Users
The Data Audit Framework methodology was tested in four pilot audits at: the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh; the Innovative Design and Manufacturing Research Centre (IdMRC) at the University of Bath; Glasgow University Archeological Research Division (GUARD) at the University of Glasgow; and the Centre for Computing in the Humanities at King's College London. The lessons learned from these initial audits have helped guide development of the online tool. Four implementation projects were completed to further test the methodology and promote uptake of the online tool. Their lessons and example questionnaires / interview frameworks are available in the Implementation Guide
The PI on the pilot implementation project at Imperial College London is Owen Stephens and project manager Neil Jerrome. Audits have been completed in chemical engineering, physics and the business school, as detailed in the final report. The Imperial team trialled the full DAF framework in the initial audit but found creating an inventory very time consuming, so opted for an online survey and discursive interview approach in the remainder.
The PI on the pilot implementation project at University College London is Martin Moyle and project manager Panayiota Polydoratou. UCL plan to complete five audits across a range of faculties by march 2009. Further details can be seen on the project website A paper on the proposed implementation is available through D-Lib.
The PI on the pilot implementation project at King’s College London is Sheila Anderson and project manager Stephen Grace. Five audits will be undertaken in the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, engineering and medical sciences. Further details of the King's pilot are available on the CeRCH website.
The PI on the pilot implementation project at University of Edinburgh is Robin Rice, and project manager Cuna Ekmekcioglu. Audits have taken place in various schools, inlcuding Science and Engineering, Humanities and Social Science, and Medicine and Veterinary Science. The final report including case studies of the five audits completed has been released.
The University of Southampton and University of Oxford have also used the Data Audit Framework as part of the DataShare project. Luis Martinez Uribe comments on using the methodology in his blog. The Oxford final report and Southampton findings from the audit in the School of Social Sciences are now available.
The Data Audit Framework is also attracting interest from other data initiatives such as the Australian National Data Service and Research Data Canada. The University of Oregon is using the Framework as the basis for its social science data inventory and the DAF assessment stage and interview approach are informing a preservation policy study at the University of Glasgow. Working practices for creating, maintaining and reusing electronic records are explored in this study, to provide recommendation for an instituion-wide preservation policy and guidance.
The methodology and online tool are being made freely available so you too can join the growing community of users. If you would like additional support you can register for training events or contact us for more information at info@data-audit.eu
Data Audit framework
