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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Research Data Management as a “wicked problem”
AU - Awre, Chris
AU - Baxter, Jim
AU - Clifford, Brian
AU - Colclough, Janette
AU - Cox, Andrew
AU - Dods, Nick
AU - Drummond, Paul
AU - Fox, Yvonne
AU - Gill, Martin
AU - Gregory, Kerry
AU - Gurney, Anita
AU - Harland, Juliet
AU - Khokhar, Masud
AU - Lowe, Dawn
AU - O'Beirne, Ronan
AU - Proudfoot, Rachel
AU - Schwamm, Hardy
AU - Smith, Andrew
AU - Verbaan, Eddy
AU - Waller, Liz
AU - Williamson, Laurian
AU - Wolf, Martin
AU - Zawadzki, Matthew
N1 - 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.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Research
KW - Academic libraries
KW - Data curation
KW - Research data management
U2 - 10.1108/LR-04-2015-0043
DO - 10.1108/LR-04-2015-0043
M3 - Journal article
VL - 64
SP - 356
EP - 371
JO - Library Review
JF - Library Review
SN - 0024-2535
IS - 4-5
ER -