Developing a Guide to Ensuring Access to the Publications and Data of Federally Funded Transportation Research (2020)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

28 3 PHASE II DEVELOPMENT OF THE GUIDANCE DOCUMENT 3.1 Guidance Structure and Contents At the end of Phase I, we developed a proposed outline for the guidance document. In addition, we attended a meeting of the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) and presented to a working group there. From this group, we signed up a set of volunteers from state DOTs who would review parts of the guidance and provide feedback. Because of the importance of the U.S. DOT Public Access Plan requirements, we refocused the outline of each of the chapters of the Guide to address how to meet Essential Requirements and how to “Go Beyond” to address the broader goals of open science, should the state DOT so choose (at any time). The resulting chapter outline and structure is shown in Figure 3-1. Figure 3-1 Guidance map (from Chapter 1) Based on early feedback from state DOT reviewers, we also tried to make each chapter stand alone and focus on practical actions. Each chapter ends with a checklist of learning outcomes from the chapter. These checklists were then compiled and adapted at the end of the guide into a series of higher-level steps (corresponding to chapters) and specific practical actions within each step. A summary of chapter contents is in the sections that follow.

29 3.1.1 Chapter 1 What are We Trying to Accomplish? Chapter 1 provides background on the OSTP memo and subsequent U.S. DOT Public Access Plan in response. It includes a brief description of the most recent developments from NTL and a brief definition of Open Science. Finally, it gives an introduction to the conventions of the guide, including icons and chapter structure. In this chapter:  Policy Sources and Directives  The Guide’s Structure and Conventions  Essential Requirements — the Current State  Evolving Landscape — Going Beyond  Chapter Checklist 3.1.2 Chapter 2 Understanding Essential Requirements Chapter 2 focuses on the Essential Requirements established by the U.S. DOT Public Access Plan, for compliance. The requirements are laid out in detail, along with the current scope of the U.S. DOT Public Access Plan (both the funding and products included). In this chapter:  The National Transportation Library’s Role  The Research Project Life Cycle and Compliance  Essential Requirements o Requirements: Before, During, and After a Research Project o Requirements: Research Products o Requirements: Open Researcher and Contributor ID o Requirements: Data Management Plans o Consequences of Noncompliance  Public Access Plan Effective Data  Sources of Research Funding  Finding Your Submitted Research Products and Data  Chapter Checklist 3.1.3 Chapter 3 Going Beyond the Minimum in an Evolving Landscape Chapter 3 focuses on going beyond the essential requirements to take actions that support the goals of Open Science. Although we do not expect state DOTs to start with this goal, we thought it was important to present the bigger picture of publication and data preservation in the context of Open Science so that they could potentially lead culture change in the field of transportation. In this chapter:

30  Principles of Accessibility and Availability  Curation: Definition, Landscape, and Solutions  Going Beyond the Minimum — Creating an Open Science Culture  Chapter Checklist 3.1.4 Chapter 4 Developing Strategies and Policies Chapter 4 focuses on getting state DOTs (and other relevant organizations) started by implementing strategies and policies that support the public access plan. The starting point is the essential requirements. We describe how to evaluate what capabilities, structures, and processes the organization already has, and potential strategies and policies to put in place to address gaps. Then, we describe additional policies that can help the organization go beyond minimum compliance with the essential requirements and develop a long-term vision. In this chapter:  Getting Started  Planning for Essential Requirements  Implementing a Short-Term Strategy  Going Beyond: Creating a Holistic Plan and Long-Term Goals  Implementing a Long-Term Vision  Developing Practical Policies and Strategies  Measuring Progress  Chapter Checklist 3.1.5 Chapter 5 Roles and Responsibilities Chapter 5 covers necessary roles and responsibilities associated with meeting the essential requirements and also to extend the state DOT’s capability. The chapter presents the USGS research data life-cycle model to give structure to roles and responsibilities. It also provides a sample worksheet for aligning specific people in the organization to those roles. In this chapter:  Key Roles for Essential Requirements  Going Beyond: Expanding Stakeholders and Roles and Responsibilities  Aligning Stakeholders with Roles and Responsibilities  Building a Research Preservation–Conscious Culture  Chapter Checklist

31 3.1.6 Chapter 6 Managing Research Publications Chapter 6 focuses on understanding and implementing research publication preservation. The chapter covers eligibility under essential requirements and considers other publications that might be included in going beyond. It gives basic background on how preservation is accomplished, including discussion of publication metadata. It also distinguishes between journal publications and research reports to the extent that the compliance process can be different for these. In this chapter:  Determining Essential Requirements Eligibility o Research Publications and Reports Eligible under Essential Requirements o Publications and Reports Not Eligible under Essential Requirements  Tracking and Identifying Eligible Research Products o Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications o Technical and Final Research Project Reports o Tracking Eligible Publications Retroactively  U.S. DOT Registries and Repositories  Going Beyond Essential Compliance: Including All Research Products  Understanding Publication Preservation Basics  Understanding Metadata Standards and Practices  Understanding Legal and Copyright Strategies  Chapter Checklist 3.1.7 Chapter 7 Managing Research Data Chapter 7 is parallel to Chapter 6 but covers preservation of research data. One of the particular challenges of data preservation is that NTL does not provide a repository for data in the way it provides one for reports. Thus, meeting essential requirements calls for more decision-making on the part of the state DOT in how to handle this part of the requirements. Chapter 7 describes the specific data covered under essential requirements of the plan, guidance for determining how to meet the essential requirements, background on research data preservation and metadata, and ways to go beyond the essential requirements and preserve more of the state DOT’s research data. In this chapter:  Definition of Research Data  Explaining Essential Requirements for Research Data  Going Beyond: Research Data Management and Access  Understanding Data Preservation  Deciding What to Preserve: Data Scope and Coverage  Deciding Which Formats to Preserve

32  Understanding How Long to Preserve Data  Managing Quality of Research Data  Understanding Metadata Standards and Metadata for Transportation Data  Deciding Where to Preserve Data  Chapter Checklist 3.1.8 Chapter 8 Data Management Plans After the information-gathering process in Phase I and early feedback from state DOTs, we determined that it was important to have a chapter devoted exclusively to Data Management Plans (DMPs) to highlight their important role in research preservation. The chapter covers DMP contents and purpose in detail, including how they fit into essential requirements and going beyond the minimum. In this chapter:  Developing and Maintaining Data Management Plans  Essential Requirements for Developing Sections of Data Management Plans o Data Section of the DMP o Standards Section of the DMP o Access Section of the DMP o Use Section of the DMP o Archiving/Preserving Section of the DMP  Going Beyond the Minimum for Data Management Plans  Chapter Checklist 3.1.9 Chapter 9 Building Blocks of the Solution Chapter 9 covers NTL and TRB infrastructure, as well as external support infrastructure that help to support preservation of transportation research products. This chapter discusses how the state DOT can make a choice about where to preserve data, and it puts the NTL and TRB registries and repositories of research projects and publications in the larger context. In this chapter:  The Big Picture — U.S. DOT and state DOTs  U.S. DOT Systems and Services Today  Data Repository and Management Solutions o Selecting the Best Solution  Non–U.S. DOT Registries and Repositories for Written Research Products  Chapter Checklist 3.1.10 Chapter 10 Learning and Training Training is critical to the success of the U.S. DOT Public Access Plan, and Chapter 10 covers this topic in detail. Training elements for both essential requirements and going beyond are covered, as well as how training might be focused for people in

33 particular roles. Potential sources of training materials are provided to help get organizations started. In this chapter:  Learning Strategies for the Research Organization  Training Design and Delivery o Developing Training for Essential Requirements o Developing Training for Going Beyond  Baseline Awareness Training for Everyone  Training for Researchers  Training for Executive and Management Roles  Training for Research Support Roles o Lab Managers/Data Curators o Compliance Personnel o Information Technology Personnel  Chapter Checklist 3.1.11 Chapter 11 Estimating and Managing Costs Chapter 11 discusses the elements of the essential requirements and going beyond that introduce costs to the organization or individual projects. Specific cost factors, budgets affected (e.g., project budget vs. organization budget), and estimation tools available on the web are all included in this chapter. In this chapter:  Balancing Costs and Benefits  Cost Factors: Essential Requirements for the Research Organization  Cost Factors: Essential Requirements for Individual Researchers  Cost Factors: Going Beyond in Repository Management  Chapter Checklist 3.1.12 Chapter 12 Assessing and Managing Progress Chapter 12 covers assessment of the state DOT’s program for research product preservation. Both developing and established programs need to incorporate assessment measures and a regular assessment cycle to identify areas for improvement and to evaluate impact. In this chapter:  Assessment of Essential Requirements  Assessment of Process and Support for Essential Requirements o Assessing Quality of Interaction o Assessing Policy and Process  Assessment for Going Beyond o Assessing Impact o Developing the Assessment Process

34  Chapter Checklist 3.1.13 Chapter 13 Putting It All Together Finally, Chapter 13 takes the elements of all of the chapters in the Guide and puts them together into a series of practical steps and activities to put a working system of research product preservation in place. The steps correspond to chapters in the Guide and the activities are provided in checklist format. An example is in Figure 3-2 below. In this chapter:  How to Use the Checklists o Foundational Checklists  Essential Requirements o Using the Checklists to Go Beyond Essential Requirements  Using the Checklist to Go Beyond Minimum Requirements  Foundational Steps  Steps for Meeting Essential Requirements Figure 3-2 Example activity checklist 3.2 State DOT Feedback State DOT volunteers provided feedback on the draft guidance after it was fully drafted (as well as for early partial versions). Much of the feedback was specific and changes were made to clarify statements that they identified as unclear. A handful of comments were more policy-oriented. In particular, issues of responsibility (e.g., for training, document submission, compliance, and ensuring compliance) may warrant some further process iterations as the policy continues to be implemented. However, this is outside the scope of the guidance (other than our recommendation to check the NTL website frequently). 3.3 Summary of Phase II The goal of Phase II was to develop guidance for state DOTs to comply with the requirement to preserve the products of federally funded researcher, under the U.S. DOT