DSG policies

What Makes a DSG Project?

While projects that receive the support of the Digital Scholarship Group can be within any academic discipline and be headed by either faculty of graduate students at both the Masters and Doctoral level, all projects possess certain characteristics. All current and future DSG projects must meet the following requirements:

1. The project must further a clear academic research goal.
2. The project must be affiliated directly with Northeastern University OR be carried out in close collaboration with members of the Northeastern University community OR display a clear value for the University.
3. The project must involve some form of scholarly engagement, typically in a way that results in some kind of contribution to public knowledge.
4. The project is NOT work for hire.
5. The project is NOT for-profit. Projects may involve a cost-recovery plan, and ideally they should involve some kind of sustainability plan.
6. The project must demonstrate a degree of scholarly rigor.

The greatest value shall be placed on projects that offer the potential for the Digital Scholarship Group to grow as an applied research group on campus, either by contributing to the development of our available resources and practices in such a way that is scalable and can benefit other DSG projects, both in the present and in the future, or to the development of the Northeastern University community.

Certain features disqualify projects from receiving DSG support. Projects that meet one or more of the following criteria may not be granted DSG project support:

1. The project is purely personal and unrelated to the individual's role at Northeastern University.
2. The project does not meet the DSG’s standards for scholarly research.
3. The project has a purely instructional purpose, such as a project that is carried out as a learning exercise in an undergraduate course. Projects of this nature can be better addressed by Academic Technology Services or the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning through Research.
4. The project requires specific tools that are currently not supported by the DSG or that are too large in scope. Exceptions may be made if funding arrangements can be made and all other project criteria are met.
5. The project is for-profit.
6. The project is considered “intellectually trivial” by the DSG. This includes projects that are just a website. For those who wish to set up a website, other departments on campus can meet these needs.

Communicating about DSG Projects

Subject liaisons may want to consider some of the following when guiding faculty towards DSG for consultation or help with digital research projects (these are preliminary notes based on a DSG meeting on 16 October 2014):

DSG is particularly relevant when faculty are:

• developing data of long-term value
• interested in digital tools or methods, particularly in exploratory ways
• interested in creating scholarly publications that use digital tools
• asking research questions that might lead to the creation of research data
• engaging with issues of data modeling
• engaging with issues of data format and representation

Above all we want to allay concern: we're always happy to talk with faculty in an exploratory way. Subject liaisons should feel free to err on the side of sending faculty to DSG.

DSG offers different levels of assistance:

• informal consultation that may be very preliminary or exploratory: particularly in cases where faculty or students have an idea they'd like to try out, or an area where they'd like some initial guidance and suggestions. We can schedule these with anyone at any time.
• basic project support via the suite of tools we provide (e.g. Omeka, GitHub, etc.). People can apply for this support via the project proposal form on the DSG site.
• more advanced project support for more complex projects that have graduate students, work flow, etc. We consider these projects on a case-by-case basis and typically only when they have funding of their own.
• involvement in large-scale grant-funded projects. We consider these projects on a case-by-case basis, and typically only when we are involved in the grant proposal development process. In these cases, typically DSG staff time will be written into the grant proposal.

There are few key characteristics that liaisons should be aware of, that would tend to steer projects away from DSG:

• projects that are for profit
• projects by entities that are not part of Northeastern and not hosted at Northeastern
• projects with a purely instructional purpose, such as a project that is carried out as a learning exercise in an undergraduate course. Projects of this nature can be better addressed by Academic Technology Services or the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning through Research.
• projects that require specific tools that are currently not supported by the DSG or that are too large in scope.

Omeka, OJS, and WordPress Installation Policies

General Policies

1. You will be contacted when your request for a new instance of Omeka, OJS, or WordPress has been accepted by the DSG. After your request has been accepted, we ask that you please allow at least two weeks for the installation of the service.
2. The DSG will provide all standard installations of Omeka, OJS, and WordPress free of charge. More advanced installations of these services may not be covered by the budget of the DSG, but can be provided on a cost-recovery basis whenever possible.
3. All instances of Omeka, OJS, and WordPress provided by the DSG will come with a pre-installed set of plugins (TBD). If you anticipate needing additional plugins to support the goals of your project, please inform the DSG in order to access training and support. Based on the current expertise within the DSG, support for additional plugins may not be available immediately. The DSG will work closely with projects to make sure that their unique needs are supported whenever possible.
4. All data and content related to the project and the service being provided will be stored on remote disk.
5. The DSG will facilitate the backup of all data and content whenever it is requested at no additional cost to your project.
6. You will be provided with a separate, self-contained instance of the service you are requesting. Projects will never be required to share their instances of Omeka, OJS, or WordPress with any other projects supported by the DSG.
7. The designated service administrator for any Omeka or WordPress instance is not required to have a sponsored account with Northeastern University unless the administrator needs direct server access.
8. Development servers for Omeka, OJS, and WordPress will not be provided for DSG-supported instances. All development work for installations can be performed in Vagrant or xAMP.

For Omeka

1. A designated site administrator ("super user" in Omeka terminology) is required for all DSG Omeka instances. This role would be appropriate for a graduate student associated with the project, or for a faculty member who is able to take on these responsibilities. Site administrators will have access to the following features:
   • Adding new users
   • Changing permissions for users
   • Changing privacy settings
   • Activating themes
2. Site administrators are encouraged to either attend a tutorial session or complete a self-guided tutorial for Omeka. The DSG can provide supplementary guidance and support but does not offer Omeka specific tutorials.
3. The URL for your Omeka instance must be chosen carefully, as it cannot be changed later. (Example: http://omekasites.neu.edu/projectname/)
4. Special arrangements will be made if your project requires Neatline support.

For Open Journal Systems

1. Potential OJS users are required to agree to the University Libraries’ Memorandum of Understanding for OJS, in addition to the general policies outlined above, prior to receiving their instance of OJS.
2. The URL for your OJS instance must be chosen carefully, as it cannot be changed later. (Example: http://openjournals.neu.edu/projectname/)

For WordPress

1. WordPress instances supported by the DSG will only be available to projects currently affiliated with the DSG. Projects not affiliated with the DSG can access WordPress installations and support through other departments on campus, such as Information Technology Services.
2. The intended use of a DSG-supported WordPress instance must be consistent with the DSG’s mission.
3. A designated site administrator is required for all DSG WordPress instances. Site administrators will have access to the following features:
   • Adding new users
   • Changing permissions for users
   • Changing privacy settings
   • Activating themes
4. WordPress site administrators are encouraged to either attend a tutorial for WordPress or complete a self-guided tutorial for WordPress. The DSG can provide supplementary guidance and support but does not offer WordPress specific tutorials.
5. The URL for your WordPress instance must be chosen carefully, as it cannot be changed later. (Example: http://dsgsites.neu.edu/projectname/)

Policy Changes

The policies stated above are subject to change as the DSG continues to develop. Project directors, project managers, and designated site administrators for projects receiving any of the above services will be notified in the event of any policy changes that will affect their projects.