Interdisciplinary Lunch: Who Owns Research Data?

Last year, the Center began hosting a bi-monthly gathering of faculty and graduate students from across UNC-CH to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by new communication technologies, including social media, mobile platforms, and the Internet, and the impact they are having on governments, the economy, and cultural and social values throughout the world.

Our first lunch of the fall will address the question, “Who owns research data?”  There are many stakeholders who may have a legitimate interest in determining what happens to data that are collected and generated as part of scholarly research. “Ownership” can be seen as a right to control the data but also as having the responsibility to responsibly care for the data over time. Data ownership issues touch on legal constraints and commitments (e.g. FERPA, intellectual property, human subjects protections, open records laws), requirements of funding agencies (e.g. data management plans), and social norms and behaviors. Perceptions of ownership often do not align well with formal, institutional mandates. And those responsible for creation of data are not always well positioned to provide for long-term access.

The September lunch will be held from noon to 1:15 p.m. on Friday, September 14 in room 208 in Manning Hall. We will provide box lunches and drinks for those who register. All you need to bring is an inquiring mind.

To RSVP for the lunch and to see the list of suggested background readings, please go to our events listing.

And a big thank you to Christopher “Cal” Lee, an associate professor in the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS), for taking the lead on this topic and to SILS for hosting the lunch!

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