Research data repository requirements: A case study from universities in North Macedonia

Abstract

With research data generation on the rise, Institutional Repositories (IR) are one of the tools to manage it. However, the variety of data practices across institutions, domains, communities, etc., often requires dedicated studies in order to identify the research data management (RDM) requirements and mapping them to IR features to support them. In this study, we investigated the data practices for a few national universities in North Macedonia, including 110 participants from different departments. The methodology we adopted to this end enabled us to derive some of the key RDM requirements for a variety of data-related activities. Finally, we mapped these requirements to 6 features that our participants asked for in an IR solution: (1) create (meta)data and documentation, (2) distribute, share, and promote data, (3) provide access control, (4) store, (5) backup, and (6) archive. This list of IR features could prove useful for any university that has not yet established an IR solution.