Focus Projects
The focus projects are agile projects run by SaxFDM partners that address RDM needs in Saxony and implement solutions within their project duration. To date, there have been four focus projects, including two ongoing ones and two that have already been completed.
OPARA and OPARA4Saxony (completed)
OpARA (Open Access Repository and Archive) was launched in 2018 as a joint research data repository of TU Dresden and TU Bergakademie Freiberg. It is now used by two further Saxon higher education institutions. This provides researchers at these institutions with a Saxon service enabling them to securely archive research data in accordance with good scientific practice for at least ten years, or, optionally, to make it available to third parties in the long term as an open-access publication.
In July 2022, the SaxFDM focus project OPARA4Saxony was launched. As part of this project, the technical integration with OPARA is to be implemented for all interested Saxon universities as well as the SLUB Dresden. In addition to the mandatory login systems, local research information systems and library catalogues will also be integrated to enable the automated exchange of project and publication data. Further technical developments, such as a facility for transferring and submitting larger volumes of data, are also planned.
Furthermore, the project aims to establish an advisory board comprising researchers from the participating institutions to coordinate the strategic development of OpARA, to devise a long-term, sustainable operational and funding model, and to secure official certification of the repository through the Core Trust Seal.
The focus project is being carried out jointly by the ZIH at TU Dresden and the URZ at the University of Leipzig.
Project leader: Christian Loeschen (TU Dresden)
Project website: https://opara.zih.tu-dresden.de/home
SaxFDM-DMP (completed)
Early-stage data management planning (DMP) forms the basis for professional research data management (RDM). Consequently, most funding bodies now expect details on the handling of research data to be included in project applications and, increasingly, the submission of so-called data management plans. To provide Saxon researchers with the best possible support in their DMP planning, the ‘SaxFDM-DMP’ focus project aims to develop a centralised advisory, training and service offering to assist them in these matters.
In the first phase of the project, the DMP service is to be designed. An initial outcome will be a guidance document for the partner institutions. The design phase will also draw on discussions with experts who provide a broad spectrum of practical knowledge. In addition, DMP tools will be tested and ideas for support solutions developed. This may encompass both technical solutions (e.g. tool-based, exploring possible automation of DMP consultancy enquiries) and non-technical solutions to support project applications in relation to FDM aspects, as well as the creation of data management plans.
In the second phase of the project, the implementation of the entire system will then take place in approximately spring 2023. This may involve offering, for example, generic FDM solutions, as well as those specific to individual institutions or disciplines, along with templates or text modules. Development will take place through the support of real-world consultancy cases from our partner institutions, in collaboration with the SaxFDM competence team. A suitable training programme will also be put in place. Finally, an assessment will be carried out at an organisational level to determine the extent to which such a DMP service can be operated in the long term; to this end, an operational model will be designed and the roll-out implemented.
Project lead: Moritz Kurzweil (GWZO)
Project team members: Carolin Hundt (GWZO), Carina Becker (TU Dresden)
ANNO (Anthropological Notation Ontology, completed)
Data from historical and forensic anthropology and modern forensic medicine (e.g. forensic imaging) provide insights into human behaviour, way of life and culture across different historical periods. Consequently, data from, for example, archaeological excavations – where human remains, cultural artefacts, former dwellings and so on are unearthed and examined – form the basis for future analyses. Conclusions about a person’s lifetime and way of life can be drawn from human remains; skeletal remains are often available for this purpose. The analysis depends on their classification within the human skeletal system and their description (e.g. degree of wear and tear due to harsh working conditions). This annotation is carried out for each bone and bone fragment, from which the way of life of the individual or the population (based on a burial ground) can be deduced. Only through standardised classification and annotation, utilising terminologies and ontologies, can the comparability of the data and the results derived from them – and thus their transparency and sustainability – be ensured. Terminologies and formal ontologies therefore form the basis for the interoperability of data in accordance with the FAIR principles.
The aim of the ANNO project is to develop an ontology for the standardised classification of bone finds from excavations within the skeletal system, the description of skeletal fragments, and the definition of functions for deriving various human phenotypes. The ontology is to be managed within a terminology service that can be synchronised with those of the NFDI.
Project leaders: Prof. Dr. Dirk Labudde (Mittweida University of Applied Sciences), Dr. Alexandr Uciteli (University Leipzig)
Project website: https://annosaxfdm.de/
Publication service for scientific data models and vocabularies (“Pudel”, completed)
Working with digital data in the humanities can take many different forms. What they all have in common, however, is that they are preceded by some form of data modelling. The question of how these data models are documented, published and made available for reuse often does not play a central role; as a result, much of the conceptual work behind the models often remains difficult to find and understand.
The aim of the project is to create a publication and documentation service that enables different data models (RDF-based vocabularies, ontologies, XML schemas, etc.) to be documented and published in a standardised manner. This approach represents a novelty compared to existing services. Thanks to the more dynamic approach of this project, it will be possible to present the various data models arising from different research projects in a clear and accessible manner. The aim is to ensure that the data models are used in accordance with the FAIR principles for research data: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (reusable).
Project lead: Anja Becker (SAW)
Project website: https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/projekte/publikationsdienst-fuer-wissenschaftliche-datenmodelle-und-vokabulare-sax-fdm-fokusprojekt
