DataCite Member Survey 2021

Paul Vierkant
https://doi.org/10.5438/K1GW-Y723

One year has passed since we shared the 2020 DataCite Member Survey results. So it’s again time to talk about your thoughts on DataCite in general, our services, support, and the DataCite community in 2021. This time we decided to  summarize your feedback in short, clear lists.

General

In 2021, for the fourth year in a row, the participation rate was around 25%, with participants:

  • from all continents (except Antarctica),
  • the majority coming from the European region, and
  • two thirds of all participants representing research and academic institutions. 

We were happy to see that, just like in 2020, over 80% of the participants responded with a rating of 8-10 out of 10 when asked if they’d recommend DataCite to other organizations (median rating of 9). Likewise, the ratings for members’ experiences with the DataCite helpdesk and support pages stayed the same (median rating of 8).

The top three things respondents think we do well are:

  1. registering DOIs
  2. community engagement
  3. support

In contrast to 2020, where both the DataCite Metadata Schema and our documentation were not mentioned at all, this year they were mentioned multiple times (10 in total).

The top three things respondents think we could do better are:

  1. community engagement 
  2. statistics /metrics
  3. documentation 

Although  it might seem contradictory that the same topics were mentioned as things we do well and things we could do better, we think this highlights that members see these as important focus areas. This is also reflected in our vision for 2022, which includes development of  a new communication strategy and implementation of the design manual) and the strategic plan, which includes development of the bibliometrics dashboard. 

Product development

The top three DataCite services or features respondents are looking forward to in 2022 are1:

  1. Bibliometrics dashboard (23,7%)
  2. DOI metadata enrichment ( 20,34%)
  3. Batch metadata update ( 20,34%)

When asked in which product areas the respondents think DataCite needs to do better next year, respondents chose the following top 5 areas1:

Again, we are glad that this is already reflected in our product roadmap (e. g. metadata completeness dashboard, Fabrica improvements etc.) as well as in pillar 1 and 2 of our strategic plan.

Support

The top three topics respondents would like to see additional support documentation on are:

  1. API
  2. Optimize structure of support pages
  3. Beginners guide providing basics

We’re thankful for this feedback which helps us optimize our support to suit the needs of our members best. In response to the feedback, we’ve already updated the structure of the support page for best practices. 

The top three topics respondents would like to learn more about in DataCite events and meetings are:

  1. Metadata
  2. Best practices
  3. Impact / discoverability

We’ll make sure these topics are included  in future outreach events such as webinars and DataCite Open Hours.

DataCite community

In the final question of the DataCite member survey 2021, we asked what the respondents see as the shared goal of the DataCite community. The top three goals mentioned are:

  1. Embedding PIDs (in particular DOIs) into the scholarly ecosystem
  2. Collaboration between stakeholders to enable open science
  3. Discoverability and access of research outputs

We’d like to thank all participants of the survey, because for a member-driven organization like DataCite, community feedback is essential for what we do now and in the future. If you have any questions or ideas you would like to share with us, feel free to contact us at support@datacite.org

1 Multiple responses possible

Paul Vierkant
Outreach Manager at DataCite | Blog posts