R e D R e S S Resource Discovery for Researchers in e-Social Science ReDReSS A Joint Application from Lancaster and Daresbury (7 social scientists, 6 computer/computational.

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Resource Discovery for Researchers in e-Social Science

ReDReSS

A Joint Application from Lancaster and Daresbury(7 social scientists, 6 computer/computational scientists)

Representing the Wider Social Science Community

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SMain Aim of ReDReSS

“ “ to accelerate the development and to accelerate the development and awareness of a new kind of computing awareness of a new kind of computing and data infrastructure for the social and data infrastructure for the social sciences; and to support the sciences; and to support the increasingly national and global increasingly national and global collaborations emerging in many areas collaborations emerging in many areas of social science” of social science”

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SOverview

ReDReSS will:

• bring together and integrate all resources that are of value to the e-Social Scientist.

• raise awareness by providing illustrations of the potential of e-Social Science, including descriptions of, and pointers to, projects that are exemplars of e-Social Science research.

• present resources as a co-ordinated series of stepping stones, taking the researcher from developing an awareness of what can be achieved using Grid technologies to finally using it in their own research.

The technology being developed in this project will be used to integrate & manage resource discovery and training across the Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities e.g.Lancaster’s Phase 1 project.

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SObjectives

• To help illustrate appropriate methodologies and software that admits the full complexity of substantive problems;

• To help articulate the middleware needs of social researchers;

• To help nurture and support a community of social researchers;

• To help to provide critical mass and improve the efficiency of interactions between the interested researchers, thus reducing the number of lost opportunities for social science.

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SActivities of the Project

• Develop a Web Portal (open source);

• Awareness Raising and outreach by attendance at various events like this;

• Develop content, includes exemplars, delivered by visionaries with the aim of enthusing people.

• Develop portlets, e.g. an AGN portlet for viewing master-classes.

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SPortal Development (content)

• Introductory material, reviews; • Specific material from the Agenda Setting

Workshops, organised by Nottingham;• On-line demonstrators with video/audio

material;• Associated reference material and FAQs;• Links to JISC national collections, e.g. SOSIG;• Links to partner institutions in Social Science

e.g. Research Methods;• World wide links;• Additional guidance for self learners;• A technology watch corner.

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SA Portal is more than a gateway

Why is it different?• Managed learning, providing pathways

through the resources, based on user requirements;

• Use of diagnostic/background data to orchestrate the material for each individual;

• It will be specific to the needs of social scientists, providing routes to e-Science;

• The technology will be easily extendable to include all the content from the Research Methods and other programmes.

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SWho are we working with?

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SWe are also working with….

• ESRC-sponsored Demonstrator projects; • Manchester’s National Centre for e-Social Science

(NCeSS);• Lancaster’s Centre of Excellence in e-Social Science;• Other Centres for e-Science in the UK & overseas;• Major software developers and developers of e-

Science tools;• The ESDS & other data providers, especially those

offering services over a GRID;• ESRC Research Methods programme;• The ReDReSS Steering Committee - made up of both

qualitative & quantitative Social Scientists from around the UK who already have an interest in Grid technologies (see map).

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SLocation of key collaborators

Lancaster/DaresburySteering Committee & ContributorsOther Contributors

… plus contributors fromUSA & Europe

Key components will be accessible on the GRID and linked into the portal and demonstrators

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STypes of Material

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STypes of Material

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SComing up soon

• The first ReDReSS Steering Committee meeting will be held mid-February;

• Contact any committee member if you want your views to be heard;

• The project requires content from specialists and enthusiasts around the Social Science & e-Science communities;

• A call for portal content will be announced at the end of February.