Digital Curation

We curate the HSRC’s data and research outputs. Our mission is to make these digitial resources accessible and to ensure its future survival and usability. We strive to

•    develop collections of high re-use value that speaks to the priorities of a developing country,
•    promote best practice in terms of data management and curation standards,
•    promote the use and impact of our collections,
•    build meaningful and enduring relationships with stakeholders, both nationally and internationally, and
•    demonstrate excellence in accountability and operations.

HSRC researchers contact us when they
•    need HSRC research outputs and data,
•    need to compile data management plans,
•    need to share outputs and data,
•    want to know where to publish research outputs,
•    need assistance with copyright matters related to outputs and data, and
•    require output, data management and curation training.

Collections

Research output collection

HSRC’s research outputs, the intellectual property of the HSRC, is managed by the research outputs function within the eResearch Knowledge Centre – Digital Curation. This service ensures efficient provision of research output information by accurately capturing the publications of HSRC researchers and operational staff and disseminating it through various platforms to showcase the HSRC’s research globally. Taking copyright and confidentiality restrictions into account, outputs, such as reports, articles and conference papers are accessible. The present collection includes outputs produced from 2000. A project to curate the outputs prior to this time, is currently underway. Research outputs can be downloaded online. Enquiries regarding outputs can be sent to the Research Output Helpdesk.

Electronic copies are also stored for further use and preservation.

Research data collection

Data sharing at the HSRC relates to an organisational imperative stipulated in Section 3 of the Human Sciences Research Council Act, Act 17 of 2008 to develop and make data (quantitative and qualitative) sets available that underpin research, policy development and public discussion of developmental issues. These data sets emanated from research projects conducted by the HSRC. The collection contains mainly primary, macro level quantitative data that is longitudinal or cross sectional in nature. The data is shared for research, academic or educational purposes subject to an End User License agreement. Data can be downloaded online. Enquiries regarding data can be sent to the Research Data Helpdesk.

Related projects

Curation of pre-2000 research outputsThe research outputs produced by the HSRC before 2000 have been catalogued, but are currently only accessible in print format. A process is now underway to digitise these documents and to incorporate the metadata describing these documents in the current research outputs repository. The aim is to have a comprehensive record of the HSRC’s research ouput available for re-use.

SASAS Website

The Digital Curation unit is involved in an on-going project to showcase one of the HSRC’s flagship projects, i.e. the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) conducted by the Democracy, Governance and Service Delivery (DGSD) research programme. The main aim is to provide information about the survey, as well as access to its research outputs and data sets through a dedicated project website. SASAS received the 2017/2018 NSTF Data Award for an outstanding contribution to science, engineering, technology (SET) and innovation in South Africa by advancing the availability, management and use of data for research.

eResearch Knowledge Hub

The objective of this project is to develop an internal web presence for the eRKC that will provide an easy to use, streamlined interface for HSRC researchers to access information, tools and services that support eResearch knowledge production.

RELATED RESEARCH OUTPUTS:
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