This project seeks to circumvent the data vs. documents camp in the grey literature community by way of a middle ground provided through enhanced publications. Enhanced publications allow for a fuller understanding of the process in which data and information are used and applied in the generation of knowledge. The enhanced publication of grey literature precludes the idea of a random selection of data and information, and instead focuses on the human intervention in data-rich environments. The definition of an enhanced publication is borrowed from the DRIVER-II project, “a publication that is enhanced with three categories of information: research data, extra materials, and post-publication data”. Enhanced publications combine textual resources i.e. documents intended to be read by human beings, containing an interpretation or analysis of primary data. Enhanced publications inherently contribute to the review process of grey literature as well as the replication of research and improved visibility of research results in the scholarly communication chain.
Tracking and Backtracking Data, 2012
In 2011, GreyNet presented the first results of a two year project on Enhanced Publications (EPP). This year, the project focusses on the acquisition of research data, their cross-linking to existing full-text documents, and the establishment of a workflow for future publications. Enhanced publications combine and link research data to full-texts, other supplementary materials, as well as post-publication data. Results in the first leg of the project indicate that sixty percent of the surveyed authors base their research on empirical and/or statistical data. And, two-thirds of those authors remarked that their data are still available for archiving purposes. These respondents also express a willingness to share their data and hold to the opinion that both the data producer as well as the prospective user would stand to benefit. This second leg of the project rests on the approach taken in facilitating the acquisition process. The primary instrument used will be the OpenGrey Repository that houses GreyNet’s collection of conference preprints. By backtracking to the existing metadata records in OpenGrey and by communicating directly with the authors of those records, another way will be opened for further cooperation between data producer and data provider. In addition, the subsequent cross-linking between OpenGrey and the DANS EASY Repository, where GreyNet’s research data will be stored, stands to better serve the needs of the grey literature community in which open access to research data is a prerequisite.
