title: Preserving Research Data
creators: Jenny Mitcham Simon Wilson Richard Green Christopher Awre Matthew Addis Julie Allinson
abstract: Applying digital preservation actions to research data is a practical step in carrying out research data management to its fullest extent and helps ensure this data remains usable in the future. This paper considers how repositories holding research data can link to an external third party tool, Archivematica, in order to carry out preservation actions as part of the data deposit workflow into the repository. We present experience from local use of Archivematica at the Universities of York and Hull in the Jisc Research Data Spring project “Filling the Digital Preservation Gap” as well as Archivematica as a shared service by Arkivum. A main focus across these use cases is a practical approach – parsimonious preservation – by using the Archivematica tools as they exist now whilst building a foundation for more comprehensive preservation strategies in the future. A key area of ongoing investigation covered by this presentation is dealing the with long tail of research data file formats, in particular how to best manage formats that are not immediately supported and need to be added to file registries such as PRONOM.