Last week’s presentation by Stephen Zweibel changed my perception of data. Previously (and naively), I considered data to be computer-generated but actually it also includes non-digital items. From his slide “Forms of Data”, it appears that everything is data so therefore, data is everything! Which makes sense – without data, our projects would not exist. Even with our Rebus project, we will be dealing with digital files and code, etc. but even the digital files are based off of actual objects, data in the form of pieces of paper that were printed. 

I also started to think about big vs. small data. Our project is using small data, perhaps even tiny data, for scholarly purposes. On the other side of the spectrum is big data, big tech, AI, IoT- types of data, analytics and data used for profit and marketing. What about medium data, is there such a thing?

So, a DMP is essential. Our process to follow the checklist was straightforward. Although we “checked” everything off, there are still a lot of unknowns at this point. But, the DMP is now firmly implanted in my head and going forward, obtaining and preserving data will be a constant concern.  If my team finds that we’re unable to manage the data, that’s a major hurdle to overcome. I can already see how all the files in Google Drive can become uncontrollable if we don’t stay organized! Meanwhile, who knows how Google is profiting from the data we’re storing on their servers.