Advancing Synthesis, Open Access, and Reproducibility in Archaeological Research

该项目将提高考古学家进行综合研究的能力，这些研究将有助于更好地了解不同类型的社会如何在很长一段时间内运作和变化。从这项综合研究中得出的对社会过程的一般理解，反过来又有助于解决当今世界各国社会面临的问题。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很容易地找到、访问和使用这些数据集，这样的研究才能完成。这类研究还要求对数据集进行彻底的记录，以便能够适当地解释个别观测的意义。项目研究人员确定，存放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方面的培训。该项目将通过改进在存放数据过程中征集个别数据区信息的软件，使将考古数据存入数字储存库变得更容易、更快。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的数据供其他调查人员使用，存放的数据集将得到更好的记录，因此更可用于合成研究。该项目有助于确保向其他研究人员和广大公众开放获取公共资助的研究结果，并使关键知识主张的重现性得到仔细审查。该项目直接专注于加强国家的研究和教育基础设施，并扩大学术界、工业界和政府的研究人员对这些基础设施的使用。通过实现学术和私营部门研究数据的生产性再利用，它将加强学术界和工业界之间的伙伴关系。通过扩大和改善对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。项目努力将集中在tDAR(数字考古记录)上，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已经具备了支持开放获取、可再生科学和合成研究的关键基础设施；然而，它寻求极大地扩大储存库提供和保存的数据的数量和质量。该项目将通过自动从上传的数据库、电子表格或其他数据源提取尽可能多的所需信息，加快和改进tDAR的数据集文档编制过程。然后，它将与人类研究人员验证推断的文件。对当代和未来几代考古学家进行有关数字数据管理的良好做法的培训，将提高进入数字储存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、网络研讨会和专题网络模块。项目培训材料将涉及从外地创建数据到实验室和定量分析，再到出版和存档的整个数据生命周期。

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.