UW-CALMA-datarescue/how-to-start/track-1-communications.md

🎙️ Track 1 (Communications)

This track focuses on creating, revising, and sharing information about at-risk data. This includes adding context about collected data in order to improve management and findability of data for future purposes. The below are our initial goals coming from CALMA / Seattle-based efforts, but all participants are free to suggest and pursue other contributions.

Tech Skill Level: Beginner

Time Commitment: minimal (~1 hour)

Tasks Include:

1. Write letters of support for relevant proposed legislation (federal, state, or local level)
2. Share updates, news, or general takeaways with close friends, family, and peers
3. Contribute description to captured or identified datasets
4. Provide translation of existing metadata in different languages
5. Contribute to research on public records laws & legislation

Tools Required (vary across tasks)

1. Spreadsheet editor (excel, google sheets)
2. Word processor (word, google docs, notepad)
3. Image repository (wikimedia, library/archives public domain digital collections)
4. Social media/communication portals (bluesky, facebook, instagram, tiktok, YouTube, etc.)

Breakdown of Task Sections
🚁 (helicopter emoji) gives summary of task
🗂️ (index dividers) outlines specific steps needed to complete task
🛠️ (hammer & wrench emoji) details skills & tools needed for task

SUGGESTED TASKS & INSTRUCTIONS

1. Advocate for Research Data Storing

🚁Summary: Help build awareness on the importance of preserving individual research data by sharing guides, tips, and resources for researchers needing to deposit their research data and findings in a public facing, yet secure site.

🗂️Workflow

1. Review the Digital Research Repository outreach template (Download copy via this link)
2. Customize template with your contacts basic info (name, their area of focus like Climate Science or Environmental changes, ideas for what to deposit, and how it might benefit the researcher and/or their audiences)
3. Send/distribute outreach message to friends/family/colleagues
4. Share info with networks, friends, or family

🛠️Skills Needed: Basic understanding of English (template can be translated to other languages; we just ask that you share that translations for others to use). Basic understanding of the importance of transferring and sharing digital files about research.

2. Research Team (topic of public records protection, preservation and access)

🚁Summary: While the importance and complexities of digital preservation are well documented and researched, there is less information on the relationship between legislation, public awareness, and structural threats to government data. This task helps with surfacing some existing findings and research on how legislation might help strengthen our public records laws and practices.

🗂️ Workflow

1. Read the following reflection from the 2016-2017 Data Rescues
   1. Article link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3163616
2. Review the currently proposed bill “Public Archives Resiliency Act” proposed by Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12)
3. Conduct research on the following questions or add relevant questions to this shared document
   1. How do public records laws address data destruction or at-risk data?
   2. How does this legislation discuss or address data destruction by political parties and systems (across levels of government like local, state, federal)?
   3. What other legislation exists that deals with preservation of at-risk data (USA or beyond)?
   4. How does the American public perceive government data loss?
   5. How does this compare with other countries?
4. Write a paragraph on your findings, reflections, or lingering questions onto the shared research google doc:

🛠️Skills Needed: Basic command of English to either read or write summaries of findings. Intermediate to advanced levels of reading and writing in order to find, assess, and summarize findings for a general United States audience and English reader. Additional language skills would be useful for translation or finding global readings and data.

3. Create promotional text/images

🚁Summary: In order to better communicate the importance of digital preservation of at-risk data, we need different ways to communicate complex or obscure ideas and situations. By creating different representations, we can reach audiences across age, areas of interests, and ways of learning.

🗂️ Workflow

1. Help tell the story of rescuing at-risk data by creating infographics, social media posts, diagrams, or opinion pieces
   1. This is perfect for those who are interested in social media, photography, blogging and any other form of storytelling.
2. Using your preferred creating software (word, google docs, canva, snappa, lucidchart, etc) create an informational piece on the following topics (or something related)
   1. How can the public assess risks towards data?
   2. What happens when new administrations take over agencies and their data?
   3. Why should the public care about at-risk data?

🛠️ Skills Needed: Depending on the creation and software used, creative skills will vary. For visual creations, volunteers will need a beginner to intermediate graphic or art design skillset. For written creations, volunteers are asked to write in English first with translation as a secondary option.

4. Describe collected webpages/records (Save for Day 2 January 22)

🚁Summary: Description (at times also called metadata) helps with the management and access to digital records. Information about the content and context helps with identification, assessment, and verification of authenticity.

🗂️ Workflow

1. Create a descriptive record for each data set in 1 of the following repositories (hyperlink to come)

🛠️ Skills Needed: Basic command of English for first layer of information with additional language skills used for translation of English metadata. Ability to distinguish between different types of information.