The document discusses research information management systems (RIMs) and the role of libraries in supporting them. It describes RIMs as systems that collate fragmented institutional research data to reduce administrative burdens. Key functions of RIMs include automated data capture, integration with internal and external data sources, and providing analytics. The document argues that RIMs benefit institutions by centralizing research information for assessment, funding applications, and increasing visibility. Libraries are well-positioned to advise on RIMs and play a lead role in planning due to expertise in data management, bibliographic standards, and understanding researcher needs.

1. Research Information Management:
Making Sense of it All
Jonathan Breeze, Symplectic CEO
Boston Library Consortium Workshop
November 2014

2. Research
Informa.on
Management:
Making
Sense
of
it
All
-­‐
The
crea.on
of
an
authorita.ve
ins.tu.onal
data
source
requires
a
thorough
understanding
of
the
subject
area,
the
adop.on
of
effec.ve
processes,
strong
stakeholder
communica.on
and
a
comprehensive
apprecia.on
of
available
sources
of
suppor.ng
data.
Faced
with
growing
compe..on
for
future
funding
and
increased
calls
to
both
disseminate
and
demonstrate
the
impact
resul.ng
from
research
ac.vity
carried
out
by
their
researchers,
many
research
intensive
ins.tu.ons
are
now
implemen.ng
Research
Informa.on
Management
Systems
(RIMs)
to
help
collate
the
oIen
fragmented
sets
of
data
maintained
across
an
ins.tu.on
and
to
blend
these
with
external
data
sources
in
a
bid
to
reduce
the
administra.ve
burden
historically
associated
with
capturing
and
managing
data
about
an
ins.tu.on’s
research
ac.vity.
In
this
session,
the
presenter
will
reflect
on
the
emergence
of
research
informa.on
management
systems,
their
key
func.ons,
the
types
of
data
they
can
capture;
the
intersec.on
of
RIMs
with
other
ins.tu.onal
systems
(e.g.
Ins.tu.onal
Repositories
and
Profile
Systems)
and
the
resul.ng
benefit
afforded
to
ins.tu.ons
that
deploy
ins.tu.on-­‐wide
RIM
systems.
Based
on
both
his
own
experience
of
implemen.ng
a
RIM
at
Imperial
College
London
and
having
worked
with
many
other
leading
research
ins.tu.ons
whilst
at
Symplec.c,
the
presenter
will
also
discuss
how
research
libraries
and
librarians
are
oIen
uniquely
placed
to
promote
and
support
the
adop.on
of
RIMs
by
Faculty
and
how
they
also
oIen
go
on
to
play
a
more
central
role
in
the
planning
of
future
ins.tu.onal
research
informa.on
data
collec.on.

3. About
Symplec.c
• We serve research institutions and researchers alike
• Our key features are developed in partnership with
our client-base
• We remain vendor and data source agnostic
• We are part of the vibrant Digital Science community

4. Overview
– The emergence of Research Information Management systems (RIMs)
• What are they
• Where did they come from inc. drivers behind early RIM development
• Primary use cases for adoption
– How do RIMs differ to traditional management information databases?
• Automated data capture
• Disambiguation
• Joining the dots
• Focus on reuse
– The role of the Librarian
• Operational support
• Quality control
• Advocacy and advice
• Taking a lead

5. What is a RIM system?
Any system dedicated to supporting the
capture, linking and dissemination of
information associated with the research
lifecycle; usually with an institutional focus.
Classic data model includes:
– Person data (inc. positions, skills, cv)
– Research Outputs and Datasets
– Patents
– Grants and projects
– Professional & teaching activities
– Org Units (e.g. research groups)
– Equipment and facilities

6. Drivers behind development of early RIMs
• Key Drivers:
– internal research assessment
– national research
assessment exercises (UK,
Aus, Denmark, Netherlands)
– increased competition for
funding
– calls to reduce administrative
burden placed on researchers
– support discoverability of
institutional research

7. Key use cases
• Collecting and managing publication
information
• Carrying out government assessment/
returns
• Growing institutional repositories
• Populating public researcher profiles
with up-to-date information
• Supporting the generation of
researcher CV’s and other internal
reports
• Evaluating institutional research activity
• Responding to funder requests

8. A move away from ‘form filling’: yikes!
“This software allowed me to turn a
1 hour annual task into a 6 hour
task (and this was after probably 2
hours of work by the college), and it
also allowed me to turn an
'excellent' annual evaluation into a
'good' evaluation. “
Unhappy
researcher

9. Far greater focus on the user experience

10. Automated data capture

11. System Integrations

12. Both internal and external systems
Institutional Systems of Record
HR Database Award
Searched by
DOI
Researcher Identifier Systems
ORCiD Researcher
ID
Bibliographic Aggregators*
Scopus Web of
Science
Disciplinary Article Repositories
PubMed arXiv
Profile/Expertise Systems
Symplectic
Elements
VIVO Scival
SSRN Sherpa FundRef
E-PMC
CINii
Datasets
figshare
RePEc DBLP
Academic (or
their proxy)
selects external
data sources
most relevant to
them
Symplectic
Reporting
Database
Funding Data
Bibliometrics
altmetric
TR Impact
Factors
Media Data
Reference Data
Org IDs
CVCV &
Biosketch
Data
Warehouse /
BI Tool
ETL
Research Output Sources
Open Access
Repository
Profile and
external
research
output data
CMS / Profile
Tool (e.g. VIVO
or Profiles RNS)
RefMgr
BibTeX
Teaching
Mgnt
Equipment
Other Data Sources
API
API
Funder and
Govt Systems
XML
API API
CrossRef data
Legend
Journal
Symplectic Institution Open Data Digital Science
Patent Data
DOAJ
Awards Data
API
.doc
& pdf
Google
Books
Dimensions

13. Leverage
benefits
of
unique
and
persistent
IDs
Automatic Disambiguation

14. Data
captured
from
7
different
sources
to
make
this
single
record
Cita.ons
counts
from
the
major
cita.ons
engines
in
the
same
place
Integra.on
with
Altmetric
Ar.cle
associated
with
3
authors
within
the
ins.tu.on
Journal-­‐level
metrics
Direct
integra.on
with
digital
research
repository
Rela.onships
to
grants,
equipment
used,
etc.
Result = richer contextualized data

15. Open Access Policy Support

16. Repository Integration
• Elements supports the population of institutional
digital repositories. The automatic detection of
files elsewhere on the web helps reduce the
burden placed on academics.

17. Data used in research networking tools
• RIMs help institutions visualize individual and
institutional research networks in public facing
profiles
VIVO:
Co-­‐author
Network
Profiles
RNS:
Author
Concepts
Timeline

18. The fun bit: Analytics

19. The role of the Library
• High visibility scholarly
communication tool
– Supports discoverability
• Support
– Advice (e.g. copyright
policies, publishing
strategies)
– Advocacy (open access
adoption)
– Understanding research
impact (inc. altmetrics)

20. Complementary Tools

21. New Services
Thompson,
NA
(2013).
Australasian
Research
Management
Conference,
Adelaide,
Australia,
11
Sep
2013
-­‐
13
Sep
2013.

22. New Services
Thompson,
NA
(2013).
Australasian
Research
Management
Conference,
Adelaide,
Australia,
11
Sep
2013
-­‐
13
Sep
2013.

23. New Services
Thompson,
NA
(2013).
Australasian
Research
Management
Conference,
Adelaide,
Australia,
11
Sep
2013
-­‐
13
Sep
2013.

24. The role of the Library
• Understanding of
data curation and
preservation
techniques
• Bibliographic data
• Other metadata
DCC
Cura.on
Lifecyle
Model
hp://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/
cura.on-­‐lifecycle-­‐model

25. Use Case: HERDC Process

26. Institutional Impact

27. Thank You!
Symplectic.info
@symplectic