Abstract: It’s easy to envisage a future where data repositories and data publications are regarded as indices of research activity for organisations who fund research, and there’s still a large number of researchers who don’t realise that a published dataset with its own DOI is a perfectly citable object (even for themselves when writing the accompanying paper), that may previously have resided as a supplement to a paper or even just a set of tables within the paper. There are now publications devoted entirely to publishing data www.nature.com/sdata/ and a clear trend that publications that have an associated published dataset will be cited stronger, and for many more years, than papers without associated datasets https://peerj.com/articles/175/ . Thomson Reuters also now have a Data Citation Index http://thomsonreuters.com/data-citation-index/ .

More importantly, “data mining” is a great way to trigger new and cross-disciplinary ideas and start new collaborations. For example, a program monitoring seals grew into using the same seals to gather bathymetry and climate data; climate data on Australian droughts was cross-compared to suicide statistics to develop a new tactical mental health program in rural Queensland. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies’ network depends on generating, using and re-using crucial and often unique and irreplaceable data, and the future of JCU’s contribution to understanding the reef environment can be enhanced by clever ways to deal with that data.

Please come along to hear this talk and discuss with Nick. Professor Ian Atkinson, eResearch Director, may also be available for this talk.

Bio: Adjunct Professor Nick Oliver is currently working with the JCU eResearch Centre to encourage researchers to consider data storage and management for the future. As a former JCU earth sciences academic (and Australian Research Council panellist) with many publications but an appalling tendency to leave reprints, rocks and USB sticks in boxes and drawers, he is well positioned to understand reluctance to store and manage data. This talk and discussion session is intended to brief the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and other JCU marine science researchers on the likely future of data management and how it will impact on your research career. Because it will.