Editorial

Hello,

FreiData is gaining interest as an endpoint for processes where research data is curated and published as automatically as possible. This allows for large amounts of data to be published in a citable manner. The Newsletter #004 highlighted a concept for data minimization, which was also developed by members of the RDMG. It emphasizes the necessity of handling even seemingly free resources with care. Care includes good testing. In the following section on when to reserve a DOI and when to complete a registration , it is recommended to use test environments for this purpose.

Best regards,

Jan Leendertse

From the RDMG

Resolution for the Creation of a Central Data Facility

With the rectorate’s decision on July 3, 2024, the “Central Data Facility” (CDF) is taking shape. Its tasks for institutional research data management (FDM) within the purview of the Vice-Rector for Research & Innovation are currently being finalized. It is designed as a „Central Facility“ to organize services across the university that support FDM. Updates on the further development of the CDF will be communicated through the appropriate channels.

Blog Post on the Implementation of FreiData with InvenioRDM

Regarding the consideration of why FreiData was established as a complement to FreiDok plus, a post has appeared on the InvenioRDM blog . The purpose of FreiData is focused on the publication of datasets from research that exceed a volume of 10 gigabytes.

FreiData can be integrated into automated workflows via REST APIs. This helps make research data FAIR .

InvenioRDM is the software framework on which FreiData operates. It builds on preliminary work from CERN, and the University of Freiburg’s computing center is involved in the developer community.

Research Data Management in Practice

Archiving Websites for Scientific Projects

There are many uncertainties when dealing with websites related to research projects. This is particularly evident at the end of such projects when a final report is written, project staff have ideally received follow-up contracts, and publications are listed in bibliographies.

Websites often remain without clear regulations. Typically, the website continues to operate until it is shut down for operational reasons unrelated to the project or must be taken offline due to unaddressed security vulnerabilities.

To prevent such situations, sustainable operation and potential closure should be planned from the outset when preparing a website. The relevance of such considerations prior to launching a website has also been analyzed elsewhere. The article “The Internet Forgets – Guidelines for Archiving Scientific Websites” [Frech, Grossmann:2024] discusses the planning steps involved: How can citability be maintained for a fleeting medium that relies on ongoing technical infrastructures?

The aforementioned article explicitly refers to good scientific practice, from which the necessity for proactive planning arises.

Reserving a DOI

For current reasons – without the intention of publication, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) were registered in FreiData – the different process steps of datasets under embargo, pre-registered DOIs, and released DOIs should be separated here.

For the release of FreiData, the decision was made to allow DOI registration without preconditions for the time being. This was also in response to the requirement of the Open Science Policy to use a DOI as an identifier for digital objects published from the University of Freiburg. This should not lead to the conclusion that a final DOI should be applied for in the creation process. It is possible to reserve a DOI ahead of a final publication.

For each registered DOI, the university must pay a small fee to the registration agency DataCite. It should also be considered that a DOI entails the obligation of the University Library for FreiDok plus and the Computing Center for FreiData to operate a landing page where all details about the DOI can be read or evaluated programmatically. And the actual object must be kept accessible via this landing page. This requires the operation of infrastructures.

The use of FreiData is expressly desired as evidence of research activities at the University of Freiburg. The step to a DOI should be taken when something fleeting digital is allowed the path into the past. Registering a DOI is a conscious act for a single digital object. Automating this should be technically tested and content-wise considered. For testing FreiData and how it can be integrated into automated workflows, there are test systems with all REST APIs. Please contact us if you would like more information.

Upcoming Events

Guest Lecture RSpace

On February 27, 2025, Tilo Mathes will present RSpace at the University of Freiburg’s Computing Center. The on-site event is at 2:00 pm in room 112 in the Computing Center building. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to ask Tilo Mathes questions.

RSpace is an open-source LIMS (Laboratory Information and Management System). The company behind RSpace has a business model that works with open-source. The invitation to Tilo Mathes was organized by the Galaxy-Group-Freiburg , as they were preparing an integration of RSpace into Galaxy.

Next Newsletter

The release date of the next newsletter with number #007 has not yet been set.