11 Nov 2024
Research Data Scotland (RDS) has published an update to its metadata catalogue, bringing closer alignment with partner organisations and adding new datasets for research in the public benefit.
Released in November, the updated metadata catalogue adds datasets from the West of Scotland Safe Haven and more datasets from DataLoch and Public Health Scotland.
RDS has been working with external agency MetadataWorks to re-platform the RDS metadata catalogue, aligning the service with other data organisations including Health Data Research UK (HDR UK), the Office for National Statistics (ONS), ADR UK and others.
“This is an important step towards a streamlined and simpler approach to accessing Scottish public sector data through a single pathway...”
Adam Coulson, Delivery Manager at RDS, said: “Moving to MetadataWorks aligns us more closely with our partners and sets us up for a more federated approach to metadata in future. This is an important step towards a streamlined and simpler approach to accessing Scottish public sector data through a single pathway, and we’re delighted to be able to share the updated platform with researchers.
“We expect to make further enhancements to the catalogue over the coming months, and will continue to develop RDS’s metadata services alongside the Researcher Access Service. These improvements will contribute towards a data system that is faster, simpler and more closely aligned across Scotland.”
The RDS metadata catalogue collates information on datasets available for research published by various public sector organisations across Scotland. It includes top-level descriptions about each available dataset, dates of creation and updates, and access details. Click here to discover datasets through the RDS metadata catalogue.
Once researchers have explored the catalogue and identified datasets that will be relevant to their research, they can begin an enquiry to request access to the data, including via the Researcher Access Service for certain datasets. Initially, the Researcher Access Service enables streamlined access to nine of Public Health Scotland’s most frequently requested datasets through a fully digitised, faster, and more efficient pathway.
Developments to the metadata catalogue have been informed by engagement with researchers and other data professionals, including through a recent user survey. Conducted by RDS and EPCC at the University of Edinburgh in August, the survey sought to understand researcher requirements around metadata when applying to access secure data. Responses from 28 researchers from across the UK provided insights about metadata catalogues, enabling RDS to establish a baseline of knowledge around different data discovery journeys for UK researchers.
“At RDS, we strive to make evidence-based decisions to shape and develop our services with the needs of users in mind.”
Emma Devine, User Engagement Officer, said “At RDS, we strive to make evidence-based decisions to shape and develop our services with the needs of users in mind. Through this survey, we wanted to find out from researchers what makes metadata useful when deciding if a dataset is suitable for their research or for linkage with another dataset, especially when access to the data itself is restricted.
“The results from the survey have provided us with useful information to help guide some of RDS’s ongoing work, including the metadata catalogue refresh and the Connect 4 project. They will also guide RDS to consider how we might connect with other providers to widen our metadata offering and provide researchers with a more comprehensive description of available datasets from a wide range of sources, ultimately enabling more timely research in areas such as health, education, social care, and others.”
Learn more about the results of the metadata survey in this blog post.
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