Understanding Researcher Needs and Challenges: Findings from a Qualitative Study on Research Data Services

Chelsea McCracken, Ruby MacDougall

In the past few decades, partnerships between libraries and other campus units have become important contributors to sustaining the growth of the research enterprise at higher-education institutions across the globe. Providing cross-campus research support services, these partnerships are essential for helping researchers navigate the increasingly complex world of research data management and for developing connective infrastructure to effectively support researchers. To better understand effective strategies for research data services delivery at North American research universities, Ithaka S+R, in collaboration with a cohort of 29 institutions, conducted a qualitative study on researchers’ data support needs and engagement with research data services at their institutions. Ithaka S+R trained cohort members to conduct semi-structured interviews with researchers on their campuses using a discussion guide that explored research focus, collaboration, data management, data modeling and sharing, the need for and use of training and data support services, and anticipated future changes to research support needs. This presentation shares key findings from our analysis of a sample of 41 researcher interviews. These findings reveal significant insights into researchers’ experiences with data management, sharing, and curation, as well as their varied conceptual understandings of the data services model. Drawing from our findings, we will also discuss potential strategies for building sustainable, adaptive services that align with research workflows and preferences. Through our analysis and discussion, we aim to contribute to the design of a data services model that fosters cross-campus collaboration and ensures the long-term resiliency of research support teams.