legal staff may also require training on licensing shared materials, data in particular. The state DOT will need to consider who should have access to the materials and data once they are released and what people will be allowed to do with them. Good questions to ask may include the following: • Must people provide attribution and, if so, how? • Will people be allowed to redistribute the data? • To what extent are people allowed to reuse the data? Once these questions have been answered, the legal staff will need to select a license that best represents their decisions. Compliance personnel will need training in how to demonstrate compliance to funding agencies and other bodies as needed. Personnel who oversee ethical issues in research (such as working with human subjects) will require training on how to reconcile ethical requirements of conducting research with requirements on how to share and preserve the resulting data. Information Technology Personnel Information technology (IT) personnel are often responsible for providing the technical infrastructure used in conducting research and managing data. This usually includes providing storage for data and other materials that allows access to authorized personnel while keeping unauthorized personnel out. Depending on the data or the specific requirements, specialized training may be needed. This could also include assistance in transferring the data from an environment where it is actively being developed to a repository ? ? ? Licensing: Good questions to ask

89 10. Learning and Training where it will be shared, curated, and preserved. Depending on the organization’s strategy for sharing and preserving data, this may require training on the following topics: • Internal Repositories: Some questions to consider in building an in-house publications or data repository: What are the existing options? What are the existing resources’ strengths and weaknesses in meeting federal and other requirements? What investment and support are needed to sustain a repository? • External Repositories: What is the best way to select and work with an external repository? This could include assessing a repository’s policies and services and potential issues in submitting and transferring data to an external repository. Chapter Checklist From this chapter, you should be able to þ Identify the contents of training needed for U.S. DOT essential requirements. þ Understand how to extend training to go beyond by addressing local organizational needs and goals. þ Identify key contents of baseline awareness training for everyone. þ Identify key contents of basic researcher training. þ Identify key contents of advanced researcher training. þ Identify key contents of executive and management training. þ Identify key contents of training for research support roles.