Data Reuse in Museum Contexts: Experiences of Archaeologists and Botanists.

Abstract

In recent years, data reuse has become a prominent goal in a number of disciplines, in recognition of the potential of new combinations and analyses of data to address new questions. While data sharing infrastructure supporting research communities has grown, so too has a body of literature addressing the barriers to data reuse. One institution largely omitted from examinations of data reuse, however, is the museum. Museums hold vast collections related to natural and human history which function as data sources in the work of many researchers. Decisions made by museum staff about methods of data selection, validation, and representation have important implications for future research use. However, little is known about the ways that researchers find, evaluate, and interpret data in museums. In response to this gap, I developed two research questions. First, what is the relationship between museum objects, their representations, and research use? Second, what factors influence the practices of staff members as they describe and manage museum data? I addressed these questions through a comparative case study of the data practices of staff and researchers using two museum collections, an archaeology museum and a herbarium. I conducted 45 semi-structured interviews with staff members and researchers between the two sites, supplementing this primary data with non-participant observation of the data practices of six of these individuals, and with archival research into the historical factors influencing the representation and use of data at the two museums. The main contribution of this work is an understanding of how researchers utilize museum data in two domains. Researchers used complex accumulations of museum objects and their representations to address different types of research goals, applying the evidential norms of their research communities to their approach to data. I characterized their use of research data as primarily type-based, involving comparative analysis of objects, or provenance-based, in which documentation of an object’s source was the most vital information. The study contributes a nuanced understanding of the work of collection managers and curators to increase the value and accessibility of museum data through the application of their own expertise in information systems and content.