Roles & Titles: Attempting to delineate Data Stewardship, Curation, Management, and similar Roles

Do Data Stewards harmonize data? Do Data Managers curate data sets? Do Data Curators offer Training? And what do Data Librarians do? Is there a difference to a Research Data Librarian? What is a Data Officer?

If you came across the above stated or similar questions, you might have the need for a definition that is consistent across domains and regions. You might also want to contribute your opinion and experience to the quest of finding terms that are acceptable for everyone.

More and more research institutions, universities, and other stakeholders pick up on the necessity to create positions for professional research data management (RDM) support staff. In this emerging field of occupations—accompaniedbythecreationofcurricula,certifications,andself-learningresources— it is still an open question who does what. Often, job descriptions cover multiple roles, job titles are invented from scratch, and task areas of one RDM professional do not necessarily match the expectations of another one with the same title when they exchange ideas.

The profession requires a good deal of exchange and interconnection, also with stakeholders outside of the own domain. When software tools are built, use cases might be created that do not quite fit the reality of all users due to semantic differences. When conferences are offered, the target group often needs to be described with many words to make sure everyone feels addressed.

This poster attempts to outline the roles, actions, and titles of data stewards, curators, managers, officers, trainers, educators, and similar RDM support staff positions. In addition to capturing at least one view on the ongoing confusion, it will be interactive and invite visitors to comment and add their own opinion and expertise. Thus, the field might be able to advance in the direction of semantic consensus on RDM roles and titles, making the life of all stakeholders and interested parties a little easier.