Data Stewardship
Carefully planned and implemented research data management supports you in your research process.
Many research groups at ETH Zurich include employees who assume responsibility for uniform research data management, reproducible data analysis or the standardised development of code scripts. These tasks are increasingly described as “data stewardship”. Data stewards are people who support the management of research data and reproducible data workflows in research groups, institutes and departments.
The ETH Library offers advice and training courses to data stewards and improves the exchange of knowledge between data stewards via the Data Stewardship Network (DSN).
Both the external pageETH Board and external pageswissuniversities have launched wide-ranging programmes to promote open research data (ORD). One key element of these programmes is to establish and professionalise data stewardship.
This is why the ETH Library launched the Data Stewardship Network (DSN) at ETH Zurich in 2023. The DSN aims to facilitate the networking of ETH employees working as experts or providing technical/administrative support in the area of research data management.
The DSN is being implemented as part of a project funded by swissuniversities, with the aim of:
- facilitating the networking of data stewards to foster discussion of technical issues;
- training on open research data (ORD) and establishing expertise in ORD topics amongst data stewards and ETH researchers;
- implementing open research data pursuant to the ETH guidelines;
- providing training materials and tutorials on research data management.
Data Stewardship and Open Research Data (ORD) at ETH Zurich
How is data stewardship integrated into the daily work at ETH Zurich? Our interview series highlights the work of active data stewards (m/f/d) in the Data Stewardship Network and shows different forms of data stewardship at ETH Zurich:
A conversation between Professor Dr Elizabeth Tilley (D-MAVT, Global Health Engineering), Lars Schöbitz, who works as an Open Science Specialist in the research group, and Dr Julian Dederke (ETH Library), who coordinates the network, shows how to integrate Open Science approaches into the work of a research group. Read the interview: A vision for Open Science and Data Stewardship at ETH Zurich.
The role of data stewardship in monitoring emissions data on ETH air travel is shown in a conversation between Dr Giuliana Turi (ETH Sustainability, Staff President) and Dr Julian Dederke (ETH Library). Read the interview:Data Stewardship for Monitoring Air Travel Emissions Data at ETH Zurich.
A conversation between PD Dr Jochen Klumpp (ISG, D-HEST) and Dr Julian Dederke (ETH Library) shows what data stewardship can look like at departmental level. Read the interview: Data stewardship at departmental level - insights from the D-HEST.
How does data stewardship work in large research infrastructures? The interview with Rebecca Hochreutener and Dr. Marian Hertrich illustrates how it works in the BedrettoLab for Geosciences and Geoenergies (D-ERDW). Read the interview: Data Stewardship in large research infrastructures?
Further information
- Launch of the Data Stewardship Network at ETH Zurich
- Recording of the external pageCoffee Lecture (10 minutes) about the network and external pagepresentation.