Advancing Synthesis, Open Access, and Reproducibility in Archaeological Research

该项目将增强考古学家进行综合研究的能力，这将有助于更好地理解不同类型的社会在长期内如何运作和变化。这项综合研究产生的对社会过程的一般理解反过来可以有助于解决当今世界各地社会面临的问题。然而，只有考古学家将他们的数据集存档，以便其他研究人员可以轻松找到、访问和使用这些数据，这样的研究才能完成。此类研究还要求对数据集进行彻底记录，以便能够正确解释各个观察结果的含义。项目研究人员确定，存储记录良好的数据的两个主要障碍是完成数据记录过程所需的时间和缺乏数字数据管理培训。该项目将通过改进在存储数据过程中征求有关各个数据字段信息的软件，使考古数据更容易、更快速地存储在数字存储库中。它还将开发有关数字数据管理的在线帮助和培训材料。作为这些努力的结果，项目研究人员预计将存放更多数据以供其他研究人员使用，并且存放的数据集将得到更好的记录，因此更可用于综合研究。该项目有助于确保其他研究人员和广大公众能够公开获取公共资助的研究成果，并且能够仔细检查关键知识主张的可重复性。该项目的直接重点是加强国家研究和教育基础设施，并扩大学术界、工业界和政府研究人员对该基础设施的使用。通过实现学术和私营部门研究数据的有效再利用，它将加强学术界和工业界之间的伙伴关系。通过扩大和改善考古研究成果的获取，它将增加公众对科学的参与。最后，包括考古学长期视角的综合研究将有助于解决有可能改善美国和国外社会个人福祉的基本社会问题。项目工作将集中于 tDAR（数字考古记录），这是美国最大的数字存储库，专门致力于提供考古数据的保存和访问。 tDAR 已经拥有支持开放获取、可重复科学和综合研究的关键基础设施；然而，它力求极大地扩大存储库提供和保存的数据的数量并提高其质量。该项目将通过自动从数据库、电子表格或其他上传的数据源中提取尽可能多的所需信息，加快和改进 tDAR 的数据集文档流程。然后它将与人类研究人员验证推断的文档。对当代和未来几代考古学家进行数字数据管理良好实践的培训将提高进入数字存储库的考古数据的数量和质量。该项目将开发针对不同考古受众的在线教程、网络研讨会和基于网络的主题模块。项目培训材料将涵盖从现场数据创建、实验室和定量分析到发布和归档的完整数据生命周期。

The project will enhance the ability of archaeologists to conduct synthetic research that will contribute better understandings of how different sorts of societies function and change over long periods of time. General understandings of social processes resulting from this synthetic research can, in turn, contribute to solutions for problems that face societies across the world today. However, such research can only be accomplished if archaeologists archive their datasets so that they can be readily found, accessed, and used by other investigators. Such research also requires that the datasets be thoroughly documented so the meaning of the individual observations can be properly interpreted. Project researchers have determined that the two major impediments to depositing well-documented data are the time it takes to complete the data documentation process and the lack of training in digital data management. The project will make it easier and faster to deposit archaeological data in a digital repository by improving the software that solicits information about the individual data fields during the process of depositing the data. It will also develop online help and training materials concerning the management of digital data. As a result of these efforts, project researchers expect that more data will be deposited for use by other investigators and that the datasets deposited will be better documented and therefore, more usable for synthetic research. The project helps ensure open access to the results of publicly funded research, both to other researchers and to the public at large, and it enables the reproducibility of key knowledge claims to be carefully examined. This project is directly focused on enhancing the nation's infrastructure for research and education and on expanding use of that infrastructure by researchers in academia, industry, and government. By enabling productive reuse of academic and private-sector research data it will enhance partnerships between academia and industry. By expanding and improving access to results of archaeological research, it will increase public engagement in science. Finally, synthetic research that includes archaeology's long-term perspective, will help address fundamental social issues that have the potential to improve well-being of individuals in society in the U.S. and abroad.Project efforts will be focused on tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record), the largest digital repository in the US that is specifically dedicated to providing preservation and access to archaeological data. tDAR already has key infrastructure in place to support open access, reproducible science, and synthetic research; however it seeks to greatly expand the quantity and increase the quality of the data that the repository makes available and preserves. The project will speed up and improve tDAR's dataset documentation process by automatically extracting as much as possible of the needed information from the database, spreadsheet, or other data source being uploaded. It will then verify the inferred documentation with the human researcher. Training current and future generations of archaeologists in sound practices of digital data management will increase the quantity and quality of archaeological data entering digital repositories. The project will develop online tutorials, webinars, and topical, web-based modules directed to diverse archaeological audiences. Project training materials will address the complete data life cycle from creation of the data in the field, through laboratory and quantitative analysis, to publication and archiving.