2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The Tri-Agencies Council of Canada that includes the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is implementing its Research Data Management (RDM) Policy in the Spring of 2023 [1]. The policy requires Canadian post-secondary institutions to develop an Institutional RDM Strategy to support and guide researchers funded by one or more of the Tri-Agencies. Researchers will be required to provide a Data Management Plan (DMP) and deposit their research data into a repository at the time of publication in order to fulfill funding obligations. This paper describes the survey results conducted at a U15 research institution in Canada asking engineering faculty about their research data sharing practices and preferences. The purpose of the survey was to answer the following questions: 1. How well prepared are engineering researchers for data deposit, 2. Are engineering researchers willing to share their data, and 3. What barriers exist for sharing engineering data? Results demonstrate knowledge of and acceptance of open access (OA) practices but when it comes to data, engineering researchers are more reluctant to share their data widely and may need guidance on RDM best practices. Subject librarians can prepare to provide assistance to faculty and educate students by gaining an understanding of engineering data management and sharing behaviors. Faculty may benefit from RDM support through all stages of the data life cycle and students may benefit from RDM literacy introduced into their curriculum. The described survey results in this paper aim to help the subject librarian identify where they might best offer support for faculty and students.

[1] Government of Canada, “Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy,” Mar. 15, 2021. https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/interagency-research-funding/policies-and-guidelines/research-data-management/tri-agency-research-data-management-policy (accessed Oct. 28, 2022).