Learning about why funder names are entered in two different metadata fields

[Julian Gautier]

Hi everyone,

As we're working on making it easier for people to enter information about how datasets are funded and find datasets based on their funding, I've been looking into cases where depositors entered funder names in two separate fields in Dataverse's "Citation" metadata block.

Details about this are in the GitHub issue at  https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse/issues/4859, where I've described why we should and how we might move the funder names in the "Contributor" metadata field to the "Funding Information Agency" field.

I'm writing here because, while I've been learning from depositors in the Harvard Dataverse installation, which had the most of these datasets (according to the metadata I collected in October 2022), I also think it's important to hear from other Dataverse installations that have published datasets like this.

A count of these published datasets in each of the known Dataverse installations is in the attached image. Some installations are missing, like UNC's, since I wasn't able to collect their metadata in October. (This search shows that UNC doesn't have datasets like this, and a similar search can be done for any installations.)

And the attached CSV file lists each of the installation's dataset and the funder names in both fields.

Could we discuss this in this thread and maybe during a community call?

All best,

Julian

[Vaidas Morkevičius]

Hello,

Another type of the contributor, that may be mixed up with funding agency, is Sponsor. I guess it should also be included into the GH issue.

Best,

--
Vaidas Morkevičius

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dataverse Users Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to dataverse-commu...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dataverse-community/0812eafe-2895-4193-9c42-d4f8d827b8fdn%40googlegroups.com.

[Julian Gautier]

Interesting point! Thanks Vaidas.

DataCite removed "Funder" from its list of contributor types when it added its FundingReference property, and this made me think that Dataverse's "Funder" contributor type should be removed. The current DataCite schema still lists Sponsor as a contributor type.  Is this because there's a difference between a "Funder" and a "Sponsor"?

Maybe we can ask them.

[Julian Gautier]

I can take another look at metadata published in Dataverse installations, too. See who's used both contributor types and ask them why.

[Vaidas Morkevičius]

DataCite MS 4.4 specifies Sponsor as:

Description: Person or organisation that issued a contract or under the auspices of which a work has been written, printed, published, developed, etc.

Usage Notes: Includes organisations that provide in-kind support, through donation, provision of people or a facility or instrumentation necessary for the development of the resource, etc.

So there seems to be a difference from funding agency, but a very slight one.

--
Vaidas Morkevičius

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dataverse Users Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to dataverse-commu...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dataverse-community/4c954792-5eec-4891-a663-c9b969c40c7dn%40googlegroups.com.

[Julian Gautier]

Hmm, while the DataCite schema (page 32) defines fundingReference as "Information about financial support (funding) for the resource being registered" with the usage note: "It's best practice to supply funding information when financial support has been received".

The tooltip of Dataverse's Funding Information field reads that it is "Information about the Dataset's financial support."

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some confusion among depositors about the difference between sponsor and funder. DataCite's Sponsor definition is also pretty broad, too.

[Vaidas Morkevičius]

Reading more closely DataCite schema description, it seems that Sponsor is destined for more informal entities (that cannot be specified using formal nomenclatures/vocabularies).

--
Vaidas Morkevičius

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dataverse-community/7763450a-44e4-4c00-85ca-afb597c40ca3n%40googlegroups.com.

[Julian Gautier]

Very interesting! Thanks! I'm going to ask DataCite about this, too.

Maybe they'll consider editing "Sponsor" definition or usage note in their schema documentation. And then the Dataverse community can think about how to help depositors know how best indicate who the sponsors of their research are, as opposed to its "funders".

DataCite's Contribute page encourages people with questions or ideas for improvements to review their list of open issues on their Trello board and, if something related isn't already on that board, start a discussion in their forums or submit their ideas using their Google Form.

I'm going to start a thread in their forums.

[Sherry Lake]

Hi Julian,

I added the following comment on "Funders/Grants" in the Github issue.

All datasets in UVa Dataverse have "Funder" information in the grantNumber block. Examples:
https://doi.org/10.18130/V3/FRZYXV
https://doi.org/10.18130/V3/VJUZSH
https://doi.org/10.18130/V3/YWTLHC

BUT have made this block "displayoncreate" = TRUE
With these fields on create, hopefully this would prevent the information going into some other field.

AND in hopes to make what goes in that field clearer (to US), I have changed the dataverseAlias and the displayaName
details are in the issue: https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse/issues/4859

Julian... I owe you an email for why UVa changed display tips and water marks.

--

Sherry Lake

UVA Dataverse http://dataverse.lib.virginia.edu

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dataverse Users Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to dataverse-commu...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dataverse-community/0812eafe-2895-4193-9c42-d4f8d827b8fdn%40googlegroups.com.

[Julian Gautier]

Thanks for sharing, Sherry!

[Julian Gautier]

I asked in the DataCite forums about the differences between the "funderReference" property and the Sponsor contributorType.

I also started looking at how the Sponsor contributorType has been used in Harvard Dataverse. It's been used very very little.

[Julian Gautier]

In the DataCite forum post, some folks provided feedback about the use of the "Sponsor" contributor type. They wrote that a sponsor would be a person or organization that provides some kind of support that may or may not be financial.

In the GitHub issue at https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse/issues/4859, I think I should not mention these points about Sponsors, since it doesn't seem appropriate to consider removing that option and moving existing Sponsor names into the Funding Information field. What do you think, Vaidas?

But I think it's still worth considering how people have used that contributor type, and if there's enough confusion, how we might reduce it. Of the very few users in Harvard Dataverse who've used the Sponsor contributor type, I spoke to one who agreed that they should move the names to another field.

DataCite's also been thinking about contributor metadata more broadly and about adjusting its metadata model to better support something like the CRediT vocabulary, which the Dataverse community's discussed, too, such as in the GitHub issue at https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse/issues/8213. I mention this only because that might be an opportunity to consider broader changes in how Dataverse collects this kind of metadata.

Regarding the use of the "Funder" contributor type in Dataverse repositories, it still seems like a good idea to remove it and for repositories to move any funder names in it to the Funding Information field. More details about this move are in the GitHub issue at https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse/issues/4859.

Eventually I'll start reaching out to managers of installations directly to learn more.

[Vaidas Morkevičius]

Hello Julian,

After DataCite clarification, it seems that Sponsor contributor type info should not be moved to Funding Information field. However, I would agree with you that it needs to be discovered how it is being used in repositories. And guidance on how contributor types are best used could be improved.

Best,

--
Vaidas Morkevičius

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dataverse Users Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to dataverse-commu...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dataverse-community/721b00a3-5912-45f8-b623-91e3174ef7dfn%40googlegroups.com.