Data curation as collective action during COVID-19

Abstract

In this commentary, the authors, an international group data curation researchers and educators, reflect on some of the challenges and opportunities for data curation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on some topics of particular interest to the information science community: data infrastructures for scholarly communication and research, the politicization of data curation and visualization for public-facing “dashboards,” and human subjects research and policies. We conclude with some areas of opportunity and need, including broader and richer data curation education in the information schools, the establishment of better data management policy implementations by research funders, the award of formal academic credit for data curation activities and data sharing, and engagement in cooperative action around data ethics and security.