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

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CHAPTER 3. Going Beyond the Minimum in an Evolving Landscape Principles of Accessibility and Availability “Availability” and “accessibility” refer to the ways in which the U.S. DOT and its policies ensure or strive to ensure that citizens have the means to find, read, understand, trust, and otherwise use research results that have been partially or fully funded by the U.S. DOT. To achieve the Public Access Plan’s goals, it is important to focus on both availability and accessibility. Availability means the public is aware of the research products or can determine that research exists. In other words, available research products can be found and acquired by the public. Federally funded research results are available if they meet the following criteria: • There is traceability from the funding sources to the research produced from those funds. • Research results are registered in the NTL Repository and Open Science Access Portal (ROSA P) registry: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/. • The publications registry supports searching for research publications and their underlying research data. • Search and discovery are grounded on metadata that describes both the research publications and their underlying research data. • There is a persistent and reliable link to the • Publication from its metadata (e.g., DOI), • Research data from its research publication (DOI), and • Researcher conducting the research (e.g., ORCID identifier). • The research publication and data have been stored in facilities that guarantee their future archival preservation and access. 3. G O IN G B E Y O N D T H E M IN IM U M IN A N E V O LV IN G LA N D S C A P E In This Section » Principles of Accessibility and Availability » Curation: Definition, Landscape, and Solutions » Going Beyond the Minimum — Creating an Open Science Culture » Chapter Checklist ? ? ? Availability means the public is aware of the research data or can determine that research exists. 17

18 3. GoinG Beyond the MiniMuM in an evolvinG landscape ? ? ? Accessibility means the data resource is understandable to and usable by its intended audience and also as many people as possible who wish to use it. Accessibility means the data resource is understandable to and usable by its intended audience. It also means that its research products are understandable to and usable by as many people as possible who wish to use it. Federally funded research results are considered accessible if the following criteria are met: • Data creation and transformation are documented. • Data versions are documented. • Programs or algorithms used to manipulate data are documented. • Technical documentation explaining how data are designated and labeled are available, including codebooks, dictionary files, data collection instruments, data maps, errata files, frequency files, cross-tabulation files, user guides, manuals, appendices, reports, record layout files, or rectangular files. The steps to achieving accessibility and availability of transportation research products and data are discussed in more detail in the remaining chapters of this Guide. They include concrete actions that state DOTs and researchers can (and should) take to achieve these ends. Curation: Definition, Landscape, and Solutions Curation is the planning and actions taken to add value to the data through enabling its use beyond its immediate purpose, making it accessible to others, and ensuring that the data retain their value over time. In other words, it can be broadly defined as the “active and on-going management of data through its lifecycle of interest and usefulness to scholarly and educational activities.”1 As noted by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), an organization dedicated to curating social science data, the work done to curate data has similarities to the work done by an art museum curator. Data are organized, described, cleaned, enhanced, and preserved for public use through the curation process, just as work is done on paintings or other art works to make them understandably accessible to the public now and in the future. The curation landscape is constantly evolving, and the demand for access to data will only increase as time goes on (Figure 2). Curation can be handled in two different ways: local curation or off-site curation. Local curation solutions, while a feasible option for organizations that produce research data on a large scale, may be challenging, given the dynamic and evolving nature of the practice. Several repositories offer varying levels of off-site curation. For more information, see “Deciding Where to Preserve Data” on page 63. ? ? ? List of off-site repositories: https://ntl.bts.gov/ public-access/ data-repositories- conformant-dot- public-access-plan

19 3. GoinG Beyond the MiniMuM in an evolvinG landscape Figure 2. Current National and International Landscape of Curation Satisfying essential requirements is the immediate concern of researchers and their research organizations. As noted earlier, the National Transportation Library (NTL) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) provide guidance and services that enable state DOTs to comply. However, rapidly changing technologies and increased capabilities to handle diverse types of data, along with the increased number of publishers and funders requiring data sharing, have created new demands for access. In the long term, research organizations should expect the demand for access to their research results and data to increase. State DOTs that produce research on a large scale may find that local curation solutions facilitate tracking, managing, access, and preservation of their research assets. Local curation solutions, though, are challenging for most state DOTs today, given the dynamic and evolving nature of the practice. For a state DOT considering a local curation solution, it will be helpful to gather more information about the basic elements of research products and data curation (see the box to the right). In addition, some federal agencies have a historical foundation of managing research products and a historical mandate or practice that promotes sharing, dissemination, and reuse. These include the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). To stay abreast of progress, state DOTs may wish to visit the individual websites of the organizations listed above. In considering how to apply the Office of Science and Technology Policy memorandum, agencies are striving to reflect the needs of the research communities that they serve. Therefore, state DOTs may want to consider actively participating in the process of forming policies and practices by getting involved in discussions and partnering with agencies on these subjects when opportunities arise to do so. Basic Elements of Research Products and Data Curation • Data deposit practices and agreements • Metadata creation and management • Data access and availability services • Research registry design and standards • Research repository design and standards • Persistent identifiers for research products • Curation of sensitive data • Data processing and review support • Data appraisal services • Preservation services

20 3. GoinG Beyond the MiniMuM in an evolvinG landscape Going Beyond the Minimum — Creating an Open Science Culture Complying with the U.S. DOT’s essential requirements is a critical first step toward achieving the Open Science vision (see Figure 3). An Open Science culture is another critical success factor. Understanding the factors that contribute to such a culture will facilitate compliance and allow organizations and researchers to go beyond the minimum. Organizational policies and processes should be supported by strategies that suit the context, including consideration of researcher behaviors and practices, the state DOT or other research institution, the research community, research norms, and research data infrastructures. The purpose of this section of the Guide is to raise awareness of the factors that may influence compliance in addition to policies. Factors Related to Researchers Although it is relatively easy to describe how and why researchers should comply with the policy, other factors may influence compliance and should be considered: • Sociodemographic factors such as age, seniority and career goals, and research practices. Older researchers may be more willing to share their knowledge and research with others because their reputation is established and they are at a point in their careers where they can see how shared use will advance their own work. Younger researchers may be more hesitant to share if there is a chance that doing so will affect their advancement. • Degree of control, including knowledge of the data requester, involvement in the decision to share, and priority rights for publication. Researchers want to have a say in or an understanding of how their research and data may be shared; they want to know who is using their research and how. • Resources needed to make data available, including time and effort, skills and knowledge, and financial resources. Researchers may be concerned about the amount of time and effort required to make their research available. Some of this concern may be related to how the research data were originally curated and the time and effort required to make them usable today. • Nonmonetary benefits to researchers such as formal recognition, professional exchange, and quality improvements. Academic researchers are concerned about their reputation and recognition for their work. Researchers are unlikely to willingly share when research and data sharing requires significant time, detracts from other work, and does not add in some way to a researcher’s performance metrics. Understanding the factors that contribute to an Open Science culture allows organizations and researchers to go beyond the minimum. ? ? ?

21 3. GoinG Beyond the MiniMuM in an evolvinG landscape Factors Related to Research State DOTs and Other Transportation Research Organizations Organizations should support their researchers by having and promoting data-sharing policies and encouraging and incentivizing a knowledge- and data-sharing culture. This means having organizational-level rewards and recognitions for researchers who actively share. Organizations should also ensure there is a deep understanding of the policies and requirements of all agencies from which an organization requests research funds. Organizations whose researchers are not in compliance run the risk of having their research funding proposals turned down. When funding agency policies and requirements are tracked and interpreted at the research institution level, cost efficiencies are achieved. When organizations do not provide this support, researchers incur comparative disadvantages — time taken away from doing research. Factors Related to the Research Community While the research community is beyond the control of individual organizations or researchers, the community’s culture and practices influence how researchers share knowledge and data. • Different research communities have different knowledge- and data-sharing cultures. An organization may need to further incentivize researchers if the community does not openly share knowledge and data. • Some research communities accustomed to sharing knowledge and data have established metadata standards, data formats, and interoperability standards. Where these are not available, organizations may need to provide additional guidance and support to researchers. • The scientific value of the research, including rate of scientific progress, scientific exchange practices, and scientific review practices, may influence how accustomed researchers are to sharing research and data. • Peer-reviewed publishing in high-impact academic journals is a critical element of how academics are judged by their institutions. Where a research community’s journals have established data-sharing policies, researchers will be more inclined to comply with organizational and funding agency policies.

22 3. GoinG Beyond the MiniMuM in an evolvinG landscape The Open Science Vision Open Science is a movement to make scientific research, data, and dissemination available and accessible to all levels of society — from citizen science to academically produced research to research conducted in the private sector. It involves publishing open research, advocating for open access, encouraging scientists to share their methodologies, and generally making it easier to leverage existing scientific knowledge and research. Open Science is not a new concept — its roots date back to the earliest academic journals of the 17th century. Further, there is no one definition of Open Science. However, the U.S. DOT’s Public Access Plan supports the Open Science vision by requiring that federally funded transportation-related research is accessible and available to the public by ensuring that • The public is aware of the research publications and data sets generated, fully or partially, through federally funded scientific research (Principle of Availability) and • The public is able to download and analyze unclassified publications and/or digital data sets unless specifically precluded by privacy, confidentiality, or security concerns where access may be restricted to subsets of the public, or other means as necessary (Principle of Accessibility). Value of Open Science to the Field of Transportation By supporting the Open Science vision, the U.S. DOT generates value for those working in the transportation field and the general public. Open Science in transportation • Increases the public’s understanding of all modes of transportation; • Informs and supports appropriate decision making and planning for transportation at all levels of government and by the private sector; • Supports the reproducibility of science, and enables scientists and engineers to move beyond immediate projects to leverage knowledge and build upon the work of other researchers; • Ensures that information about advances in transportation safety, mobility, and economic development are available to all consumers; • Improves the quality and transparency of research by providing access to the underlying data used to derive conclusions; and • Generally maximizes the impact of federal research funding in transportation. Figure 3. What is Open Science Anyway?

23 3. GoinG Beyond the MiniMuM in an evolvinG landscape Factors Related to Research Norms Research norms include ethical and legal considerations. These issues are addressed in and essential to the U.S. DOT’s Public Access Plan. Ethical Norms Ethical norms focus on confidentiality, informed consent practices, and considerations of potential harm resulting from public access to research data. In the U.S. DOT policy, organizations are responsible for ensuring that ethical norms are observed and respected. A critical internal partner for ensuring compliance in academic organizations is the institutional review board (IRB). Ethical standards and concerns are part of the internal IRB review process and can act as a compliance checkpoint. Legal Norms Legal norms include issues such as ownership and right of use, privacy, contractual consent, and copyright practices. Unresolved legal issues can adversely affect knowledge and data sharing. State DOTs and research institutions need clearly defined policies and processes to ensure that legal norms are observed. Private-sector organizations may need to consider legal norms surrounding copyrights and patents for their research products. In such cases, research supported by funds from federal agencies should be managed according to federal policy. Factors Pertaining to Data Users and Consumers While data users and consumers are generally beyond the control of individual organizations or researchers, their use of data can influence researchers’ willingness to comply. Adverse Use of Data Consider the adverse use of research data and its effect on the researcher. A universal concern for researchers is the adverse use of their research knowledge or data, including falsification, commercial misuse, competitive misuse, flawed interpretation, and unclear intent of use. It is equally important for a research institution to incentivize appropriate use and citation of others’ research data, as it is for an organization to incentivize those same researchers to share. Security and Protection of Data The security and protection of research data are significant concerns for researchers. In addition to a general culture of respect for and acknowledgment of other researchers’ data, organizations whose researchers actively use others’ research data should ensure the Procedures should be established to ensure legal norms are observed. ? ? ?

24 3. GoinG Beyond the MiniMuM in an evolvinG landscape security conditions for those data and the commercial or public organizational requirements for public access. Factors Pertaining to Data Infrastructures State DOTs are required by the U.S. DOT Public Access Plan to preserve and safeguard the research data upon which research conclusions depend. Data infrastructures are one way to fulfill this requirement. However, state DOTs are responsible for identifying a trustworthy data infrastructure. Data sharing within and across state DOTs will be affected by the following: • Architectures that support access, performance, storage, data quality review, and data security; • Usability of tools and applications, as well as technical support available to support availability, access to, and use of research data; and • Management software that supports data documentation and metadata standards and tells researchers about the quality, nature, and trustworthiness of the research data. Chapter Checklist From this chapter you should be able to þ Explain the goal of Open Science and translate the goal to your organization. þ Understand the difference between availability and accessibility. þ Understand how your organization supports availability and accessibility. þ Gain familiarity with the current landscape of other federal agency and departmental practices. þ Gain familiarity with the national and international landscape of research preservation. þ Understand organizational factors that may present challenges. Endnotes 1 Cynthia Hudson-Vitale, Heidi Imker, Lisa R. Johnston, Jake Carlson, Wendy Kozlowski, Robert Olendorf, and Claire Stewart. SPEC Kit# 354: Data Curation. Association of Research Libraries, Washington, DC, 2017. https://publications.arl.org/Data-Curation-SPEC-Kit-354/.