To better support researchers at McMaster, the Digital Research Commons Pilot (DRCP) invites McMaster’s research community to complete this survey, which aims to understand the current state of digital research support at McMaster. We strongly recommend that participants read “McMaster’s Evolving Digital Research Support Landscape”, a first draft report authored by the DRCP as a first step toward this understanding. This report is a living document, central to the DRCP’s efforts to co-create a vision of coordinated digital research support at McMaster. Your feedback will help shape the future of digital research support at McMaster.
What is the Digital Research Commons Pilot (DRCP)?
The DRCP is a three-year pilot project initiated in 2022 to build a more connected, capable, and researcher-focused approach to digital research support, which will improve access to systems, services, software, and training for researchers across the institution.
What is digital research support (DRS)?
Digital research support (DRS) includes the digital technologies, as well as associated services, resources, systems, and people that work together to enable scholarly activity. Digital research support service providers facilitate access to systems, services, software, and the necessary expertise to use them effectively.
Who should complete this survey?
McMaster’s research and research support community is invited to participate. This includes anyone engaged in ongoing research or with past research experience at McMaster as well as personnel who support and enable research at McMaster.
What is included in this survey?
This survey requires completion of anonymized demographic information. Participants are then asked their level of agreement with sixteen general statements about digital research support at McMaster (derived from McMaster’s Evolving Digital Research Support Landscape). Following this, we ask those who have read McMaster’s Evolving Digital Research Support Landscape to answer three open ended questions about the report. Finally, participants are asked two open ended questions on the digital research support landscape. This survey can easily be completed in under 15 minutes.
The survey will remain open until January 31, 2024.
How will responses be managed and used?
Summarized results will be used to update McMaster’s Evolving Digital Research Support Landscape. The DRCP will use this enriched account of the state of digital research support at McMaster to work with stakeholders to co-create a vision of digital research support at McMaster.
Though the survey is anonymous, you will be asked to provide demographic information, and specific responses that you provide could be identifying. Aggregated demographic information that does not identify any one individual may be shared or published. If specific responses contain identifying information, this information will not be shared or published.
If you have any questions about this survey, the report, or the DRCP, contact AskResearch@McMaster.ca or visit AskResearch.McMaster.ca for additional information.
There are 10 questions in this survey.
