First CLARIN-CH Day in the books
Publication Date: 2024-09-10
At the the first annual CLARIN-CH Day on 9 September 2024, researchers from the CLARIN-CH community had the opportunity to connect, share their experiences with Open Research Data (ORD) and engage in in-depth discussions with experts, dedicating a full day to this important topic.
The contributions exhibited a great variety of linguistic data: With all national languages being represented (and even varieties such as Swiss Tamil), as well as many different data types represented (e.g. written, multimodal, sign language data, learner data, historical data or clinical data), the data pitches impressively demonstrated the diversity of linguistic research.
The afternoon was introduced by a keynote speech from Suzanna Marazza (USI) with the title “From closed to open: how to deal with copyright law in linguistic research”, stating that Open Science requires a shift of mentality, which may be a time-consuming, but worthwile process. During the World Café, individual questions related to the four main topics were addressed in group discussions together with the experts.
Main takeaways
Navigating ORD is challenging, but others face similar issues, and expert help is available
In fact, in some cases researchers could find navigating ORD challenging and it is not always easy to realize that other researchers are also experiencing this same issue. Whether facing complex legal frameworks or struggling with the myriad of data formats and sharing protocols, it is helpful to remember that others have encountered similar difficulties, and there are experts available to assist researcher in discovering solutions that may not be immediately apparent.
CLARIN-CH support for researchers
While no universal solutions exist for the challenges faced by researchers, best practices in areas such as data protection and management of personal and sensitive data, copyright, data formats and their technical aspects, and data sharing/storage can be identified. CLARIN-CH is committed to supporting researchers by providing information on these topics and facilitating connections with experts capable of offering tailored guidance based on individual cases. The participants of this day had the opportunity to get to know and discuss each specific aspect with the experts, particularly during the World café in the afternoon, which gave them the possibility to ask their own questions in an informal setting and to share their experiences with other researchers.
Strengths of Open Research Data
Apart from addressing the challenges that ORD poses to researchers, it is also essential to recognize the opportunities it affords, including the potential for data reuse, the prevention of research duplication, and the fostering of greater collaboration within the academic community. The Data Pitch presentations not only showcase the challenges that can arise when opening one's scientific research to the world of ORD but also the commitment to embracing this research approach and overcoming difficulties within a supportive network. The morning presentations on ORD projects within CLARIN-CH highlighted the ongoing work in this regard.
We were pleased to see the strong interest this topic generated, and we are grateful to all participants for contributing to the engaging and productive discussions on Open Research Data in the context of language data during CLARIN-CH Day. Sincere thanks are extended to the organizing committee: Anita Auer, Martin Hilpert, Julia Krasselt, Johanna Miecznikowski, Martin Luginbühl, Cristina Grisot, Melanie Röthlisberger, Seraina Nadig and Simon van Rekum.