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  • wicked problems paper revised for LR

    Rights statement: This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/research-data-management-as-a-wicked-problem(f69e7cf2-3c6c-40bb-906b-70abf535dc71).html Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Accepted author manuscript, 64.6 KB, Word document

  • Library Review - Decision on Manuscript ID LR-04-2015-0043.R1

    311 KB, PDF document

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Research Data Management as a “wicked problem”

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Chris Awre
  • Jim Baxter
  • Brian Clifford
  • Janette Colclough
  • Andrew Cox
  • Nick Dods
  • Paul Drummond
  • Martin Gill
  • Kerry Gregory
  • Anita Gurney
  • Juliet Harland
  • Dawn Lowe
  • Ronan O'Beirne
  • Rachel Proudfoot
  • Andrew Smith
  • Eddy Verbaan
  • Liz Waller
  • Laurian Williamson
  • Martin Wolf
  • Matthew Zawadzki
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>2015
<mark>Journal</mark>Library Review
Issue number4-5
Volume64
Number of pages16
Pages (from-to)356-371
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the usefulness of the concept to thinking about Research Data Management (RDM). The concept of “wicked problems” seeks to differentiate very complex, intractable challenges from tamer issues where approaches to problem solving are well-understood.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper is based on and co-authored by a collaboration of practitioners from libraries, information technology and research administration, with facilitators from the Sheffield Information School. Participants worked together in two-day-long workshops to understand the wicked problem concept and advice on leadership in wicked problem contexts.

Findings
– Participants concurred that RDM had many features of a wicked problem and most of Grint’s advice on leadership for wicked problems also resonated. Some elements of the issue were simple; participants were optimistic about improving the situation over time. Participants were resistant to the more negative or fatalistic connotations of the phrase “wicked problem”. Viewing RDM as a wicked problem is an interesting way of looking at it as a challenge for support professionals.

Practical implications
– The notion of a wicked problem is a generative concept that can be usefully added to professional vocabulary.

Originality/value
– The paper captures an in-depth response from practitioners to the notion of wicked problems as a lens for examining RDM.

Bibliographic note

This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/research-data-management-as-a-wicked-problem(f69e7cf2-3c6c-40bb-906b-70abf535dc71).html Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.