Research Data Management in South Africa: How We Shape Up

Kahn, Michelle; Higgs, Richard; Davidson, Joy; Jones, Sarah

doi:10.1080/00048623.2014.951910

Cited by 29 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…However, despite the NRF's stated data requirement, formalised RDM and institutional RDM support at many South African research institutes is currently still at an early stage. Terms describing this state of affairs, such as "haphazard" (Kahn et al 2014) or "slow" (Van Deventer & Pienaar 2015), feature strongly in South African RDM discussions. Even though articles and reports are being published on the topic, the exploratory nature of the current South African RDM community is evident.…”

Section: Rdm In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

From planning to practice: an action plan for the implementation of research data management services in resource-constrained institutions

Patterton

Bothma

Deventer

2018

SAJLIS

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Research data management (RDM) and its accompanying services and infrastructures are predominantly still in a state of infancy in many African countries and little is known about the RDM habits of the researchers from these areas. Our research showed that researcher RDM behaviour is similar across the globe, but our experience was that the will to implement formal RDM is not. Similarly, the responsibility for RDM implementation is not always clear. What is clear is that, although the library should not assume primary responsibility, it does have a role to play in the successful implementation of RDM services. This paper briefly discusses the results of two RDM surveys conducted at a relatively resource-constrained, albeit leading, South African research institute. The surveys were designed to establish the RDM habits as well as the RDM needs as expressed by both emerging and experienced researchers at the stated institute. The intention was to use the results to initiate full-scale implementation of RDM services by the library. It was interesting to note that neither the emerging nor the experienced researchers showed significant deviations in research behaviour compared to that found amongst their colleagues in more well-resourced environments. What was different is that implementation grinded to a halt and that an action plan that deviated from that in published literature had to be developed so that relevant progress could still be made. This RDM action plan includes a range of stakeholders and would be of use to research institutes starting out on the RDM journey.

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Section: Rdm In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

From planning to practice: an action plan for the implementation of research data management services in resource-constrained institutions

Patterton

Bothma

Deventer

2018

SAJLIS

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“…The University of South Africa (UNISA) has completed an investigation into RDM practices at UNISA as part of a project to establish data management services (Macanda, Rammutloa & Bezuidenhout 2015). Kahn et al (2014) shows that there are high levels of awareness of RDM in universities and that issues of leadership, policy and skills require the most urgent attention.…”

Section: The Rdm Services Landscape In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Academic libraries’ role in Research Data Management Services: a South African perspective

Chiware

Mathe

2016

SAJLIS

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“…Partnerships among short-term research personnel may also promote sustainability, and thus a national database of health research would have great utility in fostering such partnerships [17]. Modeling successful approaches found within Africa such as those in South Africa may be advantageous as its data systems are similar to those in developed countries [35, 36]. Regional partnerships may also facilitate current trends in data sharing and integration as patient-provider interactions may trend toward a focus on minimum sets of key indicators [37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A medical records and data capture and management system for Lassa fever in Sierra Leone: Approach, implementation, and challenges

Shaffer

Schieffelin

Gbakie³

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

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Situated in southeastern Sierra Leone, Kenema Government Hospital (KGH) maintains one of the world’s only Lassa fever isolation wards and was a strategic Ebola virus disease (EVD) treatment facility during the 2014 EVD outbreak. Since 2006, the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium (VHFC) has carried out research activities at KGH, capturing clinical and laboratory data for suspected cases of Lassa fever. Here we describe the approach, progress, and challenges in designing and maintaining a data capture and management system (DCMS) at KGH to assist infectious disease researchers in building and sustaining DCMS in low-resource environments. Results on screening patterns and case-fatality rates are provided to illustrate the context and scope of the DCMS covered in this study. A medical records system and DCMS was designed and implemented between 2010 and 2016 linking historical and prospective Lassa fever data sources across KGH Lassa fever units and its peripheral health units. Data were captured using a case report form (CRF) system, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) plate readers, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines, blood chemistry analyzers, and data auditing procedures. Between 2008 and 2016, blood samples for 4,229 suspected Lassa fever cases were screened at KGH, ranging from 219 samples in 2008 to a peak of 760 samples in 2011. Lassa fever case-fatality rates before and following the Ebola outbreak were 65.5% (148/226) and 89.5% (17/19), respectively, suggesting that fewer, but more seriously ill subjects with Lassa fever presented to KGH following the 2014 EVD outbreak (p = .040). DCMS challenges included weak specificity of the Lassa fever suspected case definition, limited capture of patient survival outcome data, internet costs, lapses in internet connectivity, low bandwidth, equipment and software maintenance, lack of computer teaching laboratories, and workload fluctuations due to variable screening activity. DCMS are the backbone of international research efforts and additional literature is needed on the topic for establishing benchmarks and driving goal-based approaches for its advancement in developing countries.

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Research Data Management in South Africa: How We Shape Up

Cited by 29 publications

References 4 publications

From planning to practice: an action plan for the implementation of research data management services in resource-constrained institutions

From planning to practice: an action plan for the implementation of research data management services in resource-constrained institutions

Academic libraries’ role in Research Data Management Services: a South African perspective

A medical records and data capture and management system for Lassa fever in Sierra Leone: Approach, implementation, and challenges

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