Using Zebrafish to Do Good: Scientific Data Management

Abstract

E-science expands the scope of science library practices and promotes, among medical and graduate/undergraduate science students, the preservation of scientific data in relevant repositories/archives. Case studies can be used as a tool to educate and teach both medical and library science graduate/undergraduate students about the preservation of scientific data. In the medical sciences, researchers must submit a data management plan in order to secure funding for a research project. Therefore, they must understand the best practices that should be followed in their different disciplines. This case study addresses institutional research in a biomedical neuroscience laboratory at a prestigious research university, conducting experiments with live animals during a long term research project, and also the use of paper lab notebooks. These concepts are included in the narrative of the research story, and then pulled out to model the seven parts of a data management plan. It identifies user requirements and interface design elements for a system that can host student research data; outlines curriculum frameworks and learning needs for research data management instruction that can be delivered through a variety of methods; and presents a communication plan to inform others about the curriculum planning process and results. By using this case study as an E-science tool to help students, they will understand data management principles and challenges in the context of familiar research settings, the benefits of preserving scientific data, and also how these practices will lead to a more homogenous research future.